Katie Kerekes, FISM News

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The head of the U.S. Border Patrol has officially announced his retirement, according to a Wednesday report by the Associated Press.

Chief Raul Ortiz, the leader of the nearly 20,000-agent force, said in a note Tuesday that he will be ending his 32-year career effective June 30, shortly after the end of Title 42 coronavirus pandemic restrictions. At this time, it is unclear who will replace him.

Ortiz was appointed to replace former Border Patrol head Rodney Scott, an enthusiastic supporter of Trump’s policies, and has held the position since August 2021.

He has faced extraordinary challenges in his two-year tenure, as he led the patrol during the nation’s highest recorded level of illegal crossings, which critics say is the fault of the Biden administration’s disastrous mishandling of border security.

Leaked video footage published by the Washington Examiner of a January 2022 meeting in Laredo, Texas shows a tense exchange between Ortiz and his agents, where the Chief acknowledged the stressors they are under by stating that morale was at an “all-time low.”

The video shows agents expressing frustrations toward the immigration policies in place which they say includes releasing millions of migrants into the U.S.

“For evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. That’s exactly what’s happening here,” one agent contended. “Good men are doing nothing. You’re allowing illegal aliens to be dropped off in our communities.”

As previously reported by FISM, Ortiz was more recently interviewed in a March hearing calling into question Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ handling of the border, as drug and human trafficking encounters have been recorded at record highs.

When asked if Homeland Security has operational control of the border, Ortiz replied, “No, sir,” and agreed that security measures such as the completion of the border wall would be helpful to the entire patrol in performing their duty.