Report says DHS Secretary Mayorkas admits over 85% of migrants are being allowed into US

Alex Oliveira
New York Post
Fri, 12 Jan 2024 18:58 UTC

© Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

The Department of Homeland Security admitted "above 85%" of migrants apprehended at the southern border are being released into the United States, according to a report from Fox News.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas made the admission during a private meeting with border agents at the overrun Eagle Pass crossing in Texas on Monday, according to three people who were in the room.

The Del Rio sector where Eagle Pass lies saw more than 81,000 migrants hand themselves over seeking a new life in the US in October and November.

The siege on the border has only increased since then, with a monthly record 302,000 migrants encountered, according to ABC sources, most of whom are being waved into the country.

Those arriving are no longer just those fleeing the poverty, political instability and gang violence in Central America, but migrants from China, Turkey, Afghanistan and all across Africa arrive to claim their place on US soil.

Mayorkas — who is facing an impeachment hearing from House Republicans over his handling of the migrant crisis — was pressed during the meeting by the agents over an interview he gave Fox last week in which he said "it would not surprise me at all" if the release numbers were greater than 70%.

© Associated Press

A band of hundreds of migrants marching through Mexico to the southern United States border on Monday, January 8 2024.

Agents did not believe the release rate was that low, according to the sources, and Mayorkas eventually conceded they were currently over 85%.

Once migrants are admitted to the US to pursue their asylum claims they have to regularly check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

That agency said in its annual report last week they are currently managing 6.2 million people in the country, a figure which has almost doubled since 2020 when they were looking after 3.3 million active cases.

Despite his private admission, at an Eagle Pass press conference later in the day Mayorkas touted the DHS' efforts expelling illegal immigrants from the country.

"In fact, the majority of all Southwest Border migrant encounters throughout this Administration have been removed, returned, or expelled - the majority of them," Mayorkas said.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admitted over 85% of migrants are being let in to the United States. AP

"We are doing everything we can, within a broken system, to incentivize noncitizens to use lawful pathways, to impose consequences on those who do not, and to reduce irregular migration."

Recent Customs and Border Protection figures from the first two months of the fiscal year showed that more than 70% of migrants encountered at the southern border were paroled and allowed into the country.

In October, nearly 237,000 were encountered, of which nearly 170,000 — 71% — were permitted into the country.

November saw similar numbers — about 238,000 encountered — with about 177,000 or 74% being granted access to the US.

December's numbers have not yet been released, but Mayorkas' statements suggest they will be higher than the previous two months.

Last week, the DHS secretary disclosed during the same Fox interview "well more than a million" migrants were being allowed into the US on an annual basis.

He argued that the fault for the migrant crisis does not lie with the Biden administration, but can only be fixed if Congress passes sweeping immigration reform.

"What is a magnet is the fact that the time in between an encounter of an individual at the border and their final ruling in their immigration case can sometimes take six or more years," he said.

Republican members Congress disagree, and have placed the blame for the record numbers of migrants who have arrived and been let into the country over the past three years directly on the Biden administration.

Last May the administration said it would get tough and only allow those who make appointments through an app and wait their turn would get the opportunity to plead their asylum cases to officers and be allowed into the US. Those people — 45,000 a month — are allowed into the country through the Office of Field Operations.

However, they are vastly outnumbered by those who cross the border illegally and hand themselves over to border. Under the administration's current instructions officers detain, interview and evaluate each of them. They are then issued a court date and allowed into the country legally, where they can apply for a work permit and asylum, or rejected and sent home. Statistics from the Department of Homeland Security show in the vast majority of instances, the former is the case.

Mayoraks' first impeachment hearing — which the GOP-led House Committee on Homeland Security called over his "failed leadership and his refusal to enforce" immigration law — is scheduled for Wednesday.

Comment:

• Sheriffs Association representing 17 states: 'No confidence' in Biden's open borders, DHS Secretary Mayorkas 'dishonest', should be fired
• Ex-Border Patrol Rodney Scott: Letting migrants into US was 'the only agenda' of Biden-appointed DHS head Alejandro Mayorkas
• Even Dems admitting it: Mayorkas says border crisis 'unsustainable' and 'we're going to lose' - leaked audio

Texas has taken the brunt of the invasion and is fed up. The Dallas News reports:

Texas blocking Border Patrol agents from part of U.S.-Mexico border

The U.S. Justice Department complained that Texas National Guard troops fenced off Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, blocking federal agents from the only safe and accessible ramp for that section of the Rio Grande. The state also erected razor wire along 2.5 miles of the river, restricting federal ability to place mobile surveillance trucks or access a staging area to evaluate migrants apprehended in the area, the agency said.

"Border Patrol's ability to view this portion of the border is now limited to a narrow sliver from a single surveillance camera located outside of the newly fenced area," the Justice Department told the U.S. Supreme Court in an overnight filing.

The filing detailed the state-federal standoff in the hours after the state took control of a city park in Eagle Pass that sits along the banks of the Rio Grande.

[...]

At a news conference Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott said the state is acting legally to protect the border.

"Texas has the legal authority to control the ingress and egress into any geographic location into the state of Texas," he said.

Thursday night, Abbott posted on social media that "caravans of migrants are moving through Mexico toward the U.S. border" after a Fox News reporter posted that the Texas Military Department was prohibiting Border Patrol agents from accessing Shelby Park.

"We are making clear that Texas will be a tough place to cross," Abbott said on X, formerly Twitter.

Abbott has repeatedly pushed the boundaries of how far a state can go in enforcing immigration laws — which is a responsibility of the federal government. The governor recently signed a sweeping bill that authorizes state and local police to arrest migrants believed to be in the state illegally.

That law, known as Senate Bill 4, goes into effect March 5. But the Justice Department sued Texas, arguing that the law was unconstitutional and that the state lacks the power to enforce federal immigration laws.

The White House released a statement Friday criticizing Abbott for "extreme political stunts" that "demonize and dehumanize people" while making the Border Patrol's job harder.

"Whether it is leaving migrants on the side of the road in the dead of winter, installing razor wire to make Border Patrol's job more dangerous, promoting extreme and unconstitutional laws like S.B. 4, or his latest actions in Eagle Pass, Governor Abbott has repeatedly proven that he is not interested in solutions and only seeks to politicize the border," the White House said.

U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, represents the 23rd Congressional District, which includes Eagle Pass and covers about 40 percent of the U.S.-Mexican border.

Asked for comment Friday about the state's takeover of the park, Gonzales kept his response brief. "I'm tracking it closely," he said.

Other Texas Republicans defended the governor's actions, saying the state has stepped up because the federal government has refused to take action.

"Abbott's doing something," said U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Willow Park. "The federal government can't do it, won't do it, whatever. So I think he's doing the right thing. They're defending the borders. They're defending the communities. They're putting razor wire up and they've told the feds 'go away, we'll handle this.' I think it's leadership."

Texas Democrats criticized the policy of blocking federal agents at the border as unprecedented and counterproductive.

"Governor Abbott is interfering with Border Patrol's ability to do its job, and his actions are making the situation at the border worse," U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, said in a statement. "These political stunts at the border are disrupting the lives of American citizens and small business owners in Eagle Pass, and there's no evidence that Operation Lone Star has made any meaningful impact on migration at all."

A union representing Border Patrol agents, however, praised the Texas policy, saying on social media that Abbott was freeing agents "to patrol areas with high numbers of illegal aliens" by taking control of an area where "so many ... are simply surrendering."