The Obama appointee who oversaw U.S. Border Patrol in 2016 made a rare public comment Thursday that those illegally entering the U.S. from Mexico have previously committed heinous crimes.

Mark Morgan, stealing a line from President Trump's presidential campaign announcement in June 2015, said his agents were "apprehending and interdicting pedophiles, rapists, murderers, gang members every single day."

"I'm outraged that we haven't fixed this problem. I'm outraged," Morgan told Fox News. "Who can say that this is a manufactured crisis? Anyone? Anyone left, right? I don't care who it is — anyone that says this is a manufactured crisis, they are absolutely lying to the American people."

Morgan, a former FBI agent, was appointed in August 2016 to oversee the patrol, which is under Customs and Border Protection. He was confirmed in October.

He learned one week into the Trump administration he was to be let go, so he quit before he was given the boot.

Morgan has remained out of the public spotlight over the past two years, but broke his silence this week as Democrats and the White House have fought over whether to include an additional $5.7 billion for security measures at the U.S.-Mexico border.

In fiscal 2018, more than 360,000 people were arrested for illegally entering the U.S. from Mexico and Canada. That number is comparable to figures over the past decade.