Mayorkas Defends Border Policies, Urges Historical Perspective Amid Bipartisan Bill Push

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas expressed support for a second attempt at passing a bipartisan border security bill, emphasizing its potential to address "terrifically broken asylum system" and provide necessary resources. Mayorkas urged a focus on the historical context of migration instead of "political snapshots" as the Senate prepares for a test vote on the bill.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has defended the Biden administration's border policies and urged a broader understanding of migration patterns amidst a push for a bipartisan border security bill in the Senate.

Speaking on Fox News' "Your World," Mayorkas welcomed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's decision to move forward with a second attempt at passing a bipartisan border bill that was defeated earlier this year. He emphasized the bill's potential to deliver much-needed changes to "30-year-old laws" and provide resources to address the "terrifically broken asylum system."

Schumer informed Democratic colleagues that the Senate would consider the Border Act as a stand-alone measure later this week. The test vote will require 60 yeas to break a filibuster and begin debate on the bill, but it is widely expected to fail.

Republicans have expressed opposition to the bill, with House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and Rep. Elise Stefanik releasing a joint statement calling it "dead on arrival" if it reached the House. They accused the bill of codifying Biden's "disastrous open border policies."

Despite the challenges, Mayorkas stressed the importance of the border bill and vowed to continue advocating for it. "The American people deserve and need it. The United States Border Patrol deserve and need it," he said.

Mayorkas defended the Biden administration's border policies, saying they have been taking action "a long time ago." He highlighted efforts to build capabilities in foreign countries to deter migration and emphasized the need for congressional action.

The Biden administration has faced criticism from Republicans for rolling back several Trump-era border policies, including "Remain in Mexico" and the Asylum Cooperative Agreements. Migrant encounters at the southern border have skyrocketed under President Biden along with the number of "known gotaways."

Mayorkas maintained that the Biden administration has been enforcing the law "from day one" and urged the American public to "look at the history of migration rather than take political snapshots." He pointed to low migration numbers at the southern border in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic opportunities for migrants in the United States.

"We still have approximately 8 million vacant jobs in the United States that American workers are not filling. And so, therefore, our asylum system, which is fundamentally broken, presents an opportunity for them to remain here for too long," Mayorkas told Fox News. "Despite that, we have returned or removed more people in the last 12 months than in any full fiscal year. And we're using our legal muscle more aggressively than it has been in the past."

Mayorkas concluded by emphasizing the need for Senate approval of the border legislation. "The Senate must pass the legislation."