Arizona Gov. Ducey says Biden's border policy serves as 'marketing arm' of Mexican cartels

close

Video

Leaked video shows border agents confronting CBP chief over Biden's policy

Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin reports from La Joya, Texas, where tensions are rising between Border Patrol agents and the Biden administration

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey insisted Sunday that cartels are the ones shaping policy at the U.S.-Mexico border, as the Biden administration acts as their "marketing arm" in failing to curb illegal immigration. 

Speaking to a Fox News Digital reporter ahead of the National Governors Association Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C., Ducey, a Republican, agreed that there’s a correlation between rising crime plaguing several major U.S. cities and an influx of unchecked migrants entering the country. 

"Well, of course, there's a link between criminals coming over the border and rising crime – of that, there's no doubt," he said. "We've got nearly two million people that we've apprehended at this time. So, border security is national security. The federal government is failing at that." 

LEAKED VIDEO SHOWS FEDERAL CONTRACTORS FLYING MIGRANTS TO SUBURBAN NY: ‘BETRAYING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE’ 

"But I also think that there's a humanitarian crisis in terms of human smuggling, child sex trafficking and the drug trade," Ducey continued, addressing the subject of illegal immigration. "The cartels are really shaping border policy right now. And the Biden administration is their marketing arm."

"We don't know who we're not catching. These people are coming from 120-plus countries, including countries that harbor terrorists," Ducey said. "So, of course we could have something terrible happen to our nation by this lack of attention to the federal border. But we could also just have this crime, violence, vandalism and murder that we see. So, there's no doubt about it that there's a link to it."

His remarks come after Fox News reported earlier this week about a leaked video showing federal contractors flying migrants from southern border states to suburban New York. 

Body camera footage obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request captured an August 2021 exchange on the tarmac of a Westchester airport. In the video, Westchester Police Sgt. Michael Hamborsky grilled federal contractors about why he was not briefed about the flights, to which they responded they had instructions from Homeland Security to keep the matter on the "down low." 

"The government is betraying the American people," a federal contractor told the officer. 

Fox News also obtained video showing a recent spat between Border Patrol agents and their chief during a visit by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The verbal disagreement highlights rising tensions between agents and the Biden administration – whose policies many agents believe are stopping them from keeping the border secure. An agent admitted that morale is at an all-time low. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In another high-profile incident last week, a Houston-area corporal was shot and killed during a traffic stop. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed the suspect apprehended in Mexico and brought back to Texas had previously entered the U.S. illegally and was a citizen of El Salvador. 

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.