Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas rejected the idea that increased crossings into the United States along the southern border are meant to shift the country’s “political dynamics.”
While appearing on State of the Union on Sunday, Mayorkas commented on former President Donald Trump‘s suggestion that President Joe Biden wants to allow migrants to cross the border to establish a new voter base.
“Of course not, and the facts indicate that that is absolutely false,” Mayorkas said. “Since May of last year, we have removed or returned more individuals than in any year since 2015, and we haven’t even run 12 months. Over the last three years, we’ve removed, returned, or expelled more people than in all four years of the prior administration.”
Mayorkas also took issue with how Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has handled the border crisis, saying that the Texas governor is “purposefully refusing to coordinate” with other government officials. He also said Abbott is “trying to wreak havoc in other cities,” a reference to the governor busing immigrants to major cities in the U.S., such as New York City, Washington, D.C., and Chicago.
“That is not a model of governance,” Mayorkas said. “And he couldn’t be more wrong.”
The border crisis is a matter Trump has been vocal on during and after his time in the White House. It will likely remain a major factor in the 2024 presidential election. On Thursday, Trump visited the border city of Eagle Pass, Texas, alongside Abbott. On the same day, Biden made his second trip to the border as president, which was about 325 miles away from where Trump was.
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Mayorkas was impeached by the House of Representatives last month over his handling of the border, with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) saying that “Congress has a constitutional obligation” to impeach him. The impeachment came after many Republicans had been critical of the Biden administration’s handling of border security.
The next step in the impeachment movement would be in the Senate, in which the Democratic Party has a majority. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) stated the secretary “needs to be convicted” for how Mayorkas “lied to me straight to my face” that the border was secure.
