Sharyn Alfonsi: There's a backlog in the immigration system. They have friends in Chicago and told us they plan to build a new life there and apply for asylum in the U.S. Customs and Border protection by using a mobile app called CBP One.Ĭarla Delgado, from Venezuela, told us her family had crossed the Darien Gap, a dangerous stretch of jungle straddling Panama and Colombia, to get here.Īfter a series of background checks and screenings, they were granted permission to temporarily enter the United States.īy early afternoon, they enjoyed their first slice of pizza in America. legally.Īll the people in this line at a border crossing in El Paso scheduled an appointment with U.S. To manage the increasing flow of migrants from crisis-stricken Nicaragua, Haiti, and Cuba, President Biden expanded the use of a public health law known as Title 42, invoked during the pandemic, to expel migrants to Mexico.Īt the same time, the administration unveiled new pathways for migrants to enter the U.S. In December, according to Border Patrol figures, an average of 1,800 migrants a day crossed the border into the El Paso area, overwhelming the city. Border wallĪlejandro Mayorkas: I don't think that the more than a million people last year that we removed or expelled would consider the border open. Critics say it all added up to putting a come in, we're open sign on the door. Sharyn Alfonsi: The first weeks in office, the Biden administration halted deportations for 100 days, stopped all border wall construction, and suspended the Remain in Mexico policy. If people qualify under the law, then we embrace them. He was also a refugee whose Romanian mother and Cuban father fled Cuba when he was an infant.Īlejandro Mayorkas: I understand deeply the yearning of parents to give their children opportunities that America offers. He'd been the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles and deputy director of Homeland Security under President Obama. Secretary Mayorkas joined the Biden Administration with a resume seemingly well suited for the job. Sharyn Alfonsi: Is there anything that's off the table, that you won't do to secure the border?Īlejandro Mayorkas: Well, the president- as- I think you know very well, said we are not going to construct more wall that costs billions and billions of dollars, that is immovable and that is already beginning to corrode. The fiscal year 2024 budget calls for 350 more Border Patrol agents, more than $100 million in technological investments. Secretary Mayorkas is asking Congress for additional resources on the southern border.Īlejandro Mayorkas: This is the first year, since 2011, that we have added to the Border Patrol 300 more agents. Congress hasn't passed major immigration reform in nearly three decades. The problems at the border didn't start with the Biden administration and likely won't end with it. I, of course, speak with the White House team on a regular basis and with my colleagues in the Cabinet. I've spoken multiple times with the president. I was with the president when he visited the border. Sharyn Alfonsi: How often do you and President Biden discuss the situation at the border? There's a perception that the president doesn't wanna talk about the border.Īlejandro Mayorkas: That's a false impression that I, I consider to be also political rhetoric. I think it's an incredible honor to be a part of it. Sharyn Alfonsi: Do you think they're just trying to get you to resign?Īlejandro Mayorkas: I'm not going to resign. One member of Congress said he'd like to arrest you for negligent homicide for the deaths of young people from fentanyl, another compared you to Benedict Arnold.Īlejandro Mayorkas: I disregard that type of rhetoric. Sharyn Alfonsi: Congress seems to be more interested in impeaching you than passing immigration reform. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas This past week, Republicans took aim at the secretary, blaming him, personally, for the drug deaths of Americans, the rape of migrant children and more. And, and we are only putting more force and more energy into it.Ī lot of force and energy is now being directed at Secretary Mayorkas on Capitol Hill. And a crisis speaks to me of a withdrawal from our mission. Sharyn Alfonsi: Why won't you say the word 'crisis?'Īlejandro Mayorkas: You know what? Because I have tremendous faith in the people of the Department of Homeland Security. Sharyn Alfonsi: Do you view what's happening right now on the border as a crisis?Īlejandro Mayorkas: I view it as a significant challenge. Alejandro Mayorkas: I think that we face a very serious challenge in certain parts of the border.
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