Mike Rogers: “First, I want to point out, when DOD assets are sent to the border, it is in a support capacity. They don't serve in a…”

“First, I want to point out, when DOD assets are sent to the border, it is in a support capacity. They don't serve in a law enforcement capacity. They don't patrol the border. Right now, we have half of our Border Patrol agents, on a daily basis, being taken off the border and put into administrative functions, not doing law enforcement. {time} 2200 When we send DOD assets down there, it is typically National Guard personnel. They fill those back-end administrative functions so the CBP-trained agents can go in and enforce the law. Madam Chair, you never have seen and you are not going to see the DOD assets being used to enforce the law. The military has played an important role in securing our southern border since the 1980s. Presidents Reagan, H.W. Bush, Clinton, W. Bush, and Obama have authorized DOD assistance on the border in the form of equipment or manpower on multiple occasions. Every day, about half of all Customs and Border Protection officers are pulled off the line for administrative duty, transportation, and other work away from the border. There were over 104,000 illegal aliens in June. That is a 380 percent increase over June 2017. CBP is on track for over 1 million apprehensions in this fiscal year. DOD has been on site for months providing support. DOD medium-lift air mobility support moves CBP agents to remote areas.…”