During a Friday appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas blamed President Joe Biden’s border crisis on several issues — including “extreme weather events.”
As Title 42 is lifted, roughly 750,000 migrants are reportedly waiting in Mexico to rush the U.S. southern border. According to Fox News reporter Bill Melugin, “A record-setting 83,000 migrants crossed our border illegally this week — equivalent to a full capacity Dallas Cowboys football stadium.”
Fox’s Bill Melugin: “A record-setting 83,000 migrants crossed our border illegally this week — equivalent to a full capacity Dallas Cowboys football stadium”@BillFOXLA pic.twitter.com/9ReLXcAhtl
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) May 13, 2023
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is trying to downplay the issue — or in Mayorkas’ case, blame it on everything except the president’s policies. The DHS secretary claimed on MSNBC that the massive spike in illegal immigration over the past year was due to “poverty, violence, corruption, authoritarian regimes, the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather events” and false information given to the illegal aliens by smugglers.
“Morning Joe” co-host Willie Geist prompted the response by pointing out that, while the border crisis has existed for decades, it has gotten worse under Biden.
“You said a moment ago, Mr. Secretary, that we have a broken immigration system,” Geist said. “And I don’t think many people would disagree with you about that. And yes, this is a decades-old problem, but the truth of the matter is, just this week, we’re seeing record numbers of illegal crossings at the border. In the last year, almost 2 million arrests, another record at the border. Why has the problem gotten so much worse just in this last year or two?”
“I would say two things: First, let’s not surrender to the fact that we have a broken immigration system,” Mayorkas responded.
He went on to claim that Congress needs to fix the problem, ignoring the fact that Republican lawmakers have been trying to propose legislation to deal with the border crisis, and Democrats have refused to sign on to the bills.
“Congress needs to act,” Mayorkas said. “Let’s fix it. It’s been a problem that everyone agrees on for more than two decades, number one. Number two, the challenge that we are seeing at our southern border is not unique to our southern border. It is a surge in migration, a surge in the displacement of people all across our region. In Latin America, and not only in our hemisphere, around the world, we are seeing more displaced people now than we have at any time since World War II.”
Geist pressed the DHS secretary on the issue, citing arguments that illegal aliens are under the “impression” that it will be easier to cross the southern border under Biden.
“But why is it this last year?” the MSNBC host asked. “Why record crossings? Some have suggested it’s because the impression that is out there is that it would be easier under President Biden to cross into the country, that the consequences are less severe than they would have been under President Trump or even under President Obama. Why is the problem so intense right now?”
Mayorkas responded by citing problems that have existed under numerous other administrations, while falsely claiming that “the border is not open” and attempting to tout the bare-minimum actions of the Biden administration on the issue.
“Well, a few factors: poverty, violence, corruption, authoritarian regimes, the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather events, the causes of displacement are many, number one,” he said. “And number two, we are also combating smuggling organizations that spread false information, that spread lies to intending migrants, deceiving them into thinking that the border is open, and it is not. And it has not been.”
“Last year, we removed, returned, or expelled about 1.4 million people,” Mayorkas added. “And we are battling the smuggling organizations in an unprecedented way. We have arrested more than 10,000 people involved in smuggling operations, and we are also communicating accurate information to intending migrants. We started a digital campaign only two days ago that builds on all our other communications. If I had two words of caution to provide to individuals who are thinking to take the dangerous journey, I’d say, one, don’t take it. Use a safe, lawful, orderly path that we have made available to you. And second, don’t believe the smugglers, listen only to official government communications.”
Meanwhile, reports indicate that the Biden administration isn’t trying to stop the flow of illegal aliens into the U.S. — as Melugin told Fox News that these illegals are being given cell phones, court dates far into the future, then released into the interior of the country.
