Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed to Border Patrol agents on Monday that the current release rate for undocumented immigrants apprehended at the southern border is “in excess of 85%,” sources told Fox News.
Mayorkas made the remarks during a private meeting with agents in Eagle Pass, Texas, according to three Border Patrol officials who were in the room and heard the comments firsthand.
The conversation occurred during a gathering of officials in a busy border area. Fox said Mayorkas was directly asked about comments he made on “Special Report” last week when anchor Bret Baier asked him about reports that more than 70% of immigrants are being released into the United States every day. .
Mayorkas admits that most illegal immigrants have been released into the US: 'We know the data'
“That's not surprising at all. I 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.”
Foxx reportedly pressed investigators to say on Monday that the number was even higher than 70%, after which Mayorkas admitted the release rate was “more than 85%.”
Mayorkas also said in a “special report” last week that “well over a million” immigrants are released into the United States each year, and called for more funding and immigration reform to fix what he called a problem. He reiterated that it was up to Congress to do so. A “broken” system. 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 remarks came just two days before the House Homeland Security Committee held its first impeachment hearing, inviting multiple state attorneys general to testify about the crisis' impact on their states.
Wednesday's hearing was first impeachment hearing It follows a year-long investigation and report by the House Homeland Security Committee that examined the response to the nearly three-year immigration crisis.
Republicans blame the Biden administration's policies, including releasing migrants into the interior, known as “catch-and-release,” for the historic immigration crisis that hit 302,000 migrants last month alone. ing. They point to widespread use of parole, as well as a reduction in the scope of ICE enforcement and a halt to wall construction.
Former Department of Homeland Security officials back Johnson's aggressive stance on the border in funding fight, say Republicans need 'clear commitment'
The administration says it is dealing with a hemispheric crisis and needs more funding from Congress and comprehensive immigration reform. It claims to be expanding “legal migration channels” and increasing the harms of illegal immigration, but there is only so much a “broken” system can do. Mayorkas and other DHS officials said they have deported or returned more than 470,000 people since May, more than in all of fiscal year 2019.
The White House is also requesting $14 billion in border funding from Congress as part of an emergency spending bill, but that has been put on hold as Republicans push for significantly tighter restrictions on the release of migrants into the interior. ing.
Mayorkas said last week that it was the broken system, not administration policy, that was a magnet for migrants to the border.
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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.” .
Separately, the administration announced a lawsuit against Texas last week after Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law authorizing state and local law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants. The lawsuit claims the law is unconstitutional and interferes with the federal government's authority in immigration matters.
FOX News' Charles Crates contributed to this report.
