Border Chaos: LIVE from the Border...14 Minutes after Title 42 Expires-with Border Patrol Union President Brandon Judd

Summary

Podcast Summary: Border Chaos: LIVE from the Border...14 Minutes after Title 42 Expires with Border Patrol Union President Brandon Judd

Podcast Information

• Title: The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
• Host/Author: Premiere Networks
• Episode Title: Border Chaos: LIVE from the Border...14 Minutes after Title 42 Expires with Border Patrol Union President Brandon Judd
• Release Date: May 15, 2023

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Introduction and Context

In this episode of The 47 Morning Update, host Ben Ferguson engages in a critical discussion about the immediate aftermath of the expiration of Title 42, a public health order that significantly impacted immigration policies. The conversation primarily revolves around the surge in illegal immigration at the U.S. southern border, the implications for national security, and the challenges faced by Border Patrol agents.

Title 42 Expiration and Its Immediate Impact

The episode opens with Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz discussing the expiration of Title 42 at midnight, which marked the end of the Biden administration's primary authority for deporting illegal aliens. Ben Shapiro provides a stark assessment:

“From the first day of the Biden presidency until today, we've seen over six and a half million people cross into this country. The worst illegal immigration in the history of our country. As of right now, it is about to get much, much worse.” [00:21]

This significant policy shift has led to an unprecedented surge in border crossings, overwhelming the existing immigration infrastructure.

Brandon Judd's Insights on the Border Situation

Brandon Judd, President of the National Border Patrol Council, joins the discussion to provide an insider perspective on the escalating crisis. Judd highlights the proactive efforts he and his colleagues undertook, including traveling to the southern border alongside other senators to witness the situation firsthand.

“We wanted to be here for the expiration of Title 42, to let the American people know what is happening and that the Biden administration wants this absolute catastrophe to unfold.” [00:21]

Judd underscores the administration's apparent disregard for effective border security, despite multiple consultations and warnings from Border Patrol officials.

Challenges Faced by Border Patrol Agents

A central theme of the conversation is the plight of Border Patrol agents who are now inundated with processing an overwhelming number of illegal immigrants. Judd articulates the demoralization and frustration experienced by these agents:

“We are not doing a law enforcement job. We are, in fact, being social workers. We're taking care of these individuals.” [17:13]

The agents are stretched thin, with the majority diverted from their primary law enforcement duties to administrative tasks, severely hampering their ability to address more serious threats such as drug trafficking and terrorism.

National Security Concerns

The discussion delves into the national security implications of the border chaos. Judd expresses grave concerns about the potential infiltration of individuals with malicious intent:

“We have about 3,000 gotaways per day. That means 3,000 people who we don't know who they are, where they're coming from, what their intentions are here in the United States.” [12:22]

The ability of thousands to evade apprehension daily poses significant risks, including the entry of individuals on terrorist watch lists.

Policy Failures and Recommendations

Judd criticizes the Biden administration's policies, asserting that they intentionally undermine border security by prioritizing political agendas over national safety. He emphasizes the need for immediate policy changes to restore effective border control:

“The number one policy that Joe Biden could implement... end catch and release and reinstate the remain in Mexico agreement.” [22:44]

These measures, according to Judd, would not require additional taxpayer funds but would rather involve reversing existing policies that have exacerbated the crisis.

Economic and Humanitarian Impact

The episode also touches on the broader economic and humanitarian consequences of the border surge. The influx of illegal immigrants has strained local resources, displaced American citizens in shelters, and contributed to a significant increase in fentanyl-related overdoses:

“70,000 US citizens are losing their lives every year to fentanyl poisoning. And it's all because the Biden administration does not use us to go after the cartels.” [09:18]

Media and Public Perception

Ben Shapiro and Ted Cruz highlight the administration's reluctance to allow media access to border facilities, suggesting a deliberate attempt to obscure the severity of the situation from the public:

“They refused to let news cameras in... their little activist, just absolutely lose her mind.” [06:11]

Judd echoes this sentiment, criticizing media coverage for lacking context and failing to convey the full extent of the border crisis.

Conclusion and Call to Action

As the episode concludes, Ben Shapiro and Ted Cruz reinforce the urgency of addressing the border issues and advocate for policy reforms to restore national security and support Border Patrol agents. Judd's final remarks encapsulate the dire need for immediate action:

“This administration is enriching these cartels through their policies, and it could stop tomorrow. And that's what is so frustrating to every single one of us.” [36:12]

The hosts encourage listeners to stay informed, share the podcast, and support measures that prioritize American safety and border security.

