Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas acknowledged “in hindsight” that executive action may have been taken to counter “irresponsible politics” that undermined bipartisan border negotiations.
CBS' “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan said Sunday why it took President Biden just five months before the election to finally enact an executive order to stem the flow at the border. I pressed Mayorkas on whether he waited.
Mayorkas continued to blame politics for blocking passage of border funding, claiming the administration pressured Congress to act on the border issue.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended the administration's border actions on “Face the Nation” Sunday. (Screenshot from CBS News)
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“Remember where we were when the president took office,” Mayorkas said. “We were in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous administration imposed Title 42, which is a public health authority that allows them to expel individuals, and they, like the previous administration, did not allow individuals at the border. There was a lot of pressure to keep the Title 42 system in place until May 2023.
He added: “Then we went to Congress and asked for much-needed additional funding to better manage our broken immigration system, and it was denied. I went there and asked for additional funds.” It was rejected. Then we turned to bipartisan negotiations, which turned out to be successful, but the result was that a truly great solution was undermined by irresponsible politics. ”
A bipartisan border bill failed to pass the Senate earlier this year. (Justin Hummel/Getty Images)
The “bipartisan negotiations” refer to the Senate border bill negotiated by Republican Sen. James Lankford (Oklahoma) and Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy (Connecticut) and Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona). The White House primarily blames Republicans for blocking it. The bill failed to advance in the Senate on a 43-50 vote due to bipartisan opposition.
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“In retrospect, if I had known in 2020 that irresponsible politics would undo what was clearly a meritorious effort and accomplishment, I probably would have taken executive action more quickly,” Mayorkas said. ” he said.
Mayorkas testified that the border was secure despite the record number of crossings. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
As recently as April 2023, Mayorkas insisted the border was “secure” despite record numbers of border crossings under the Biden administration. It was a claim he has repeated despite facing scorn and ridicule from Republicans.
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