Former Border Patrol San Diego Sector Chief Aaron Heitke testified before Congress Thursday that he was directed by the Biden-Harris administration not to release any information on the increase in migrants with significant ties to terrorism.

House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) said in his opening remarks, “It is no secret our nation is in the midst of a dire crisis at our nation’s borders. Over the last four years, a record number of migrants from across the globe have descended on our borders and have created security challenges our nation has never experienced.

“Specifically, border encounters under the Biden administration has surpassed 10.1 million aliens encountered nationwide, with over 8.2 million encountered along the Southwest border. These are only the number of individuals encountered at one of our borders.

“Experts estimate that nearly two million individuals have evaded arrest by CBP officials and are known to be ‘gotaways.’ The most glaring statistic that alarms me the most is the 382 individuals whose names appear on the terrorist watchlist were stopped trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally between ports of entry from FY2021 to FY2024 year to date. This is compared to the 11 individuals apprehended from FY2017 – FY2020.”

Considering the testimony that Heitke would later give, Pfluger’s concluding comments would prove to be prescient: “I do not know why DHS has refused to participate today and provide answers to the American people. However, my best guess is that the Biden-Harris administration is attempting to hide from the public and not take accountability for their policy failures.”

The New York Post reports on the September surprise for the “border czar” turned Democratic presidential nominee. Here’s the start of the story:

The former Border Patrol official responsible for securing nearly 1,000 miles of America’s frontier has charged that the Biden-Harris administration intentionally covered up the ongoing migrant crisis.

Ex-San Diego Sector Chief Agent Aaron Heitke told members of the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday that the White House repeatedly tried to “quiet the border-wide crisis” by shielding information from the press and concealing crossings by dangerous migrants with terror ties.

“I had to release illegal aliens by the hundreds each day into communities who could not support them,” testified Heitke, who retired in summer 2023 and appeared voluntarily before the panel.

“To quiet the problem, two flights a week were provided from San Diego to Texas,” he explained. “These flights simply brought aliens that would have been released in San Diego over to Texas.”

“Each flight costs approximately $150,000. This was the administration’s way of trying to quiet the border-wide crisis,” Heitke emphasized.

Elsewhere in his testimony, Heitke said administration officials asked him to move more than 2,000 migrants apprehended in between the two US-Mexico border fences spanning Southern California “out of the sight of the media.”