Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas acknowledged Thursday that the vast majority of illegal immigrants encountered at the border have been released into the United States, while also seeking to highlight the number his administration has removed.
Speaking on Thursday's “Special Report,” Mayorkas was told by anchor Bret Baier that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials told Fox News that more than 70% of the migrants who cross the border each day are released. He was asked about what he said.
“I'm not surprised at all. We know the data,” Mayorkas said. “And we will tell you that when individuals are released, they are released into immigration enforcement proceedings. They are receiving alternatives to detention. And we are deporting or deporting individuals in record numbers. We are enforcing the laws that Congress passed.”
Mayorkas denies impeachment question, rejects Congress amid border crisis
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas testifies during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on November 15, 2023, at the Capitol in Washington, DC.
(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Separately, the secretary said that “well over a million” immigrants are released into the United States each year, and that more funding and immigration reform would be needed to fix what he called a “broken” system. He reiterated that it was up to Congress to do so. He said the agency's detention capacity is limited by funding provided by Congress.
“When someone comes into the country, we subject them to immigration enforcement proceedings under immigration law, and if their claim for relief and their claim to remain in the United States is successful, the law allows them to stay here,” he said.
The interview comes as Mayorkas is under increasing pressure over the Biden administration's response to the crisis at the southern border. There were more than 302,000 encounters with migrants in December, compared to a record 2.4 million overall in fiscal year 2023. According to a recent report from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency removed 142,580 illegal immigrants in fiscal year 2023, compared to 72,177 in fiscal year 2022 and 59,011 in fiscal year 2021. Although the number has increased significantly since then, it is still lower than the peak of 267,258 in fiscal 2017 under the Trump administration. 19.
The administration continues to push for deeper legislative reform and funding, but Republicans blame the crisis on Biden administration policies that include rolling back Trump-era policies, scaling back ICE enforcement and expanding inland releases. are doing. Some are calling for Mayorkas' impeachment and related hearings to be held next week.
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DHS said additional layoffs have occurred since Title 42 ended in May, with more than 470,000 people laid off to date, more than in all of fiscal 2019. It also said it was working to expand its use of expedited layoffs and increase its headcount. Deportation flight to Venezuela.
But FOX also reported that authorities have told lawmakers they are releasing more than 5,000 illegal immigrants a day into the interior of the United States, including those who are allowed to enter the country at ports of entry after using the CBP One app. It was also reported that he said that he had not done so.
The comments came as negotiations continue between lawmakers and the administration over the administration's request for additional funding, including $14 billion in border funding. But Republicans say the measure requires tougher restrictions on asylum and the administration's parole, which they say is drawing migrants to the border. Senate Democrats have balked at such demands, but the administration has expressed optimism about talks.
Mayorkas said the cause of magnetism is not policy but a broken system.
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“What's a magnet is the fact that it can take six years or more from the time you encounter an individual at the border to the final adjudication of an immigration case. That's a magnet, and that's exactly why I work. “Together with Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Senate, we will provide solutions for the American people and provide fixes to an immigration system that we all agree is broken, but that is long overdue.” .
Fox News' Charles Creitz and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
