Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday that he and his colleagues could have stopped more migrants at the southern border.
If he had known, “we would have taken administrative action more quickly.” in 2020 [emphasis added] Mayorkas said Republicans will veto the border bill in January 2024. CBS News December 22nd.
“This was not incompetence,” countered Ira Melman, a spokeswoman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
“This was a deliberate plan to remake the country through immigration… [and] they were trying to make [political] “This is a situation where they thought they could get the Republicans to capitulate and basically codify open borders,” Mellman said.
“They opened the borders because they wanted to flood the country,” replied Rosemary Jenks, co-founder of the Immigrant Responsibility Project. But, she added, “someone at DHS, including Mayorkas, [used the migration to] We're putting pressure on Senate Republicans to do something by the end of 2023,” Jenks said, adding:
I think they saw [Senate] The opportunity came at the end of 2023 and I thought, “Hey, no matter what we do in the election, we might be able to tie the incoming administration to these stupid Republicans in the Senate.”
Regardless of Mayorkas' intentions, the Democratic Party lost the White House to Donald Trump in November 2024.
This defeat sparked criticism within the Democratic Party. This has been criticized by various immigration advocates. latino pollsteror dissatisfaction with the economyor grassroots activist, Or the malicious “message” from the Democratic Party.
“This is a domestic battle that Democrats must fight internally,” Melman said. “The question for this country is how do we undo the damage we've done over the last four years and prevent it from getting worse.” ” he added. It will happen again. ”
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Mayorkas accepted approximately 9 million unaccepted immigrants, as well as millions of legal immigrants and temporary workers.
Mr. Mayorkas' confession comes after CBS host Margaret Brennan asked him why, just before the 2024 election, he would spend three years on mass immigration before adopting tougher policies, including a border deal with the Mexican government. When I asked him if he had given permission to do so. 'Why wait until five months before the US election?' Introduced asylum restrictions that cut off refugees [migrant] flow? The crisis is now over! ”
Mr. Mayorkas responded by saying that Republicans had rejected his request for additional funding, adding:
We then turned to bipartisan negotiations, which turned out to be successful, but ultimately the negotiations were called off. [in February 2024]. As a result, truly great solutions have been crushed by irresponsible politics. Looking back, I wish I had known in 2020 that irresponsible politics had undermined what was clearly a worthy effort and a worthy result. Perhaps we would have taken administrative action more quickly. [emphasis added].
But his comments acknowledge that while he could have taken “more swift executive action,” he did not.
Mayorkas repeatedly portrayed his immigration bill as a fix for his easy immigration policies, but stopped short of saying he used the immigration welcome to block Republicans from signing the Senate bill. . But his bill, while allowing Mr. Mayorkas to advocate for increased border security, would greatly accelerate the influx of new illegal immigrants over the years.
“What killed this bill were the deep, deep flaws in the bill itself,” Melman said, adding:
It was not an immigration enforcement bill. It was a complete hoax [because] It was basically a codification of what was already happening. all [Mayorkas had done] It would have been legal at the time, so it would still have had the same negative impact on American citizens, and that's why he was killed.
Mayorkas' strategy
Mayorkas is “not crazy, he's just driven by ideology,” Melman said. “He has been implementing these progressive initiatives for the past four years. [pro-migration] There was a policy and there was no one there. [in the White House or Congress] I say, “Stop!”
President Joe Biden age-related decline That made it difficult to retain the people he appointed. control. For example, evidence suggests that Biden abandoned the fight with Mayorkas in March 2021 when Kamala Harris accepted and then rejected Biden's request to become his “border czar.”
Since his election loss, Mr. Mayorkas has been “trying not to take responsibility” for the immigration policies that contributed to Ms. Harris' defeat, Mr. Mehlman said.
He's saying, “I tried, but the Republicans wouldn't work with me, and you know that's what caused it!'' Everyone was worried about their legacy. You always see something like this happening at the end of any given administration. He is no exception. Clearly, he wants someone else to take responsibility for being the architect of policy during his time as Secretary of Homeland Security. He answered to the president…but there is no doubt that Mayorkas is the architect of this crisis.
Mayorkas is an ardent pro-immigration advocate who has allied himself with like-minded investors from Mark Zuckerberg's lobbying group FWD.us.
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He has repeatedly explained that he supports more immigration because he sympathizes with immigrants and supports “equality” between Americans and foreigners.
He also justified welcoming immigrants by saying his priorities come before the law.
he explained In his May 22 commencement speech at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, he stated his personal motivation:
My activities are defined by very clear objectives. My mother and father's life journey was defined by migration. My mother became a refugee twice. First from war-torn Europe, and 19 years later from the communist occupation of Cuba with my father, sister, and I. My mother lost most of her family in Nazi concentration camps and never regained her sense of security. In Cuba, my father lost the business he started and the opportunity to be by his mother's side when she died. Both of my parents were extraordinary people, principled, and immeasurably kind. They instilled in me the values to live without flinching… They are my driving force, the main reason why I work so hard, my purpose.
He also argues that the “needs” of American companies are paramount, no matter what. cost The impact on ordinary Americans, the impact on American children, and the reasonable objections of Americans.
“History shows us that an energetic and committed minority often overcomes a reluctant majority to get through the day,” Melman said.