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Key Takeaways

1. Expiration of Title 42: Marks the end of a critical detention and deportation policy, leading to a surge in illegal border crossings.
2. Overwhelmed Border Patrol: Agents are burdened with administrative tasks, impeding their law enforcement capabilities.
3. National Security Risks: Increased potential for illegal entry of individuals with harmful intentions due to resource strain.
4. Policy Recommendations: Immediate cessation of catch and release and reinstatement of the remain in Mexico agreement are crucial.
5. Economic and Humanitarian Strain: The influx has led to resource depletion, displacement of American citizens, and a rise in drug-related fatalities.
6. Media's Role: Criticism of media's failure to adequately represent the crisis, contributing to public misunderstanding.

Notable Quotes

• Ben Shapiro [00:21]: “From the first day of the Biden presidency until today, we've seen over six and a half million people cross into this country. The worst illegal immigration in the history of our country. As of right now, it is about to get much, much worse.”

• Brandon Judd [17:13]: “We are not doing a law enforcement job. We are, in fact, being social workers. We're taking care of these individuals.”

• Brandon Judd [22:44]: “End catch and release and reinstate the remain in Mexico agreement.”

• Ben Shapiro [40:29]: “Joe Biden is the criminal cartel's best friend.”

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the critical discussions and insights shared during the podcast episode, providing a clear understanding of the urgent border situation and the perspectives of key stakeholders.

Transcript

[Ted Cruz]

Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz. We are doing this podcast after midnight. Senator, you're at the border. You are there, where Title 42 has literally just expired. What does this mean for the country and what have you seen today?

[Ben Shapiro]

Well, Ben, you and I are recording this. It is right now 12:14am Friday morning. Title 42 expired at midnight. So for 14 minutes, the last legal authority the Biden administration was using to deport illegal aliens is no longer in effect. From the first day of the Biden presidency until today, we've seen over six and a half million people cross into this country. The worst illegal immigration in the history of our country. As of right now, it is about to get much, much worse. And so I flew down this afternoon, Thursday afternoon, and came to the southern border with three other senators, with Roger Marshall, with John Hovind and Ted Budd. And the four of us wanted to see firsthand what is happening here. We wanted to be here for the expiration of Title 42, to let the American people know what is happening and that the Biden administration wants this absolute catastrophe to unfold.

[Ted Cruz]

It is truly shocking to watch the images that so many Americans saw and we'll see over the weekend of the drone footage, if you've been watching Fox News Channel, of tens of thousands of people waiting to come across the border. And there was a warning that was given advice that was given not only to the Biden administration by Border Patrol, but we actually have a guest with us tonight that warned the Biden administration that this was going to happen. And the Biden transition team clearly said, no, no, no, we don't care about the chaos and the anarchy. We want this by design.

[Ben Shapiro]

Well, that's exactly right. And so tonight, Ben, you and I are joined by someone who has become a very good friend of mine, Brandon Judd. Brandon is the president of the National Border Patrol Council. That is the union, the national union for the men and women of the Border Patrol all across this country. And I have spent hundreds of hours with Brandon and with the heroes of the Border Patrol. I've been blessed to go out with them repeatedly on midnight patrol down on the border. I've been been with them at midnight muster. I've been with them as they're processing this deluge of illegal immigrants. I've been with them to encourage those heroes while they have political superiors who undermine them, who belittle them, who insult them, and who deliberately prevent them from doing their jobs. And I have to say, it is a miracle that they continue to show up to work every day to protect this country, even while facing a president and an administration that is doing everything it can to make it impossible for them to succeed at their task.

[Ted Cruz]

Brandon, I gotta ask you about the warning and the advice that you gave to the Biden administration. You gave advice, you told the Biden transition team before even Biden took office what they need to do to keep a secure border. You represent, obviously, as the president of the National Border Patrol Council, Border Patrol agents, who right now, God bless all of you for what you do, because I can't imagine going to work every day knowing that the administration is working against you the way that they are right now. But what did you tell them? And you knew this day would come and this hour would come and this moment would come if they did and put in place the policies that they have now put on all of us?

[Brandon Judd]

Not just once. I sat down with the transition team three separate times to discuss the issues that we face on the border, to discuss what could be done to. To keep the American people safe. And that's what border security is all about. We've got to keep the American.

[Ben Shapiro]

Brandon, this was not just the Trump transition team, although you sat down with them as well. I did talk.

[Brandon Judd]

I was on the Trump transition.

[Ben Shapiro]

You were on the Trump transition team, but when Joe Biden came in, you sat down with them. I did. And you tried to help them not have this disaster.

