Republican and Democratic lawmakers peppered Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday about how his department is prioritizing Ukrainian refugees.
At a House Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. Mike Quigley, an Illinois Democrat, and Rep. John Rutherford, a Florida Republican, asked Mayorkas about the status and number of people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine and seeking asylum in the United States, especially those who have tried to enter through the southern border. Mayorkas said that while there are humanitarian provisions for Ukrainians, including the Biden administration’s new “Uniting for Ukraine” policy, entering through Mexico “is not the way to do it.”
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“For Ukrainians fleeing Ukraine who want to come to the United States, and seek humanitarian relief here in the United States, the most effective and efficient and assured process is to actually proceed through our means that I have outlined directly, and not go to the southern border or to Mexico and enter through a port of entry there,” Mayorkas said.
Quigley, who asked about the number of Ukrainians waiting at the southern border, did not receive a firm answer from the DHS secretary. Rutherford wondered how long it would take for them to be processed, given that there are still Afghan refugees waiting in the system. Mayorkas said that while his department is “prioritizing” the resettlement of Ukrainian refugees, he is “dealing with a broken immigration system that was dismantled in its entirety in the prior administration.”
“Those [Ukrainian] individuals who are granted parole are able to apply for work authorization, and able to work lawfully in the United States,” he said. “They gain lawful presence, though they are not entitled to all the benefits American citizens are entitled.”
Not everyone on the panel shared Quigley’s and Rutherford’s concerns about the expedited processing of Ukrainians. Rep. Pete Aguilar, a California Democrat, said their requests were “frustrating” when there are so many people of other nationalities also in need of asylum.
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“It’s frustrating to hear time and time again about the fact that they want to have conversations about how Ukrainians are treated at the southern border, but using terms like ‘illegals’ rather for those who are presenting themselves for lawful asylum,” he said.
The hearing mostly focused on the DHS’s response to the end of Title 42, a pandemic policy allowing law enforcement to turn away migrants at the southern border out of concern for public health.
