Gov. Hutchinson calls out Biden admin: 'Drug cartels are controlling the border'
Arkansas governor discusses border crisis on 'Fox & Friends'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said Tuesday the southern border is controlled by cartels rather than law enforcement.
Hutchinson joined "Fox & Friends" to discuss the need for the Biden administration to focus on the border crisis and work with border governors to find real solutions.
"The cartels are controlling the border versus law enforcement. And we've got to go after and build cooperation, going after and reducing the influence of the cartels. We've done that before. Mexico, I think, can step up to the plate to a much greater extent than they are. But we cannot yield control of our border to the cartels. Right now, they are," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The head of the U.S. Border Patrol is praising his agents after they nabbed 10 sex offenders, a slew of deadly drugs, and other illegal immigrants wanted for serious crimes in just three days -- while also rescuing nearly two dozen migrants from danger.
BORDER AGENTS DISCOVER 1,500 LBS. OF METH, SEIZE HANDGUN
Raul Ortiz said that agents had stopped 13 lbs of methamphetamine, 26 lbs of heroin and 131 lbs of fentanyl in that time period. Fentanyl, more than 50-100 times more potent than morphine, has been blamed for the increase in overdose deaths across the country.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}There were more than 234,000 migrant encounters at the southern border in April, and officials are warning that those numbers could rise as the summer months approach -- despite the deadly heat many of those migrants will face.
The number of migrant encounters by month at the southern border (CBP)
Hutchinson urged that the border needs to be handled at the federal level rather than left for the border states to manage for themselves.
"It can't just be the states, it's a national responsibility, but there has to be a higher level of coordination with our state counterparts."
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Hutchinson said the border poses a national security threat and therefore the president needs to work with the governors to find a solution.
"The president should call in our border state governors and others and say, let's work together on this. … Ultimately, this is a national security issue and the federal government has to step up on this," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.