Ortiz told Fox News that ‘morale is at an all-time low’ in response to the video, which was obtained by the network from a Border Patrol source.
‘For evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing,’ one agent interjected.
‘That’s exactly what’s happening here. Good men are doing nothing. You’re allowing illegal aliens to be dropped off in communities.’
Ortiz acknowledged the border patrol agents’ frustration.
‘I get it,’ Ortiz told the group of patrol agents.
‘You come to work, you’re frustrated. You’re upset because you didn’t get the desired outcome that you want. Doesn’t mean you give up.’
‘We’re not,’ one agent responded.
‘I know you’re not,’ Ortiz replied. ‘That’s why I’m saying, we don’t give up. We stay focused, we continue to do the job and the mission that we signed up for. We all signed up for it, we all raised our hand.’
The conversation then begins to take a heated turn, when one agent brings up the politics of policing the border.
‘It’s kinda hard to say that when…’ one agent started to say.
‘It’s not hard to say it,’ Ortiz fires back. ‘It may be hard for you to say it, I’ve been doing this for 31 years. It’s not hard for me to say it.’
‘You’re getting bogged down in the policies and the politics,’ Ortiz added.
Several agents then began to complain, stating they can’t use the term ‘illegal aliens’ while working on the job.
‘You just said it,’ Ortiz responded.
‘Ain’t nothing gonna happen to you.’
‘Why are you guys getting caught up in semantics? … I’ve been doing this job as long as y’all,’ Ortiz said.
Ortiz went on to say that border patrol agents are doing good work, while citing the fact that the agency is getting fentanyl and methamphetamine off the streets and rescuing people along the way in the process.
‘And under this administration, in the last year, we’ve got the highest fentanyl deaths in the history of our country,’ one agent replied.
Ortiz responded by adding that the US has seized more fentanyl coming across the southern border last year compared to 2020.
However, one agent asked how much is not being caught.
‘I don’t know,’ Ortiz said. ‘We’re working on it.’
‘And that’s the problem,’ the agent said.
Issues at the border have remained tense in recent months.
On Tuesday, a large number of single, adult illegal immigrants were released from federal custody in Texas.
The group of young male immigrants were filmed by Fox News getting transported on buses in Brownsville, Texas, into a small office in a parking lot marked ‘border patrol drop off’ after being released by ICE on Tuesday.
After emerging from the office, the migrants were seen being put into taxis that took them to Harlingen Airport – roughly 250 miles away from San Antonio – where the men were flown to places like Houston, Miami, and Atlanta.
They are now being transported to their final destinations, the City of Brownsville told Fox News.
No women or children were seen among the migrants in Brownsville.
Some of the migrants reportedly said that they paid $2,000 to illegally cross the border through cartel smugglers, Fox News reported.
Almost 180,000 migrants crossed the US border in December, surpassing previous December numbers. Only around 75,000 crossed the border in December 2020.
The Biden administration has been struggling to control the border, which saw thousands camping out earlier this year and recent images of overcrowded facilities in Arizona.
A senior border patrol agent, who recently retired, told Fox News’ Hannity show that ‘what is happening on the border is being purposely done by the Biden administration and their hands are tied behind their backs.’
