Mayorkas Admits that the Border is in Crisis and Sanctuary Cities are a Problem
It took more than three years of record-shattering illegal immigration for Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to acknowledge, under oath, that there is a crisis at our borders. At a hearing before the House Appropriations Committee on April 10, Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) asked him if he would describe the situation at the border as a crisis, to which Mayorkas replied, “Yes, I would.”
Notably, Mayorkas took no responsibility for the crisis he now concedes exists. Staying true to form, he blamed the situation on “a broken immigration system” and Congress’ failure to pass a bill that was introduced and promptly voted down in the Senate. In reality, Mayorkas rolled back effective border enforcement measures that were in place when he assumed the helm of DHS, and the Senate bill would not have solved the illegal immigration crisis, and, in fact, would have sanctioned illegal immigration at historically high levels. (FAIR has produced a summary called the Top Ten Reasons to Oppose the Senate Border Bill, detailing why the legislation would not have done what its authors claim, which is available on our website, FAIRUS.org.)
Stung by recent high profile cases in which violent criminal aliens were arrested and then released because of local sanctuary policies that obstruct cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Mayorkas, during the same House hearing, seemed to criticize those policies. “I believe that when an individual poses a threat to public safety or national security, their local or state jurisdiction should cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the swift detention and removal of that individual,” Mayorkas told the committee.
Mayorkas also talked-up the virtues of the 287(g) program during his congressional testimony, even though the Biden administration has tried to undermine it. The 287(g) program, established by Congress in 1996, authorizes state and local law enforcement agencies to partner with ICE to identify and remove deportable aliens. Apparently, Secretary Mayorkas had temporarily forgotten that in an August 2023 posting on its website, ICE noted that since 2021, the agency “placed a temporary hold or pause on onboarding any new partners to the 287(g) program.” Moreover, ICE recently acknowledged that 23 pending federal-local partnerships “are not operational” despite having already been signed by both parties.
Nevertheless, during his appearance before the House Appropriations Committee, Mayorkas suddenly sounded like a true believer. “I continue to believe that 287(g), when executed properly, is a force multiplier for our enforcement efforts” he stated.
Having acknowledged the border crisis, the threats posed by sanctuary policies and the benefits of the 287(g) program, it is now incumbent upon the Department of Homeland Security to use the authority it already has to secure the border, hold sanctuary jurisdictions accountable, and maximize the “force multiplier” effects of state and local law enforcement departments.