[Brandon Judd]

I did the best that I could. I didn't vote for Joe Biden. I don't like Joe Biden. I didn't like him as a senator. I didn't like him as the vice president, but I did want him to succeed as the president, United States, because if he succeeds, the American people succeed. That's all I cared about. And so I sat down with the transition team. I sat down with him three separate times. And we went over in depth what needs to be done on the border to secure. To secure the border. And we even stayed within the parameters that Biden gave on the campaign trail. It's not like we offered them up radical ideas. It's not like we were telling them, stick with the Trump policies. Although I would have loved to have stuck with those policies. We worked within their parameters, and they still rejected it, which clearly showed to me that they didn't care about securing the border. They didn't care about the American people who they're supposed to be protecting. And so it was really disgusting to me. And then not only did I sit down with the transition team, I actually spoke with Secretary Mayorkas prior to his Confirmation and discussed the issues with him as well. And so when you look at this, it's not like they can claim that they didn't know. It's not like they can say, we didn't know what we needed to do. They know exactly what they need to do. They knew what they needed to do. And so you have to ask yourself, are they doing this on purpose? And I think that the only answer is, yes, they are. They are doing this on purpose. They are pandering to open border activists. Look at the West Wing. Look, look at the West Wing. All of the political appointees in the West Wing, they come from activist backgrounds. Look at the. Look at the political appointees in dhs. They come from activist backgrounds. So now you have activists that are running legitimate law enforcement agencies.

[Ben Shapiro]

Well, Brandon, you were with me when I brought down 19 senators to the board. And we went in to the Biden cages, to the 10th city at Donna. And there the Biden administration refused to let TV cameras in. They refused to let Fox News in. They refused to let ABC News in because they said that the cameraman might have Covid. Now, mind you, these Biden cages were packed wall to wall. And as you'll recall, and Brandon, you'll recall, well, because you were standing there, I pulled out my cell phone and I began taking pictures and recording it. And the Biden DHS had sent. They'd sent this little political operative who jumped in front of the camera and tried to block me. And she was. She was the right hand to, To. To. To the head of cbp. And her job was prevent the American people from seeing the disaster they were creating. And so, you know, I, I kind of laughed and said, well, you're about to make yourself famous. And I think that that video that I took on my cell phone, because they wouldn't let news cameras in, it ran on just about every news station. It did, it did, and it showed. And, and at one point, she was yelling at me, respect these people. Respect these dignity. Their dignity. And I said, you respect these people. You're the one that have locked them up in cages like animals. And you leave. They were stacked. You saw children shoulder to shoulder, lying on the floor on mats with silver reflective blankets. There was a rate of COVID positivity among the kids that was through the roof. And the Biden policies kept having thousands upon thousands and ultimately millions of people coming.

[Brandon Judd]

Yeah, as a federal employee, as a border patrol agent, that was one of the funniest things I had ever seen in my career. It was absolutely great. To see this little political appointee, this little activist, just absolutely lose her mind. And that goes back to the problem that we're dealing with, this administration. We all want to have an honest conversation. When I say we all want to, the honest people want to have a conversation so the American people understand what's going on. I don't care if the American people agree with me. I don't care if they come back and say that I'm wrong. All I want is I want them to have all of the information. I want them to be able to make an informed opinion upon all of the evidence, not just the rhetoric that comes out of the White House. And if we have that honest conversation, I am absolutely convinced that the American people will agree that the border needs to be secured. And I am absolutely convinced that they will blame what is currently going on on the border on this administration and that they will know that this administration is actually killing American citizens. Fentanyl poisoning is taking place. 70,000 US citizens are losing their lives every year to fentanyl poisoning. And it's all because the Biden administration does not us to go after the cartels. They're enriching the cartels.

[Ben Shapiro]

Brandon, how frustrated are Border Patrol agents right now? Give me the real sentiment of the men and women on the front line.

[Brandon Judd]

We're sick of him. We're sick of him. He's got to go. As far as we're concerned, he has got to go. And we're absolutely demoralized. I believe that every hard working person in this country, they want to feel like their job means something. They want to feel like they've accomplished something. They want to go home every day thinking that I did a good job. Border patrol agents cannot do that right now. We know that every single time we put on a uniform that we're not doing anything. All we're doing is actually aiding and abetting these criminal cartels with facilitating the transport of illegal aliens throughout the entire United States. The fentanyl that's coming in, we want to go after these cartels. We want to go after their profits. We want to stop sex trafficking. We want to save migrants lives, and this administration won't let us.

