Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas faulted Congress for failing to appropriate substantive resources to his department, while appearing to reject the validity of Republicans' forthcoming impeachment proceedings against him.
On Thursday, Mayorkas was grilled on "Special Report" as anchor Bret Baier presented various statistics collectively depicting a burgeoning crisis on the Mexican border.
The secretary, who himself fled the Cuban Revolution for the United States as a toddler, remained steadfast that he has been properly executing the duties of his office.
Baier asked Mayorkas how many illegal immigrants have been released into the nation's interior in President Biden's first three years in office, leading the secretary to reply he needed to "correct a misunderstanding."
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"When somebody enters the country, we place them in immigration enforcement proceedings pursuant to immigration law, and if their claim for relief, their claim to remain in the United States succeeds, then by law they are able to stay here… " he began, before Baier pressed again for a "ballpark" statistic.
Mayorkas responded there have been "well more than a million" migrants being released annually, and that that statistic proves the nation's immigration system is broken and requires congressional action.
When asked about 300,000 reported migrant encounters in December 2022 alone, Mayorkas said DHS is limited in its detention capacity, subject to congressional funding. The secretary, however, added there has been a "historic number" of removals during his tenure.
Asked later about Customs & Border Protection sources telling Fox News they are releasing nearly three-quarters of migrants who cross daily, Mayorkas said he is not surprised, and that those who are released are placed in enforcement proceedings and alternatives to detention.
"We are enforcing the laws that Congress has passed," he said in part He added Biden has asked Congress for supplemental funding to increase the number of CBP agents and new technology to no avail, repeating the legislature's role in passing laws for his office to enforce.
"… until they fix those broken laws that haven't been reformed in more than 30 years," he said.
