On Fox News Channel's Thursday broadcast of “Your World,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas answered a question about how to prevent ISIS from exploiting the border, saying, “Public safety and national security Priority will be given to individuals who pose a threat to security.” Seeking immigration detention and expulsion from the United States. ” and that policy changes were made to reduce traffic on the southern border.
After listing numbers about potential terrorists at the border, host Sandra Smith asked: [relevant exchange begins around 2:30] “How can we be sure that ISIS won't find a safe place here?”
“Ensuring the safety and security of the American people is our greatest responsibility,” Mayorkas said. And to fulfill that responsibility, we screen and vet individuals, and individuals who pose a threat to public safety or national security are prioritized for immigration detention and removal from the United States. . And when you look at the problem before us, the tragedy in New Orleans yesterday, we are dealing with a Texas-born American citizen who has been radicalized into violence by a foreign terrorist ideology. But let me be clear: Regardless of the nature of the threat, those who pose a threat to the American people are the highest priority for law enforcement action as provided by our laws, and we enforce those laws every day. and is being executed. And so many in our sector do so, putting their own well-being and safety at risk. ”
Mr. Smith replied: “Mr. Secretary, I'm sure many of you will hear those words and wonder why more hasn't been done to deter illegal immigration, Mr. Secretary. I think back to March 12th. And now that Christopher Wray is leading the FBI, the level of terrorism in this country has reached a whole new level, and by the way. He recalled when he said that the level of terrorism in this country has reached a whole new level. He said the level of terrorism is now higher than it was before October 7th, after what just happened in New Orleans. Some may wonder, then, why there have been no policy changes that have led to this.
“Well, the policy has changed. Frankly speaking, we are currently encountering fewer people on a daily basis at our southern border than we did the year before the pandemic, in 2019, which was No. 1,” Mayorkas said. Second, Secretary Wray was talking about the fact that there are a variety of challenges facing our country, and I've talked about this publicly as well: We have a constant threat of foreign terrorism. It was only after the tragic events of 9/11 that the Department of Homeland Security was created. And the third major threat vector is the anti-government sentiment we've seen over the years, the false narratives spread online, the personal grievances we've seen, and the third major threat vector we fight against every day. hostile nation-states such as the People's Republic of China, Russia, and Iran.
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