[Ted Cruz]

Brendan, I want to ask you a question about national security and the safety and what's coming across the border that the media doesn't want to cover. That includes what you mentioned, obviously, with fentanyl, but also from a national security standpoint. We have people that are on lists, wanted lists, and terrorist watch lists that we are catching coming across the border and Before I get you to answer that, I want to talk about our friends Augusta Precious Metals. So let's talk about the economy for a second. If you're really stressed out about your retirement, if you're stressed out about your 401k, there's a lot of people that are watching what's happened in the markets. They're watching what's happening with inflation, they're watching what's happening with interest rates and they're also watching what has been happening with banks and some failures recently. That's where you can protect some of your hard earned dollars by putting in a gold ira. And our friends Augusta Precious Metals, they can help you do exactly that. Their goal is to give you peace of mind during this crazy economic time that we're in. They know that you have to save those dollars and protect those dollars because there is no time to make up losses. Check out Augusta Precious Metals. Go online to AugustaPrecious Metals.com or call them and you can actually sit down with them and you'll understand why they have thousands of five star ratings and there's a reason why Money magazine says they are the best Gold IRA company. 877-the-4 Gold IRA. That's 877-the-4 Gold Ira. Or online Augusta precious metals.com call them 877-the-4 Gold ira to get that free investor's guide on gold. Brandon let's talk about the national security aspect of an open border. It still is hard for me to just get my head wrapped around the idea that in a post 911 world and I know that was a long time ago in some people's minds, to me it's still very fresh. I still remember what that was like, how we have a border that is so wide open and we also know that people are exploiting our open border. How big of a concern is that for you and all the border patrol agents you work with?

[Brandon Judd]

We all, we always talk about the apprehensions, we talk about the, how those, those numbers are skyrocketing, how we're taking too many people in custody. What doesn't get talked about enough and where national security is involved is the gotaways, the people that are able to enter the country illegally and evade apprehension. Right now we're, we're having about 3,000 got aways per day. That means 3,000 people who, we don't know who they are, where they're coming from, what their intentions are here in the United States. They're able to evade apprehension and we're going to feel the effects of it down the road. It's never. Terrorists always lay in wait. That's what they do. They wait until there's an opportunity. And if we have people that are crossing the border illegally and they're able to evade apprehension, they're coming from the Middle east or they're coming from a country that wants to do us harm, we're ultimately going to feel that effects. That again, is one of the reasons that border security is so important to the American people. It's so important important to this nation that we're able to secure the border. It's so important to this nation that we're able to vet every single person that comes into this country so that we can ensure that we can protect the interests not only of the economy, but also the interests of the. Of each individual American.

[Ben Shapiro]

Well, and Brandon, I want to underscore something you said. If you're coming here illegally and you're not a bad guy, you're not a drug dealer, you're not a gang member, you don't have a criminal record, you're not a terrorist, is there any reason for you to be a runner? Is there any reason for you to be a got away?

[Brandon Judd]

None. Absolutely none.

[Ben Shapiro]

And why is that?

[Brandon Judd]

Because you know you're gonna be released under these policies. You're going to be released in the United States. So why would you run?

[Ben Shapiro]

So understand that if you're just a regular Central American who wants to come to America, what you do is what they're doing by the thousands. Every night you come across and you go look for a border patrol agent, you don't run. You actually walk up to the border patrol agent. Most of them are carrying with them a plastic baggie, typically with some form of identification, maybe a birth certificate, maybe a passport, and usually a phone number of somebody in the United States. They go look for a border patrol agent.

[Brandon Judd]

They do.

[Ben Shapiro]

They not only don't run, they want to find the border patrol agent.

[Brandon Judd]

Absolutely.

[Ben Shapiro]

Because the border patrol agent will process them and under Biden will put them on an airplane or a bus and take them to wherever they want to go in the United states. So the 3,000 people a day who are running, who are got aways, the natural inference is every one of them has something to hide. Every one of them has something that they're like, wait, if I were to turn myself into a border patrol agent, they would find out that I have a homicide conviction. They would find out that I'm a member of MS.13. They would find out that I'm the terrorist. Watch list, they would find out that I'm carrying a backpack full of marijuana or fentanyl. And those are the people that are getting away. And they're doing it every single day in significant part because the Border Patrol agents are swamped with the deluge of illegal immigrants, which means the bad guys have free rein because there aren't agents left to deal with them. Is that. Am I accurately capturing that?

[Brandon Judd]

You nailed. You nailed it on the head. When you look at the numbers. We talk about numbers all the time, but numbers without context are nothing but numbers. So we have to put the numbers in context so people can understand why it's so important. When in a normal administration, in normal day, we will apprehend between 1000 to 1500 people per day. Right now, we're apprehending 10,000 people per day. What that does is that that strains all of our resources. It pulls our agents out of the off the border from patrolling and puts us in administrative duties. And when we're in administrative duties, we can't go after the cartels. And right now, with 10,000 apprehensions per day, that means we only have about 15% of our resources patrolling the border. And when you only have 15% of your resource patrolling the border, the cartels own the border at that point. Now they have free rein to get anything into this country that they want.

