Alejandro Mayorkas downplays fears of immigrants surge after Title 42 ends

Ryan King

May 07, 02:20 PM May 07, 02:22 PM

The United States has been gearing up for a massive surge at the border over Title 42's expiration for over a "year and a half," according to a top official.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas tempered expectations Sunday while underscoring the complexity of the situation.

MAYORKAS SAYS TITLE 42 BORDER SITUATION IS 'VERY SERIOUS' AND 'VERY DIFFICULT'

"We've been preparing for this for more than a year and a half," Mayoraks told CBS's Face the Nation. "We are working closely with many countries to the South. It's going to take our plan a while to really take hold — for people to understand that they can access lawful, safe, orderly pathways before they reach the border."

"If they come to the border, they will receive a consequence under our enforcement authorities," he added.

Title 42 is a pandemic-era policy enacted under the Trump administration that allows U.S. Border Patrol to expel migrants back to their home country without having an asylum hearing. Initially, the policy was set to expire on May 23, 2022. That was ultimately delayed due to court challenges. It is now slated to be lifted on May 11, 2023.

With Title 42's expiration, fears have increased that a flood of migrants will pour across the U.S.-Mexico border, believing they can get in and remain. In response to the looming lifting of the policy, the Biden administration has announced it will dispatch 1,500 active-duty troops near the El Paso region to assist with the situation.

Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) proposed legislation last week to grant the DHS similar authority under Title 42 over a two-year period without using emergency health powers.

"Title 42 When the expulsion authority is a public health authority, it is not an immigration authority. We will be using our immigration authorities, which call for a consequence regime, which is why we have to correct the lies that smugglers tell vulnerable migrants they think they're coming and they'll be able to stay," Mayorkas replied to a question about the proposal.

In April of last year, the Biden administration unveiled a suite of steps it was taking in anticipation of Title 42 going away. It included a multitude of steps such as surging personnel and resources; bolstering immigrant processing capacity; deterring illegal migration through deportations and prosecutions; and working to counter migration in the Western Hemisphere.

But Mayokas believes that Congress needs to step in and enact broader changes to immigration.

“Everything that the Department of Homeland Security is doing, everything that our partners across the federal government are doing, is within a broken immigration system,” Mayokas contended. “The president passed to Congress a proposal to fix our broken immigration system on the first day in office.”

A number of Democrats, such as Henry Cuellar (D-TX), have dinged the Biden administration over its response to the anticipated crisis. Cuellar specifically commended Mayorkas and suggested that the president was holding him back.

"Untrue. One team, one mission, and we are prepared to execute it," Mayorkas said in response.

Biden budget proposes slashing $600 million from DHS amid growing threats

Anna Giaritelli

March 09, 04:34 PM March 09, 04:34 PM

President Joe Biden has proposed slashing funding for the Department of Homeland Security by $600 million as problems of national security mount against the United States, including cyberattacks, irregular immigration, violent crime, and record high border crossings.

The White House budget proposal for fiscal 2024, which will begin in October, suggested $60.4 billion for the DHS, the nation’s third-largest department with 260,000 employees worldwide. Budgets for agencies and departments typically increase year to year, but the DHS's would drop by 1% from the amount enacted this year.

"President Biden’s budget fails to adequately fund the Department of Homeland Security, proposing a 1% DECREASE in funding from FY23 levels," a GOP aide said in a statement Thursday. "As the agency with lead responsibility for protecting our nation’s borders, transportation systems and cyber security, this is an unacceptable proposal."

The Biden administration maintained that it had taken unprecedented action and “secured more resources for border security than any of the presidents who preceded him.”

TWO REASONS BIDEN IS MAKING FOES OUT OF IMMIGRATION ACTIVISTS AND DEMOCRATIC LATINOS

"The President’s Budget includes billions of dollars to keep America’s borders secure and enforce our immigration laws, while expanding legal pathways for migrants seeking asylum," the White House wrote in a statement on the newly released budget.

DHS funding on immigration and border matters will increasingly focus on bringing outdated border facilities up to speed with renovations, adding more technology capabilities to ports of entry and elsewhere that employees work, lowering the 2 million cases before immigration judges nationwide, and changes that improve how immigrants are detained after initially being apprehended at the border or while in longer-term immigration custody within the U.S.

