U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff pushed FEMA administrators on border security at a U.S. Homeland Security Committee Hearing Thursday.
“If you're not prepared, what's it going to take to get prepared?" Ossoff says. "Because my constituents lack confidence that sufficient preparation is ongoing, and that the Administration is prepared.”
During the hearing, Ossoff pointed to a projected surge in migrants at the Southern U.S. border this summer. Maryann Tierney, recent Senior Coordinating Official of the Southwest Border Coordination Center, said the Biden administration has been planning for the surge since last fall.
"I never feel like we're prepared enough," Tierney says. "I always want to be more prepared than we need to be. And so we are doing everything we can to be ready."
As possible measures of success, Tierney noted increased holding capacity, lateral movement of Border Patrol officers and plans to address over capacity. Tierney said right now, Border Patrol is encountering an average of 6,000 to 7,000 migrants each day.