Former Secret Service Special Agent Charles Marino and Terrell County, Texas, Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland told Newsmax on Thursday that Americans are paying for the flood of migrants entering the country in more ways than one.
"Let's remember the billions that these non-governmental organizations have received from the federal government to work with DHS [Department of Homeland Security] and Health and Human Services to help move these migrants around the country," Marino said during an appearance on Newsmax's "American Agenda." "Look, this has always cost Americans financially, and it's also cost Americans with their lives, be it fentanyl or criminal illegals coming across the border and committing horrendous crimes once here in the country.
"This is the number one issue for this upcoming election," Marino continued. "Americans have finally had enough. It is very clear that they are not the priority for the Biden-Harris administration, and, further, that Vice President [Kamala] Harris, as the Democratic nominee, has no plan or intention whatsoever to stop this crisis. The illegals are her priority. If it's free, it's me – that's her campaign slogan when it comes to illegals coming into the U.S. And she's willing to spend hard-earned American dollars to win those votes."
Cleveland pointed out that it's not just federal taxpayer dollars that are being spent on illegal immigrants – it's also funding at the state level.
"I'll tell you what, of course, the numbers you provided were U.S. taxpayers and what about us here in Texas?" Cleveland said. "The last number I saw was just under $14 billion that the state of Texas has spent on border security – just on the border – and we have benefited from that. We've had almost $4 million that we've received through an Operation Lone Star grant to not only help us with manpower – we've hired deputies, we have overtime – and then we have those supplies and the tools that we need to complete the job. So, there's more than just the U.S. burden; there's also the state burden."
The Texas law enforcement officer, who spent 26 years as a Border Patrol agent, said "what we have experienced," in his nearly three years as sheriff, "has been like never before."
"Whether it's terrorists, it's political activists, it's spies or the criminal aliens that we've seen come into the United States, we're going to pay for this for years," he said. "What we need is a strong leader in the White House that's going to come in and put some policies in place to clean this up."
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