Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas spoke on Wednesday morning about the looming expiration of Title 42, and if what he said is true, things are about to get much, much worse along the U.S.-Mexico border. Still, Mayorkas refused to call the situation a "crisis" when asked repeatedly by multiple reporters.
Claiming to be "clear-eyed about the challenges we are likely to face in the days and weeks ahead, which are likely to be very difficult," Mayorkas again rejected any responsibility for the border crisis created by President Joe Biden.
MAYORKAS: "Our current situation is the outcome of Congress leaving a broken, outdated immigration system in place for over two decades..." pic.twitter.com/UaiWHXxM6i
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 10, 2023
"I cannot overemphasize that our current situation is the outcome of Congress leaving a broken, outdated immigration system in place," Mayorkas said trying to pass blame for the chaos along the border that's only worsened since Biden took office in 2021. According to Mayorkas, even though the previous administration operated within the same immigration laws, Biden's border crisis is "the result of Congress' decision not to provide us with the resources that we need and we requested."
In a bit of a contradiction, however, Mayorkas claimed that the Biden administration has "seen the effectiveness of our approach." We've seen, alright, but it's not "effectiveness" that comes to mind as the number of illegal border crossings in one day hit another all-time high of 10,000.
MAYORKAS: "We have seen the effectiveness of our approach...Our president has led the largest expansion of lawful pathways ever!" pic.twitter.com/NlSzwtOBzT
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 10, 2023
After trying to blame Congress for his and Biden's botched handling of the border and immigration, Mayorkas explained that Americans should prepare for "large numbers of encounters at our southern border in the days and weeks after May 11" despite what the DHS secretary said was "nearly two years of preparation" for the expiration of Title 42.
Speaking for the administration, Mayorkas insisted that its plan "will deliver results, but it will take time for those results to be fully realized, and it is essential that we all take this into account." How convenient. Just how much "time" might it take? More than two years into his administration, Biden only has failures on his border-handling record.
Still, Mayorkas claimed that DHS would ensure that post-Title 42 processing "is safe, orderly, and humane all while protecting our dedicated workforce and our communities" despite the fact that the Biden administration has failed at all of those points for more than two years.
Mayorkas also trotted out the Biden administration's tired, old, and debunked lie that the U.S.-Mexico border is not open to illegal immigrants despite the fact that there's myriad anecdotes, photos, and videos showing the border being wide open to illegal border crossings.
MAYORKAS: "The lifting of the Title 42 public health order does not mean our border is open. In fact, it is the contrary." pic.twitter.com/2MDc5Sygtc
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 10, 2023
Not one to give up the misleading statements now, Mayorkas promised the new removal process, under Title 8, "means tougher consequences for people who cross the border illegally." He apparently didn't want to note that giving illegal immigrants a literal slap on the wrist would be a tougher consequence than many have received.
In another attempt to pass the buck on the border crisis, Mayorkas pinned some blame on the dangerous cartels for which the Biden administration has been a boon. Human and drug smugglers have been able to ramp up operations with a significant boost to their bottom lines thanks to Biden's disastrous immigration and border policies. All Mayorkas could muster as a response is an announcement that a "new digital advertising campaign" in Central America would be launched to tell locals not to make their way to the United States. Sounds even less effective than Vice President and Border Czar Kamala Harris' proclamation: "Do not come."
Again, as Townhall has reported repeatedly, illegal immigrants routinely cite Biden being president and the policies he's put in place as their reason for coming to the country illegally.
Showing just how in denial of reality DHS and the whole Biden administration is when it comes to the border, Mayorkas again tried to claim that "as you can see...we are making it very clear that our border is not open, that crossing irregularly is against the law."
MAYORKAS: "We are making it very clear that our border is not open." pic.twitter.com/ihTzAZCyhS
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 10, 2023
Despite being so insistent that the border is closed to illegal immigration, the Homeland Security secretary can't even say the word "illegally," just "irregularly." Well, Americans can see — but it's not that the border is closed to illegal crossings or even that illegal immigrants streaming across the southern border is an irregular occurrence anymore. No, they can see the mess for all that it is and they know exactly who's to blame.
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