[Ben Shapiro]

Well, and Brandon, the example you gave me is with the Border Patrol mustering 44 agents. When you have apprehensions that are 10,000 a day, roughly four of those agents are out in the field actually in a position to stop a drug runner, to stop a terrorist, to stop a bad guy. And roughly 40 of those 44 are doing processing, are caring for just this massive humanity, and are basically being social workers. And. And is that what's happening?

[Brandon Judd]

It is. It is what's happening. We're not doing a law enforcement job. We are, in fact, being social workers. We're taking care of these individuals. We're giving them food. We're. We're giving diapers. At times, we're even changing diapers. And so, yeah, we've been taken out of the law enforcement role and we've been put into a secondary role that's administrative in nature, and that's not what law enforcement is supposed to be doing. We've got to go back, and we have to look at this. We have activists that are running legitimate law enforcement organizations, and anytime that you have activists running law enforcement organizations, we're not going to be able to enforce the rule of law. They don't like the rule of law. Activists don't like that. They want this open border crisis.

[Ben Shapiro]

Well, listen, this is the same thing as George Soros, DAs and criminal law enforcement. This is putting radical activists who hate the mission of Border patrol in charge of Border patrol. And if they hate the mission of Border Patrol, they won't let them actually fulfill their mission. And so that means a couple of things. One, it means America is at much greater risk. It means we have what we had Last year, over 100,000 overdoses, about 70% of which were from Chinese fentanyl. And by the way, that's the highest rate of overdoses in the history of the United States of America. Congratulations, Joe Biden and the Democrats. You've set a record, but it ain't a good one. It means terrorists can come into this country unabated. It also means, as a morale matter. Look, I've gotten to know a lot of border patrol agents over the last decade. These guys are tough. These guys sign up. Look, they're like cops. Ben, your dad was a cop. They sign up because they want to defend America, because they believe in our country. They want to keep our country safe, that they want to protect kids, they want to protect our communities. They want to stop drug traffickers, they want to stop human traffickers. And these tough, badass law enforcement agents instead find themselves changing diapers and processing paperwork day after day after day. That's not using their skills where they're needed, but it's also demoralizing the living daylights out of these guys.

[Brandon Judd]

It is. It is. And I will change diapers if I feel I can go after the cartels as well. I recognize that these are small children. We've got to treat these small children the best that we possibly can. But I want to be able to go after the cartels. That's what we want to be able to do. We want to be able to go after their profits. We want to stop them from trafficking people into modern day slavery. That's what's happening. These people are going into. Into the sex industry, forcibly going into the sex industry. They're going into sweatshops. And that's what we want to stop. We want to protect life. We believe that life is very important. The Democrats give an awful lot of lip service. Biden gives a lot of lip service. Please look at his actions. Watch his actions. Don't listen to his words. Judge him on his actions. And if we judge them on their actions, we would. We would quickly find out that all they care about is themselves. They care about their next election. They do not care about the the right things and that's why we like to support the right people. We want good people in elected office. We want people that don't care about that election. They care about the American people. Biden is not that person.

[Ted Cruz]

What is the biggest policy that needs to change? I mean we're seeing this happen. It's humanitarian crisis. Many communities have declared state of emergencies. But what is the one policy Brandon that you wish would change immediately that could allow you guys, empower you guys to actually do your job? And before you answer that I want to tell you about our friends Patriot Mobile. For years big mobile companies have been dumping millions into leftist causes. And now you finally have an option, another option. It does exist. Patriot Mobile is America's only Christian conservative wireless provider that offers you dependable nationwide coverage on all three major networks so you get the best possible service in your area where you live without the woke propaganda push by leftists working hard to destroy this country. Now when you switch to Patriot Mobile and you pay that bill every month a portion of that bill at no extra charge you goes to support free speech and religious freedom, the sanctity of life, the second amendment and our military veterans and first responder heroes they have 100% US based customer service team as well which makes switching easy. All you have to do is go to patriotmobile.com verdict you're going to get the best deals of the year plus free activation. Patriot mobile.com verdict or 878-patriot use the promo code verdict that's 878-patriot-878-patriot brandon what is that policy? The number one policy that joe Biden could implement that could have a massive impact of you guys getting being able to actually get back to doing your job and securing our border.

[Brandon Judd]

I'm going to show all of your listens the reason why we we support Senator Cruz. I bet you anything that he could answer this question the exact same way that I would answer the question, Senator. What's the answer?

[Ben Shapiro]

End catch and release and reinstate the remain in Mexico agreement.

