Biden is giving smugglers, illegal immigrants a 'head start' with Title 42 roll back pledge: Former ICE chief

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Biden giving smugglers, illegal immigrants a 'head start' with Title 42 roll back pledge: Former ICE director

Former U.S. Border Patrol chief Ron Vitiello sounds off against the Biden administration on 'Your World' as ICE officers prepare for an influx of migrants crossing into the United States.

Former acting Immigrations and Customs Enforcement chief Ron Vitiello said Monday on "Your World" that President Biden is giving smugglers and illegal immigrants a "head start" across the border with his pledge to end the Title 42 public health order.

"It’s ridiculous," Vitiello said "They gave everybody a six-week head start on the rescission of Title 42, which is the only tool, the smallest tool that they have in the tool shed as it relates to policy that allows the border patrol to expel people back to Mexico if they're claiming asylum."

The Biden administration will lift Title 42, which has been used since March 2020 to expel migrants at the border due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on May 23.  (John Moore/Getty Images)

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The Biden administration announced this month that it will lift Title 42 on May 23, which has been used since March 2020 to expel a majority of migrants at the border due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Vitiello echoed concerns raised by both Republicans and some Democrats that the rollback will spark a surge of illegal immigrants, and questioned whether the federal government had appropriately planned for the numbers that could hit the border once the order lifts.

"I was in the border patrol for 33 years," he told guest host Charles Payne. "I have never seen this kind of chaos at the border in my entire career. It’s never been as busy at the border as it is right now. Thousands of agents that, instead of patrolling the border, are doing the care and comfort mission. You have thousands of people coming in every 24 hours. The system is overwhelmed, and this administration has failed to do their duty to protect us. The more chaos that we have at the border, the more threat that we are under."

FILE - In this Wednesday, June 16, 2021 file photo, A Texas Department of Public Safety officer in Del Rio, Texas directs a group of migrants who crossed the border and turned themselves in. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

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Vitiello said the White House is emboldening smugglers and border crossers by not only lifting the order, but announcing their plans to do so ahead of time.

He "gave all of the smugglers a six-week head start saying they’re not going to do it anymore," Vitiello said. "Any chance that they get to make a statement as it relates to policy on the southwest border or immigration enforcement, they step back. And this is no different."