(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has rejected accusations that he and President Joe Biden are responsible for the ongoing border crisis, placing the blame on Congress instead.
Mayorkas made these remarks a week after House Republicans nearly impeached him due to the unprecedented surge in illegal immigration. During a Sunday interview with NBC News host Kristen Welker, the secretary faced tough questions about the situation at the border.
“No doubt there is gridlock in Congress. But do you bear responsibility for what is happening at the border with the president himself? It’s called a crisis,” Welker pressed Mayorkas.
In response, Mayorkas retorted, “It certainly is a crisis. And we don’t bear responsibility for a broken system. And we’re doing a tremendous amount within that broken system. But fundamentally … Congress is the only one who can fix it.”
“Do you bear responsibility for what is happening at the border?”
MAYORKAS: “We don’t bear responsibility” pic.twitter.com/rCdwOIAIAX
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 11, 2024
While acknowledging the existence of the border crisis, Mayorkas again avoided shouldering any blame later in the interview.
“There is no question that we have a challenge, a crisis at the border,” Mayorkas added. “And there is no question that Congress needs to fix it. And we’re doing everything we can within that broken system, short of legislation to address what is a not just a challenge for the United States but one throughout our region.”
NBC: “More migrants have crossed the border illegally last year than EVER before … You yourself have said that more than 85% caught crossing the border illegally are being released into the US … Why do you deserve to keep your job!?”
MAYORKAS: It’s not my fault pic.twitter.com/OlGYyLVrsv
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 11, 2024
The Republican-led impeachment attempt against Mayorkas narrowly failed after three Republicans joined Democrats in blocking the resolution. Despite the defeat, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to pledge a second-round vote.
“He’s right that the border is broken, but it is he and President Biden who broke it,” Johnson said on Twitter, directly responding Mayorkas’s Sunday remarks.
Johnson emphasized that Mayorkas had stopped the deportation of illegal aliens, halted the construction of the border wall and spewed pro-immigration rhetoric that ultimately triggered the border crisis.
“On 64 occasions, they took direct action to undermine border security,” Johnson added. “They must take action now to unwind their disastrous policies and secure the border.”
The Secretary’s claim that the administration doesn’t “bear responsibility” for our wide open border is shameful. He’s right that the border is broken, but it is he and President Biden who broke it.
On Day one they halted deportations, stopped construction of a border wall, and… pic.twitter.com/GVjJqzIQ08
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) February 11, 2024
