Border Patrol boss blasts Biden administration for loose immigration laws after chaotic video showed HUNDREDS of migrants storming wall: 'We need to get tougher'

Border Patrol chief Jason Owens has blasted the Biden administration over immigration laws, saying the nation needs tougher policies.

'I think we need to take a look at the asylum laws and make it where only people that have a legitimate claim can claim asylum,' Owens told CBS News.

'I think that we need to be able to enforce the immigration laws that are on the books and hold people accountable whenever they choose to break the law.'

He replied 'yes' when asked if he was talking about federal immigration laws. 

Border Patrol, a division of US Customs and Border Protection, needs more resources and tools to impose higher 'consequences' for those who cross into the country illegally, Owens said. 

'I'm talking about jail time. I'm talking about being removed from the country and I'm talking about being banned from being able to come back because you chose to come in the illegal way instead of the established lawful pathways that we set for you,' he explained.

Border Patrol chief Jason Owens has blasted the Biden administration over immigration laws, saying the nation needs tougher policies. He is seen with Biden in February

Border Patrol needs more resources and tools to impose higher 'consequences' for those who cross into the country illegally, Owens said

Border Patrol has seen record levels of encounters at the border over the last three years - over two million in each fiscal year. On Tuesday, hundreds of migrants broke through razor wire in El Paso, Texas

Border Patrol has seen record levels of encounters at the border over the last three years - over two million in each fiscal year.

On Thursday, hundreds of migrants broke through razor wire in El Paso, Texas. 

The migrants are already in the US as they had already crossed the international boundary, which is a few hundred yards south of the border wall. At least one migrant was arrested. 

Owens also addressed the controversial Texas SB4 law, which would allow state law enforcement to step into immigration enforcement, currently a job for federal agencies.

The chief said the law is 'not going to stop us from doing our job,' and that there is 'no better partner for the Border Patrol than the Texas Department of Public Safety.'

He added: 'We have worked hand in hand with that agency for as long as I've been around and I don't see that ever stopping. They have always been very good at complementing our mission.

'They back us up when we're out in the field, and we do for them as well. So whatever the laws are that they're going to be enforcing, our mission remains constant. Their mission remains constant.'

On Tuesday,  a federal appeals court issued an order that again prevents Texas from enacting SB4, hours after the Supreme Court allowed the strict new immigration law to take effect.

Texas State Troopers walk towards a fence after migrants broke through razor wire to enter the US on Thursday 

A migrant checks her bag after members of the Texas National Guard burnt clothing used by migrants to break through razor wire and a fence to enter the U.S. to surrender themselves

The conservative majority order rejected an emergency application from the Biden administration, which says the law is a clear violation of federal authority that would cause chaos in immigration law. 

It was also unclear where any migrants ordered to leave might go if the law is ultimately allowed. It calls for them to be sent to ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border, even if they are not Mexican citizens.

But Mexico’s government said Tuesday it would not 'under any circumstances' accept the return of any migrants to its territory from the state of Texas. Mexico is not required to accept deportations of anyone except Mexican citizens.

The Department of Homeland Security said the federal government would also continue the court challenge to the law that will 'further complicate' the job of its 'already strained' workforce. The agency won’t assist in any efforts to enforce the law known as Senate Bill 4.

The law is considered by opponents to be the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since an Arizona law more than a decade ago, portions of which were struck down by the Supreme Court. Critics have also said the Texas law could lead to civil rights violations and racial profiling.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the law “harmful and unconstitutional” and said it would burden law enforcement while creating confusion. She called on congressional Republicans to settle the issue with a federal border security bill.

Texas, for its part, has argued it has a right to take action over what authorities have called an ongoing crisis at the southern border. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said in a statement it is “prepared to handle any influx” in the state’s detainee population associated with the state law.