Former acting Immigration Customs Enforcement director Ron Vitiello painted a grim picture of the border and blamed Congress for the current crisis during a Wednesday evening interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
Vitiello was picked to head ICE following Thomas Homan’s retirement. In March, the Senate approved his nomination in a committee vote, but then Trump withdrew the nomination a month later.
“[Border patrol agents are] overwhelmed. They’re in a situation that they didn’t choose to be in. It is a situation they can’t get themselves out of. There is one tool here put into place, and that is new legislation that addresses the Flores settlement, and that looks at the way [Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA)] treats unaccompanied children,” Vitiello began. “We have to dissuade people from sending or bringing their children to the border; otherwise, this misery will continue.”
“How much of the blame do you put on the president right now for taking this decision to detain individuals that previous administrations weren’t detaining?” Blitzer asked.
Vitiello said, “That’s got nothing to do with what is happening at the border now. What’s happening at the border now is there is no consequence if you bring or send your child. In my career, when we have been able to hold people during the [length] of their immigration hearing—.”
“But you are detaining a lot more people now than you used to,” Blitzer said.
“Because there is a lot more traffic at the border than there’s ever been,” Vitiello said and added that the reason for it is “the law. The way it is operationalized. Congress has failed to act to close the loopholes.”
Later in this line of questioning, Blitzer asked Vitiello if he had a message to send to the families trying to cross the border.
“I would tell them to not send their children or bring their children to the border,” he said.
