Mayorkas again refuses to call border surge a ‘crisis,’ says it would indicate ‘withdrawal from our mission'

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas again refused to telephone the ongoing concern astatine the confederate borderline a "crisis" successful an interview, claiming that admitting the concern was a situation would bespeak a "withdrawal from our mission."

Mayorkas was asked during an interrogation with "60 Minutes" whether helium viewed the ongoing concern astatine the borderline -- which saw a grounds 1.7 cardinal migrant encounters successful FY 2021 and much than 2.3 cardinal successful FY 2022 -- arsenic a crisis.

"I presumption it arsenic a important challenge," Mayorkas said, echoing the reply helium has fixed to that question connected aggregate occasions.

When asked wherefore helium would not usage the connection "crisis," Mayorkas said it was due to the fact that "I person tremendous religion successful the radical of the Department of Homeland Security." 

HAWLEY PUSHES DHS FOR ANSWERS ON MIGRANT APP HE BRANDS ‘CONCIERGE SERVICE’ FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

March 29, 2023: Secretary Mayorkas speaks astatine a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing. (Screenshot)

"And a situation speaks to maine of a withdrawal from our mission. And we are lone putting much unit and much vigor into it," helium said.

Mayorkas was hammered astir the concern astatine the borderline during aggregate hearings successful the Senate and the House this week, which saw a fig of Republicans saying helium should discontinue oregon beryllium fired.

Those hearings saw further scrutiny connected Mayorkas successful the aftermath of a proceeding past period featuring Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz -- who said that agents did not person "operational control" of the border. 

"In 5 of those 9 southwest borderline sectors, we person seen an summation successful travel and that has caused a sizeable strain connected our resources and truly has forced the Border Patrol to determination truthful agents and adjacent migrants to immoderate of the different areas," Ortiz said successful effect to a question astir whether the borderline is secure.

Ortiz besides said that helium disagreed with the determination to extremity partition operation and utilized the connection "crisis" to picture the situation.

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"The migration travel represents challenges and successful immoderate areas, a situation situation," helium said.

Mayorkas was asked specifically if helium agreed with those remarks.

"I deliberation that we look a precise superior situation successful parts of the border," helium said.

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Republicans person linked the melodramatic summation successful migrants coming to the borderline to the Biden administration’s policies. The medication has sought to grow ineligible pathways, but has besides ended a fig of Trump-era borderline protections, stopped partition construction, narrowed interior enforcement and expanded "catch-and-release."

The medication has said it is seeking to beforehand humane and orderly migration and surging resources to the border, portion dealing with a situation that is hemisphere-wide and fixing an asylum strategy that was gutted by the anterior administration. It has besides deed Republicans for refusing to hold to a fig of borderline backing requests, including a astir $5 cardinal petition successful December.

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In the interview, Mayorkas again argued that the surge was not being faced lone by the U.S.

"The fig of radical that are arriving astatine our borderline is astatine an bonzer height. There's nary question astir that. But that is not unsocial to the confederate borderline of the United States. There is simply a tremendous magnitude of question passim the hemisphere and, successful fact, passim the world," Mayorkas said.