[Brandon Judd]

That's it right there. That's all we have to do. And by the way that doesn't cost the taxpayer anything. The taxpayer does not have to shoulder this burden. We could secure the border tomorrow with the resources that we have. I don't need more manpower, I don't need more technology, I don't need more infrastructure. I need policy. Something that doesn't cost us anything and we could secure it tomorrow.

[Ted Cruz]

Is there a chance that this gets so bad that they will be publicly shamed into doing that. And I'm asking you, Senator, the politics of this as well, at what point does this start to backfire on Democrats? I mean, if this many illegal immigrants keep coming across the border, as we're witnessing right now with the ending of Title 42, and we see even in New York, they said they weren't going to bus people to other parts of New York. They've already lied in New York City. They kept doing that actually yesterday while it was in New York City. And they're kicking Americans out of shelters to make room for illegal immigrants coming in, including children. American citizen children yesterday were kicked out of shelters in New York City to make room for illegal immigrants. They are displacing Americans for this. At what point does this start to backfire?

[Ben Shapiro]

Well, I don't know that there is a point where Joe Biden feels one iota of shame. I don't know that there is a point where Kamala Harris feels one iota of shame. I don't know that there's a point where Alejandro Mayorkas feels one iota of shame. I can tell you this, though, Congressional Democrats are starting to get nervous as all get out. You know, we talked on this pod at length about six weeks ago when Alejandro Mayorkas testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and I lit him up. But perhaps the most interesting moment of that entire testimony is as I'm going after Mayorkas, he looks up to Dick Durbin, and he basically pleads for Durbin to come save him. And listen, Dick Durbin, I think, is the smartest of the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee. He's a hard left winger. But Dick and I have spent the last 11 years battling and beating the living daylights out of each other. He's not shy about coming after me. I'm not shy about coming after him. And Durbin looked at Mayorkas and just kind of shrugged. And I thought that was the most revealing moment because what it said to me is, uh, oh, Durbin and the Dems are nervous. They recognize this is an absolute disaster that's playing out on the southern border. And they're starting to think about their own rear ends and doing a cya and they're ready to let Mayorkas twist. And, you know, it's interesting, Ben, I want to tell you some of the things that I learned on this trip, because a number of things were different on this trip from the last time I was at the border. And I'm here often. But when I was last at the border, the Bulk of the illegal immigration was coming from a handful of Central American countries. It was coming from Nicaragua and Guatemala and Honduras and El Salvador. Those four were driving the vast majority of illegal immigration. What is fascinating now, we're in Brownsville. Normally I would go to McAllen, which was the epicenter of the crisis. The cartels have moved to Brownsville, which is further east. Brownsville is the very southern tip of Texas, and Brownsville right now is seeing a massive influx. Just in Brownsville, they have seen in less than a month, more than 40,000 illegal immigrants. And what is fascinating about what they're seeing, 35,000 of them have been Venezuelans. It's a massive influx of Venezuelans. The next largest group here in Brownsville has been Colombians. And Colombians have been roughly 2,000. And it goes down from there. Let me tell you. In another amazing stat they told me, they said they are right now encountering between 90 and 100 Chinese nationals each and every day.

[Ted Cruz]

Wow.

[Ben Shapiro]

Last time I was down here, it was four or five Chinese nationals. It's gone from four or five a day to 90 to 100. And I pressed them and said, okay, what happens with those Chinese nationals? They said, well, we investigate them and look for. For derogatory information, something like a criminal conviction, something that is a real concern that they may be a spy. And if they have derogatory information, we deport them. And I said, okay, out of that 90, how many will fall into that category? And they said, ah, five or six. Which means about 85 Chinese nationals a day. They're just releasing, releasing into America. That is a massive shift. Let me tell you something else that I saw tonight. Just south of the border in matamoros, there are 22,000 illegal aliens camped out right along the Rio Grande River. It is, as you noted at the outset, like an invading army. We went down to the riverbanks. We saw them. They had fires burning. They had music playing. They were throwing a party because Title 42 was ending tonight and that 22,000 was planning to invade this country in the next couple of days. And there are 170,000 all up and down the border in exactly that position, getting ready to come over because of Joe Biden.

[Ted Cruz]

Brandon, you've seen surges before. You've seen things change. When Donald Trump stopped being the president, Joe Biden was coming in even before Joe Biden had been sworn in. We used a surge that was taking place. Have you ever witnessed anything like what you're witnessing right now? And what is the new normal look like? Is this going to be a massive surge and then the numbers are going to come way back down. Or is this going to be a massive surge with all time new high numbers each day, each week, each month?

