Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas acknowledged Friday that the number of migrants crossing the southern border on his watch is higher than under the Trump administration, but the border crisis is due to a number of hemispheric factors. He blamed this on a “broken” system.
Mayorkas was asked about the border crisis and the historic immigration numbers the United States has seen in recent years at an event at the Economic Club in Washington, D.C. More than 2.4 million migrants were encountered in fiscal 2023, and although the number per month is decreasing, that record could be broken in fiscal 2024.
“The number of encounters at the southern border is very high, but it’s very important that we first understand the situation and second, we explain it,” he said. In terms of the situation, the world is witnessing the highest level of displacement since at least World War II. ”
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Migrants stand at the U.S.-Mexico border on the banks of the Rio Grande in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, March 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
“So the immigration challenge is not limited to the southern border or the Western Hemisphere,” he says. “It’s a worldwide thing.”
Mayorkas cited violence, insecurity, poverty, corruption, dictatorships and “extreme weather” as reasons for migration around the world. But he also said there is an additional explanation as to why the United States is the top destination.
“In our hemisphere, we overcame COVID-19 faster than any other country. In the post-corona world, 11 million jobs need to be filled and we are the destination of choice. country, and one takes these two forces and then gets rid of the other,” given the fact that our immigration system is fundamentally broken and there are certain levels of encounters. “There is,” he claimed.
On March 26, migrants crossed the border in El Paso, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
As evidence that the system is broken, Mayorkas said the average time between encounter and decision on an asylum case is seven years. Economic Club President David Rubenstein then asked how many people have crossed the border since President Biden took office.
“The number is in the millions,” Mayorkas said.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas spoke Friday at a Washington Economic Club event at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Rubenstein asked if it was true that more people joined the company under President Biden than under former President Trump.
Mayorkas said yes, but that’s partly due to curbs on immigration during the coronavirus pandemic, which followed a large increase in immigration under President Trump before the coronavirus. Stated.
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“That’s true,” he said. “As of 2019, the number of people encountered at the southern border had increased by almost 100% compared to 2018. The situation in the hemisphere was forcing people to leave the country. It was a time when immigration was significantly curtailed in surrounding areas.”The world is in turmoil due to people infected with the coronavirus illegally crossing borders. ”
The Biden administration has defended its record on immigration, arguing that it combines the added impact of illegal immigration with a broader path to legal immigration. It’s joined by calls for reforms and additional funding from Congress, including a bipartisan Senate bill that recently failed to gain traction. It also notes that since May 2023, there have been 720,000 deportations or deportations of illegal immigrants, more than in all fiscal years since 2011.
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Mayorkas also noted that the number of encounters has recently decreased to 179,725 in April, compared to 211,992 in April 2023 and 189,357 in March.
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But Republicans blame the migrant surge on a rollback of Trump-era policies and blame the Biden administration for the border crisis. House Republicans passed their own border security bill that includes restarting border wall construction and limiting asylum applications. Mayorkas was also impeached earlier this year, but those articles of impeachment were not included in the Senate trial.
Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
