Mayorkas explains why he won’t label the southern border surge a ‘crisis’

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas explained that he won’t call the situation at the southern border a “crisis” because it would mean his agency isn’t fulfilling its mission during a 60 Minutes interview Sunday with correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi.

Alfonsi asked Mayorkas if he agreed with Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz’s assessment that the U.S.-Mexico border is in a “crisis situation,” pressing him on the issue. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded a surge of more than 2.3 million migrant encounters in fiscal year 2022 and more than 1 million between October 2022 and February 2023.

Mayorkas testified to the House Homeland Security Committee in November that the “border is secure.”

“I think that we face a very serious challenge in certain parts of the border,” Mayorkas said.

“I view it as a significant challenge,” he added.

Alfonsi then further pressed Mayorkas on the issue.

“Why won’t you say the word ‘crisis’?” Alfonsi asked.

“You know what, because I have tremendous faith in the people of the Department of Homeland Security, and a crisis speaks to me of a withdrawal from our mission and we are only putting more force and more energy into it,” Mayorkas responded.

The border patrol reported over two million apprehensions in the past year – a record high — which is why Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas’s testimony before Congress last fall raised a few eyebrows. https://t.co/iCkekfXTEo pic.twitter.com/4NjIzHW0Y0

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) April 2, 2023

Mayorkas defended that the surge in illegal immigration at the southern border is a global issue.

“The number of people that are arriving at our border is at an extraordinary height, there’s no question about that. But that is not unique to the southern border of the United States, there’s a tremendous amount of movement throughout the hemisphere, and, in fact throughout the world,” Mayorkas said.

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