[Brandon Judd]

In my worst nightmare, I never thought it could have gotten this bad ever. They are trying to set the new normal. They don't want to go back to what it, what it used to be. They want these numbers to continue. They want the American people to think that, okay, well, 10,000 today, 10,000 tomorrow, that's, that's normal. And then it goes up to 12,000, then it goes up to 13,000. They just want that number to continue to go up and up and up. Remember a normal day under a normal administration, this includes Obama, Our normal apprehensions are between 1000 to 1500 per day. We normally deploy 80% of our resources to the field. We only have 20% of our resources doing administrative work. And that has completely changed. They have completely flipped it upside down. We're now apprehending 10,000 people per day. We only have 20% of our resources patrolling the border. If 20% of our resource patrol on the border and, and the cartels control everything. We used to be able to go after the cartels. We used to be able to go after their profits. We used to go out, be able to go after their drugs. Now we can't do any of that.

[Ted Cruz]

When you say you can't go after the cartels and you can't go after the drugs, I really want you to explain that because so many people listening are going to be saying, well, wait, why can't they do that part of their job that has nothing to do with title 42. So explain why you can't.

[Brandon Judd]

Because we don't have anybody in the field to do the job we're all doing. We're. None of us are doing law enforcement work. We're all doing administrative duties. If we were doing law enforcement work, we would be able to go after the cartels. We would be able to go after and try to put a dent in their profits.

[Ben Shapiro]

So let me give you an example, Ben. All right? So we came down here to Brownsville and we came right along the border to the place where illegal immigrants have been crossing in vast numbers. And what happens is they walk across and we saw multiple groups walking across and they walk right up. They look for the border patrol agents. They actually don't look for. They know where they are. The cartels have told them, okay, they're right over there. Just walk up the road. They'll be Right there. So they walk straight up, and they're carrying with them identification. And there's actually new technology the border patrol agents have. It's on their cell phones. So every agent has it on their cell phone. And with the cell phone, let's say the illegal immigrant has a birth certificate or a passport, some form of identification. They scan that ID with their cell phone. It auto populates the fields. And I saw them doing this over and over again. It puts the name in, puts the age in. It puts whatever country they say they're from, they've now streamlined it. Do you know how long it takes a border patrol agent to process an illegal immigrant when they cross? Right now, just using the border patrol, using the cell phone app, I would assume extremely fast.

[Ted Cruz]

But how fast?

[Ben Shapiro]

Two minutes.

[Ted Cruz]

Wow. So you literally can break into America, turn yourself into America, and be processed.

[Ben Shapiro]

In 120 seconds just in Brownsville. And I saw them do it over and over again. I watched them fill it out. And they process it. The cell phone, it takes about two minutes. Then they have them sit in a little staging area. And they have right now, just in Brownsville. So this is one tiny part of the board border. They have over 40 busloads a day of illegal immigrants. They take them from the staging area to a detention center to figure out, okay, where do you want to go? And then they arrange the transportation and ship them wherever they want to go. But what Joe Biden is trying to do, what Kamala Harris is trying to do, what Alejandro Mayorkas thinks his job is, is not stop illegal immigration, is not prevent the trafficking. It is rather to increase illegal immigration. It is to increase human trafficking. And Mayorkas every day wakes up and says, how can I make it more efficient? How can I make it faster? How can I make two minutes into 90 seconds? And what, what they want is, they want the revolving door not to stop, but to spin even faster. And the suffering. Last year, 853 migrants died crossing illegally into this country. The body bags, the women being sexually assaulted, the children being brutalized, the people dying of drug overdoses, those are all, from the Biden administration's perspective, perfectly acceptable losses for their political goal of utterly reshaping the American electorate. And they are willing to ignore modern day human slavery and sex trafficking because politics matters more to them.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah. And that's, I think, the part that angers so many Americans. I want to ask you one final question, Brandon, about these cartels, because what has been lost in this is the profits and the amount of carnage not just left behind, but also the amount of carnage and lives that they're ruining on this side of the border with the drugs coming across and the fentanyl and the gangs. Put that into perspective for everyone that's listening. Because it's not just the numbers, as you mentioned. It is also all of this other organized crime and how rich are they getting off this and what are they doing with that money? And before you answer that, let me tell you about our friends at Chalk. If you're a guy and you feel like you're just getting a little bit older, you're getting a little bit of fatigue, you're not alone. Testosterone levels in the US are actually at a historically all time low. And that's exactly why chalk is here. To help men just like you. Maximize your masculinity by boosting your testosterone levels up to 20% over 90 days. Yeah. Manufactured right here in the U.S. chalk's Naturally Herbal supplements are clinically proven to have game changing effects on your energy, your focus, your mood. Maximize your masculinity and don't give in to that weakness and complacency. Replace that with strength and vitality. Go online to chalk choq.com and use the promo code BEN for 35% off any chalk subscription for life. I've been taking the male vitality stack now for several months. It works. I love it. You should try it. Go to Chalk choq promo code BEN for 35% off. Check out that male vitality stack. Get rid of that weakness and complacency and get your strength and vitality back. Choq.com Brandon, just talk about the carnage that this is, that the drugs and the cartels are creating, that the American people are having to deal with, that the media refuses to talk about. And that's outside the illegal immigration issue.

