Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visited Arizona on his first trip to the southern border since the Senate quashed articles of impeachment against him. During his visit, Mayorkas touted the decrease in illegal migrant numbers after President Biden took executive action on asylum processing three weeks prior. The Department of Homeland Security reported that arrests for illegal border crossings had fallen by over 40% since the executive order went into effect, with Border Patrol’s seven-day average of encounters dropping significantly.
President Biden, who has faced criticism from Republicans and former President Trump over his border policies, welcomed the news of the decrease in illegal migrant encounters. Trump, in particular, has criticized Biden for “releasing illegal criminals into our communities to rape, pillage, plunder, and to kill.” Trump has promised to implement the largest domestic deportation operation in U.S. history if elected and to undo all of the Biden administration’s open border policies.
Biden has argued that Congress must pass reforms to fix the broken immigration system. He has proposed legislation that would grant a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants in the U.S. and has backed a bipartisan Senate bill that failed to gain traction in Congress. Biden has also taken unilateral action to limit asylum claims and provide deportation shields for some illegal immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens. However, he has emphasized the need for Congress to act in order to fully address the issues within the immigration system.
Mayorkas echoed Biden’s call for Congress to fix the broken immigration system during his appearance on MSNBC. He highlighted the historical lack of sufficient detention capacity to meet the number of people encountered at the border, leading to the release of individuals into the United States during immigration enforcement proceedings. House Republicans had previously approved articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, accusing him of willful refusal to comply with the law and breach of public trust, but the articles were dismissed by the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Overall, the issue of illegal immigration remains a contentious topic in U.S. politics, with both Republicans and Democrats presenting differing approaches to address the situation at the border. President Biden has emphasized the need for comprehensive reforms and legislative action to fix the broken system, while former President Trump has criticized the current administration’s policies. As the debate continues, the challenge of managing illegal migrant encounters at the border remains a key issue for policymakers and law enforcement agencies in the U.S.