Roughly 40%, or about $25 billion, of the budget is directed toward the DHS agencies Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The White House touted that it would cover the hiring of an additional 350 Border Patrol agents at CBP.

Both agencies would bring on 460 more employees to interview immigrants in custody, a task that has fallen to Border Patrol agents and pulled as many as half of agents from the field on the southern border to document, fingerprint, and fill out the paperwork for every person apprehended. Over two years, agents on the southern border have apprehended and taken into custody more than 2 million people.

The Biden administration also wants $535 million to add more technology to the ports of entry, where pedestrians and vehicles must pass federal inspection to be admitted to the U.S. Fewer than 1 in 5 vehicles are scanned at inspection booths, a number Congress is trying to increase to improve the screening of people and goods entering the country.

Approximately 85% of all fentanyl seized at the nation’s border last year occurred at southern border ports of entry. An additional $40 million would go toward countering fentanyl smuggling and cartels, though the budget does not specify how it would do so.

The DHS would create a massive $4.7 billion fund for immigration-related emergencies at the border. The contingency fund would give the department access to a large pot of cash in the event of a surge of illegal immigrants at one time.

Over the past two years, between 150,000 and 305,000 people have been encountered each month at the nation's borders, far beyond the fewer than 50,000 seen in most months during the Obama and Trump administrations.

Biden's border woes show no signs of abating as Republicans take House

Haisten Willis

December 01, 03:00 AM December 01, 03:00 AM

The Biden administration's southern border woes continue as a group of federal law enforcement officers balk at its latest plans and Republicans are set to take over control of the House of Representatives in January.

Illegal border crossings have soared since President Joe Biden took office, reaching a record 2.76 million in fiscal 2022, which topped the previous record by more than 1 million. Now, U.S. air marshals are planning to stage an open rebellion against Biden over a plan they say would strip 99% of commercial flights from federal protection ahead of the holidays.

US AIR MARSHALS PLOT 'MUTINY' AGAINST BIDEN PLAN TO LEAVE FLIGHTS UNPROTECTED

“The rank and file air marshals are going to refuse to deploy and risk termination,” David Londo, president of the Air Marshal National Council, told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday. “You’re almost going to have a mutiny of a federal agency, which is unheard of.”

The air marshals have been ordered to leave their assignments and go to the southern border to help respond to the situation. Londo said the work they're assigned is often menial, such as "heating up sandwiches," driving immigrants to the hospital, and waiting inside.

The overseeing agency, the Transportation Security Administration, said in a statement that the claims of air marshals doing menial tasks are "entirely inaccurate and does not reflect the critical and professional law enforcement role these officers perform."

However, the standoff demonstrates a continued unraveling of the southern border situation, argues Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation's Border Security and Immigration Center. She places the blame firmly at Biden's feet.

"It demonstrates that the Department of Homeland Security is running out of employees to send to the border to support the administration’s open border policies," she said. "This border crisis is unsustainable — both for American communities but also for DHS employees. The Border Patrol has reached a historic number of agent suicides during this administration. Time and time again, this administration shows no concern for their agents or employees; it is clearly willing to sacrifice them at the Left’s alter of open borders."

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was pressed on Biden's border policies during Wednesday's briefing and defended the administration's actions.

"The president has secured record levels of funding for the Department of Homeland Security," said Jean-Pierre. "We have over 23,000 agents working to secure the border. We've taken thousands of smugglers off the streets, and we're cutting down on asylum processing times."

Jean-Pierre pointed to Republicans for not supporting legislation to fix the immigration and "secure our border." However, the number of crossings has soared since Biden took office, even without legislative changes.

Republican lawmakers have been furious at Biden's handling of the southern border for months, saying the situation amounts to chaos that is putting undue pressure on border communities. Govs. Greg Abbott (R-TX), Doug Ducey (R-AZ), and Ron DeSantis (R-FL) have sent buses and planes of volunteer immigrants to major cities in an attempt to draw attention to the situation, which the White House described as an inhumane political stunt.

Now, the GOP is set to take over the House, giving it another avenue to apply pressure.

"A Republican majority House of Representatives will certainly hold hearings and conduct oversight to investigate and expose what the Biden administration has been doing during this crisis," Ries said. "It is imperative that Congress withhold funds from the administration that would further any of its open border processing."

The border is also expected to become a talking point in the 2024 presidential election, in which the Republican nominee is sure to hammer on the situation as a campaign issue.