U.S. Customs and Border Patrol acting commissioner John Sanders said during a press conference Wednesday that border patrol officers spend half their time taking care of migrants and children – not securing the border.

Sanders spoke with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) during a press conference Wednesday, in which Graham introduced legislation that would curb migrants’ ability to claim asylum in the United States and exhaust the border patrol’s ability to secure the southern border.

The acting chief of the CBP said that most of CBP patrol officers spend their time tending to the asylum seekers and migrants compared to apprehending illegals who cross the border.

“Over 50 percent of the time [of] the border patrol agents is not spent on border security, so it is absolutely a risk to national security, and I do want to get those boots back to the border so they can do what they signed up to do,” Sanders said.

Sanders then said that the media and Democrat politicians need to stop “demonizing” border patrol agents, who have spent significant time aiding migrants and asylum seekers.

“We must stop demonizing the very people who are caring for these vulnerable children and families as if they were their own, changing diapers, mixing formula, comforting and reassuring those who are understandably confused and frightened,” Sanders added.

Graham introduced the Secure and Protect Act of 2019 to strengthen border security by eliminating many of the immigration loopholes that allow immigrants to exhaust America’s border patrol.

“We have a perfect storm brewing at the border because of a series of broken and outdated laws related to asylum and children,” said Graham.

The South Carolina senator said that almost 100,000 migrants were apprehended at the southern borde, and Americans remains on track to apprehend more than one million people in 2019.

“Word is out on the streets in Central America that if you bring a child with you – regardless of whether or not it is actually your child – America’s laws can be manipulated to allow you to stay in the United States,” added Sen. Graham.