EXCLUSIVE: Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens says he’s “excited” by the prospect of incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan taking charge of deportations and border security — while naming the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua as one of the biggest threats facing the country confronted.
Owens, who took over as chief last year, spoke with Fox News’ Griff Jenkins in San Antonio, Texas, in his first interview since the election. He was asked what he thought of the appointment of Homan, a former Border Patrol agent and former chief of the Border Patrol Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“I’m excited because Tom Homan is a Border Patrol agent brother. He’s been in this uniform. And so I’m excited to see one of our green family make good,” he said. “And I’m curious to see what he will do.”
Migrants found at southern border in Arizona. (US Border Patrol)
“I can tell you that the domestic enforcement and the deportations, what they represent, are a consequence. They represent a consequence of not following our laws and not entering our country properly,” he said.
There have been tensions between the Biden administration and the Biden administration Border police officers on tackling the crisis at the southern border. The Border Patrol union has been highly critical of the government and supported Trump’s campaign during the presidential election.
Owens took on the role of chief in a year that saw record encounters at the southern border. He said it has been “exhausting” for agents to endure the past four years at the border. The numbers have fallen sharply recently, partly due to a proclamation restricting asylum signed by President Biden in June, but it is unclear whether these numbers will remain low for long.
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Owens warned that cartels are adapting their tactics to avoid new challenges, including increased technology, and he pointed to fentanyl and the violent Venezuelan migrant gang Tren de Aragua as two of the biggest threats on the agency’s radar.
“It is a very serious threat to us,” he said of Tren de Aragua (TdA). “It’s one of our top priorities, just like fentanyl. Tomorrow it may be a little different, but today it’s TdA and fentanyl that pose some of the biggest threats to our people in this country.”
The gang has been linked to a number of high-profile crimes in the US and has expanded its presence and criminal activities into multiple states, including Colorado, where it has reportedly taken over a number of apartment buildings.
Owens also points to the unknowns agents face, including 250,000 escapes at the border.
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“We need to get them to come to the front door. That’s how unknown it is, and what the purpose is is what scares me the most, and probably all the other law enforcement and border patrol professionals you’re going to ask out there. come in, and why don’t they use the front door? And what do they plan to do that could potentially harm our country and our people? he said.
He noted that it is more difficult to vet migrants from countries where there are no diplomatic relations, meaning it is much harder to know who is entering the US. He says what keeps him awake at night is the possibility of not being able to identify the threats coming into the US.
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“What keeps me up at night is not being successful, knowing that for every person we miss, for every drug load we miss, people’s lives are affected forever. And in some cases, people could die. That’s something that none of us want to see,” he said.
