Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas labeled the record number of migrant crossings at the southern border a “crisis” but said, “We bear no responsibility for a broken system.”
Mayorkas — who was nearly ousted last week in a 214-216 vote — was pressed on Meet the Press on Sunday about his handling of the border, saying, “It is certainly a crisis, and we bear no responsibility for it. a broken system. And we are doing a tremendous amount within that broken system.”
He added: ‘Fundamental, fundamental, Congress is the only one who can fix it.’
He was referring to Republicans who last week blocked a bipartisan border deal that would have led to more regulations and limited border crossings, despite repeated calls for Biden to close the border.
Mayorkas also dismissed Republicans’ failed attempts to impeach him over his handling of the border crisis as “baseless accusations” and claimed that “I’m really not distracted by it.”
Mayorkas blamed the migrant crisis on a ‘broken system’ and said it’s up to Congress to fix it
It comes after officials revealed that more than 302,000 people had crossed the border illegally in December.
It is the highest single-month total ever recorded in history and marks the first time encounters with migrants have exceeded 300,000.
Many states and elected officials have blamed the Biden administration for the lack of action to address the border. The White House, meanwhile, has accused Congress of failing to act to resolve the border
The House Homeland Security Committee, led by Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., had investigated Mayorkas for several months and prepared a report on his “dereliction of duty.”
Green told DailyMail.com that his committee’s investigation has “made it clear” that the border crisis “has its basis in Secretary Mayorkas’ decision-making and refusal to enforce the laws passed by Congress, and that his inability to fulfill his oath of office requires accountability. .’
Despite the failed vote, Mayorkas is not yet safe. Johnson spokesman Raj Shah said Republicans “fully intend to bring up the articles of impeachment against Secretary Mayorkas again as soon as there are votes for approval.”
“It’s just a delay, that’s all this is,” said Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn.
Addressing the impeachment effort on Sunday, Mayorkas said:These are baseless allegations, Kristen, and that’s why I’m not going to let them distract me and focus on the work of the Department of Homeland Security.”
US soldiers intercept migrants as they attempt to cross a fence in the Mexican-American line
U.S. Border Patrol agents gathered the migrants at a transit center in Eagle Pass, Texas. Authorities have been overwhelmed by the influx of border violators
Mayorkas has previously told MSNBC that the challenge of “displaced people” around the world is due to the “effects of climate change, poverty and increasing levels of authoritarianism.”
He has also placed blame on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who he said is “refusing to work together” with other governors and local officials to coordinate efforts.
“It is a remarkable failure by the administration to refuse to cooperate with fellow local and state officials,” he continued.
Since August 2022, Abbott has bused more than 65,000 migrants to cities including New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles.
He also recently installed barbed wire along the banks of the Rio Grande, trapping and injuring some asylum seekers. Abbott has pledged to continue using barbed wire despite a recent Supreme Court order.
Abbott has asserted the state’s “right to self-defense” against what he has called an “invasion” of migrants, stating: “(President Biden’s) actions have created an unprecedented invasion that we must defend against.”
The Biden administration claims Texas is obstructing federal immigration enforcement.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said: “Enforcement of immigration law is a federal responsibility. Instead of helping to reduce irregular migration, the state of Texas has only made it more difficult for frontline workers to do their jobs and enforce legal consequences. We can enforce and enforce our laws in a safe, humane and orderly manner.”
Several Republican governors have expressed support for Texas continuing the standoff between the state and the federal government, with a senior CBP official telling Fox News that the relationship between Texas and Border Patrol officials on the ground remains “strong.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene highlighted the Republican Party’s narrow defeat in its bid to oust the Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas was not a failure
Although the effort to oust Mayorkas over the border crisis failed, Republicans have vowed to raise the issue again.
Speaker Mike Johnson, spokesman Raj Shah, said Republicans “fully intend to bring up the articles of impeachment against Secretary Mayorkas again as soon as there are votes for approval.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene assured reporters Tuesday night after the vote that they will refile impeachment proceedings before Congress once House Majority Whip Steve Scalise returns from cancer treatment.
She said the next vote could happen as early as next week, saying: “This isn’t over yet.”
“There has been no failure yet,” the Georgia representative said when asked whether Republican leadership in the House of Representatives had done just that by failing to get the votes to impeach. “We’re going to bring it back.”
Greene repeatedly mentioned Scalise’s impending return and believes he will be an important voice when he is back in Washington.
“We can still bring Steve Scalise back and we hope he does well and can come back very soon. We look forward to him coming back and we look forward to him saying a strong yes to impeaching Secretary Mayorkas,” Greene added.
She continued to attack Democrats for standing unitedly behind Mayorkas during the border crisis.
Greene stated that it was a choice: “The Democrats own this as their policy and defend Secretary Mayorkas and say he is doing nothing wrong, or they can vote to impeach Secretary Mayorkas.”
She said Democrats who vote no are “defending the Mayorkas and defending that 300 Americans die every day, that over 10 million have crossed our border, that Americans are victims of rape, murder, sexual assault, cartels causing all kinds of problems in our society’. country. Children are being sent out of school to house migrants, Americans are being forced to pay for it!”
Greene admitted it was always going to be a close margin, but there will be consequences for the ‘no’ votes in both parties.
‘We knew it would be close because our majority is so thin. Of course, my colleagues who voted no, I think they will hear it from their constituents,” she said.
She believes “several of our members need to think about things this weekend” and believes Republican voters “need to go home and talk to their constituents.”