The Democratic mayor of Del Rio, Texas, told Fox News on Wednesday that contrary to the Biden-Harris administration’s assertions, the southern border is “wide open” for illegal immigrants pouring into the country.
Mayor Bruno Lozano made his comments during a media appearance on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”
On the show, Lozano was shown a clip from a news conference in which Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is heard asserting, “The border is closed. We are expelling single adults and families.”
When asked for his view on whether the “border is closed” as Mayorkas asserted, Lozano directly contradicted the claims of the Biden-Harris administration.
“I would very much disagree with [Mayorkas’] statement,” Lozano, whose city is right across the border from Mexico, said. “The way that it’s been handling or being managed, it seems to be wide open for unlawful entry into the United States.”
Lozano further said that when he reached out to the Biden-Harris administration for assistance with the border crisis it has repeatedly downplayed, he was told the situation was “under control.”
Referring to numbers revealing that the U.S. saw a 393 percent increase in border crossings in the fiscal year 2021, Lozano said he could not comprehend the Biden-Harris administration’s claims.
After President Joe Biden took office, one of his first executive actions included blocking the construction of the border wall that former President Donald Trump had started building to protect the nation from illegal entrants.
Biden also reversed several Trump policies on immigration.
As Biden engaged in such policy changes, waves of illegal immigrants began flowing into the United States, overwhelming border facilities.
This influx of unlawful entrants into the country has been going on for months.
According to Customs and Border Protection, there were 178,622 migrant encounters in April, the highest count in a month in two decades.
The April numbers represent a 944 percent spike from April 2020, which saw 17,106 encounters with illegal aliens.
The ongoing border crisis prompted multiple Republican governors to write to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, asking them to take steps to stem the influx of unlawful entrants flowing into the country.
“The cause of the border crisis is entirely due to reckless federal policy reversals executed within your first 100 days in office,” the governors wrote.
“The rhetoric of the Biden administration and the rollback of critical agreements with our allies have led to the inhumane treatment of tens of thousands of children and undermined a fragile immigration system.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.