After over 30 years of loyal service to the US Border Patrol, Chief Raul Ortiz is ready to step away from the service as of June 30th.
In an e-mail to fellow agents, Chief Ortiz wrote “After a 32-year Border Patrol career spanning multiple Sectors, HQ tours, and overseas assignments in Afghanistan, I have decided to retire from federal service on June 30th… Serving as your Chief has been one of the greatest honors and privileges I have had and please know I will always champion this agency, its mission, and the people who make the Border Patrol everything that it is.”
However, it’s what the Chief is not saying that is the most troubling.
With Border Patrol encountering 2.2 million illegal alien encounters in the fiscal year 2022 and already 1.2 million encounters in FY 2023, the problem isn’t the lack of action. It’s not even the lack of action since they have arrested 196 people on the terror watch list between 2021 and April 2023.
Sadly, the real problem is having his role in the Border Patrol reduced to little more than a greeter at the Wal*Mart. With President Biden effectively stripping his organization of funding that allows them to upgrade equipment that helps them do their job or even the proper updates to their current equipment, his job has become far less direct.
Instead, the Border Patrol and as a result Chief Ortiz have become the poster children for people to blame for all the illegal immigration when all they have done is follow the orders of the President. They have had no choice and no way to properly protect the American people from the dangers along the southern border. Being ineffective in your mission is just as dangerous as being ignorant about your profession, and he would not stand for it. Let someone else be the presidential puppet.
Good for you Chief Ortiz. Enjoy retirement, God knows you earned it.
