Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas touted during an appearance at the Aspen Security Forum that one of the first things he did once in office was to send out a memo to say they will no longer use the term "illegal alien."
"We, in the Department of Homeland Security, I issued a memo very early on that we would not use the term 'illegal alien.' When speaking of these individuals, we use the term 'non-citizen,'" Mayorkas explained.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas: "I issued a memo very early on that we would not use the term 'illegal alien'" pic.twitter.com/gdvrGMoY5O
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 21, 2023
Early on in his tenure as DHS secretary was to make it clear unaccompanied minors who illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border would not be turned away. This resulted in an explosion of unaccompanied minors coming to the nation's southern border. This caused problems early on as children were in Border Patrol custody for longer than the maximum time of 72 hours, but it was because Border Patrol agents were overwhelmed.
Mayorkas being proud of changing the terminology that was used to described illegal immigrants is a clear example of how misplaced the Biden administration's priorities are. It's a classic "fixing a problem that does not exist" so they can say they are making progress while real issues, such as historically high illegal border crossings, take a backseat.
Mayorkas is set to testify to the House Judiciary Committee about his tenure as DHS secretary on Wednesday. The House Homeland Security Committee is currently building its case for impeaching Mayorkas over his deliberate approach to the border crisis.
ICYMI: Sec. Mayorkas is not an innocent bystander at the mercy of the federal bureaucracy, global events, or political opponents—he is the chief architect of the illegal immigration crisis that we have suffered through since January 2021. https://t.co/3nno9jkgIj
— Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) July 24, 2023