Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, commander of U.S. Southern Command, said earlier this month that he is unable to stop the flow of illegal drugs, weapons, and people from Central America, according to Defense One.
Nearly 100,000 people have migrated since October from Latin America to the U.S. border, many of them unaccompanied minors.
Kelly is seeking urgent help from Congress.
"In comparison to other global threats, the near collapse of societies in the hemisphere with the associated drug and [undocumented immigrant] flow are frequently viewed to be of low importance," Kelly told Defense One. "Many argue these threats are not existential and do not challenge our national security. I disagree."
Budget cuts led to decreased military ability on the southern border, Kelly said during spring hearings.
In spring hearings before the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, Kelly said that budgets cuts are "severely degrading" the military’s ability to defend southern approaches to the U.S border. Last year, he said, his task force was unable to act on nearly 75 percent of illicit trafficking events. "I simply sit and watch it go by," he said. But the potential threats are even greater. Kelly warned that neglect has created vulnerabilities that can be exploited by terrorist groups, describing a "crime-terror convergence" already seen in Lebanese Hezbollah’s involvement in the region.