US Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz announced his retirement this week as tensions continue to simmer over the influx of migrants after the expiration of Title 42.
Ortiz, who has managed about 20,000 Border Patrol agents while in the role for less than two years, said in a letter to colleagues on Tuesday that his last day will be June 30.
“I leave at ease, knowing we have a tremendous uniformed and professional workforce, strong relationships with our union partners, and outstanding leaders who will continue to tirelessly advocate for you each day,” Ortiz wrote.
During his brief tenure as the head of the US Customs and Border Protection’s law enforcement arm, Ortiz oversaw COVID-era policy shifts and emergency Title 42 health restrictions.
In the wake of Title 42’s expiration earlier this month, he also spearheaded the introduction of Title 8, or a series of restrictions meant to curb the influx of migrants at the southern border while opening new legal pathways for immigration.
Shortly before the new regulations were put in place, Ortiz came under fire after a leaked directive revealed his instructions for border agents to release swaths of migrants without court dates or any ability to track where they are in the country.
In the early days of Title 8, however, the US-Mexico border remained relatively calm, and encounters between migrants and agents decreased as many would-be asylum seekers weighed their options.
Even so, Ortiz’s retirement comes amid ongoing controversy about US cities’ ability to accommodate the new arrivals who do make it across the border, as well as the dangerous means some desperate asylum seekers are using to cross in the first place.
Last week, it was reported that drug cartels are offering to shuttle migrants to the border for $200 each –but that travelers risk being forced into the drug trade or having their fingers cut off if they cannot pay the fee.
A disturbing video also emerged of a smuggler dropping a 4-year-old boy from the top of a 30-foot border wall in San Diego.
Ortiz slammed the footage on Twitter, and warned the public not to “trust smugglers.”
Ortiz took over as Border Patrol Chief in Aug. 2021. His predecessor, Rodney Scott, was a zealous endorser of controversial Trump-era policies, including the discussion of the Mexican border wall.
Under Scott’s leadership, the Border Patrol came under heavy public scrutiny for separating migrant families. Ortiz’s tenure proved slightly less controversial, but still invited criticism for the agents’ alleged excessive use of force against non-threatening asylum seekers.
During a hearing before a congressional committee in March, Ortiz was forced to admit that the Border Patrol did not have “operational control” over the entire border; about one year earlier, he said in a leaked video that agent morale was at an “all-time low.”
Still, on Tuesday Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas praised Ortiz as a definitive leader.
“Selecting him to lead the Border Patrol was among the most important decisions I have made,” he wrote.
“Chief Ortiz agreed to postpone his retirement several times since and the Border Patrol, the Department, and our country have been all the better for it.”
With Post wires