Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was grilled by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) about the ongoing crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
At the start of his questioning, Hawley pointed to how apprehensions by U.S. Customs and Border Protection have dramatically increased since President Joe Biden entered into office. In June of this year, CBP encountered 188,829 persons attempting to illegally enter the country along the U.S.-Mexico border, representing a five percent increase over May, which saw 180,641 apprehensions. Each full month of Biden's presidency has seen at least 100,000 apprehensions despite it now being the hottest months of the year.
Hawley said the decrease in the number of arrests carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in recent months was also worriesome.
"The cartels are having an easier and easier time smuggling drugs across our border, which are going to states like mine, which are awashed in drugs...Mr. Secretary with all due respect, this record is an unmitigated disaster," Hawley said.
Mayorkas said that while apprehensions are higher than in previous years, it does not take into account how some of those who are apprehended are illegal immigrants who have been previously apprehended. What Mayorkas did not mention is how the number of illegal immigrants who have been able to evade Border Patrol is also at their highest levels in recent years, with estimates as high as 2,000 people a day who are not caught by U.S. law enforcement.
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"So Mr. Secretary, do I take it from your answer then that your position is we don't have a crisis at the southern border, that the surge is largely illusory, and we have no reason to be concerned...[because] your policies are working at the border?" Hawley asked.
Mayorkas replied DHS has "a plan" to address the surge of illegal border crossings and it takes to time to implement their plan, with one reason being the COVID-19 pandemic delaying part of their actions. Hawley said COVID-19 was at its height last year and yet illegal crossings into the U.S. were nowhere near as high as there are now.
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