On Sunday, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas accused Congress of not doing enough to address the escalating migrant problem and said that the Biden administration is doing the best efforts possible within the confines of a "broken immigration system."
Mayorkas made the comments while appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," over two weeks after testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee, when he repeatedly asserted that the US border is "secure."
"We are seeing a level of migration not just at our southern border but throughout the hemisphere that is unprecedented," Mayorkas said on Sunday, adding that he thinks our hemisphere is seeing the highest level of migration since World War II.
Mayorkas criticized Congress for its inaction, claiming that President Joe Biden "delivered a solution" to the situation "on Day 1" of his administration in the shape of immigration reform legislation.
He praised the Biden administration, saying, "Within the confines of a broken immigration system, we are doing so much."
Mayorkas stated, "Our strategy is to develop legal avenues, eliminate the unscrupulous smugglers, and supply the legal road so people can obtain humanitarian aid without having to make the risky voyage from their own countries. In addition, "we will deliver consequences" if they cross our southern border without using a port of entry.
Mayorkas once again switched the focus to the "completely broken immigration system," claiming that there are more than 2 million immigration cases in the backlog, which has been growing "year over year over year."
Two months after Biden became office, Border Patrol personnel started a now-discontinued practice of swiftly releasing aliens on parole, which increased the backlog.
Some migrants who crossed the southern border may have to wait a decade before they even obtain a date to face a judge because U.S. immigration offices are so overburdened with processing migrants for court.
Mayorkas said, "We need to fix it." Legislative change is required.
Mayorkas made the comments while appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," over two weeks after testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee, when he repeatedly asserted that the US border is "secure."
"We are seeing a level of migration not just at our southern border but throughout the hemisphere that is unprecedented," Mayorkas said on Sunday, adding that he thinks our hemisphere is seeing the highest level of migration since World War II.
Mayorkas criticized Congress for its inaction, claiming that President Joe Biden "delivered a solution" to the situation "on Day 1" of his administration in the shape of immigration reform legislation.
He praised the Biden administration, saying, "Within the confines of a broken immigration system, we are doing so much."
Mayorkas stated, "Our strategy is to develop legal avenues, eliminate the unscrupulous smugglers, and supply the legal road so people can obtain humanitarian aid without having to make the risky voyage from their own countries. In addition, "we will deliver consequences" if they cross our southern border without using a port of entry.
Mayorkas once again switched the focus to the "completely broken immigration system," claiming that there are more than 2 million immigration cases in the backlog, which has been growing "year over year over year."
Two months after Biden became office, Border Patrol personnel started a now-discontinued practice of swiftly releasing aliens on parole, which increased the backlog.
Some migrants who crossed the southern border may have to wait a decade before they even obtain a date to face a judge because U.S. immigration offices are so overburdened with processing migrants for court.
Mayorkas said, "We need to fix it." Legislative change is required.