[Brandon Judd]

So it all starts with illegal immigration. That's where all of their profits start. What they do is they use. It's so monstrous the, their business model, the way they operate. They use illegal aliens as pawns. And when they do that, they open up their opportunities to smuggle in drugs, to smuggle in people from special interest countries. It's all about.

[Ben Shapiro]

And Brandon, what's the a special interest.

[Brandon Judd]

Country that's a country that wants to do us harm. Some, some Iran, Syria, Yemen, all of.

[Ben Shapiro]

Those countries, countries with terrorists that might, might try to blow us up.

[Brandon Judd]

Yep, absolutely. And so what these cartels do is they use these illegal immigrants as pawns to open up their traffic lanes when they pull, when they, when they cross a bunch of illegal aliens they know that it pulls our resources to that area, opening up gaps in our coverage. And that's when they cross their fentanyl and that fentanyl is coming in. So they're using illegal aliens and they're making billions of dollars. Not in a year, in a month. They're making billions of dollars off of illegal immigrants. And then you add on top of that, the astronomical amount of money that they're making off of the drug trade. And it's all based upon the policies of this administration. This administration is enrolled enriching these cartels through their policies, and it could stop tomorrow. And that's what is so frustrating to every single one of us.

[Ben Shapiro]

Well, and Brandon is exactly right. And let me say two things in closing. Number one, let me give you specificity, Ben, on the numbers you asked for. And my source may be surprising. It's the New York Times. Hardly a right wing source. According to the New York Times, the Mexican drug cartels in 2018 made roughly $500 million from human trafficking. A lot of money. $500 million is a bunch of money. Last year, those same cartels made over $13 billion just from human trafficking. Their profits have increased 2,600%. I've said this before, but it's not hyperbole. The single best thing that ever happened to the drug cartels was Joe Biden becoming president because he took these murderous, torturing, sociopathic gangsters and he made them DECA billionaires. And they have now created a global empire, including with illegal immigrants working for them and committing crimes in every community in every city in America. Let me make a second point. When we were down here, there were a bunch of reporters here, and a bunch of the reporters are little left wing twits. So reporters would ask things like, is compassion important? Isn't it important that we be compassionate? And I'll tell you a conversation I had with a couple of reporters that I have to admit, it made them actually sort of pause and shake their head. I said, listen, we all remember the immigration debates that played out for years. And five, six years ago when you were talking about immigration, all the Democrats would get on their high horse and they'd say, we're compassionate, we're humane. Not like you mean nasty Republicans who want to secure the border. We're the ones who are compassionate. And when I pointed out to reporters that, I said, you know what the Democrats know? They're full of crap now. And you know how you know that? Because none of them are here. Joe Biden isn't here. Kamala Harris isn't here. Elizabeth Warren isn't here. Bernie Sanders isn't here. AOC isn't here. And it's because you cannot look at the body bags, at the women horribly assaulted, at the children brutalized. You cannot look at the horrific suffering they're causing. Claim it is somehow humane. When I was standing down by the Rio Grande, we saw lots of kids, shoes, flip flops. I saw a little pair of flip flops, pink flip flops. They must have been for a girl, maybe five or six years old. And you know, I pointed out, I said, listen, there is nothing remotely humane or compassionate about putting a five or six year old girl in the custody of human traffickers who daily brutalize little kids. And the Democrats now, their only strategy is hide this. They don't want the media to cover it because they cannot defend what is happening. That's how bad it is. Because the horror is undeniable.

[Brandon Judd]

Joe Biden is the criminal cartel's best friend.

[Ted Cruz]

Yes, I think that's a great way to end this because it's so important that people understand how bad it is. And also that this, like you said, Joe Biden is the cartel's best friend and has made them more money than they could have ever imagined. Brandon, good luck to you and your guys on the border. I know you have to be demoralized by this, but we appreciate all of your work that you and your team are doing down there. They're patriots. They're men and women that risk their lives and do this each and every day. So I want to make sure you know that we are all behind you and thank you for spending some time with us. Don't forget to share this podcast with your family and friends so other people hear these stories and you know what's really going on at the border. Write us a five star review. As you know, we publish Monday, Wednesdays and Friday. So hit that subscriber auto download button so you don't miss an episode and we will see you back here on Wednesday morning.