Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas is spinning as fast as he can. But no matter how he tries to wave away the crisis at the border, his appearance on “Fox News Sunday” illustrated how this administration is deceiving the American public. Here are some of Mayorkas’ biggest whoppers:
Lie 1: “Approximately, I think it’s about 10,000 or so, 12,000. It could be even higher.”
For the last couple weeks, Mayorkas has bobbed and weaved whenever he was asked how many of the Haitians camping under the Del Rio, Texas, bridge were being released into the United States and how many were being deported. At one point, he blamed “18-hour days” for his lack of clarity. But it’s clear the administration always knew the numbers, they just didn’t want to reveal them. Now that it’s impossible to stop the process, he again lowballs the number at 12,000 — vaguely adding it could be more. He knows it’s more.
Lie 2: “What we do is we follow the law as Congress has passed it.”
What bunk. First of all, the administration’s justification for deporting some people to Haiti was Title 42, which allows them to block entry due to the coronavirus health crisis. So what’s the difference between the 2,000 or so they flew to Haiti and the 12,000-plus they let in? It seems completely arbitrary. Much more likely is that, faced with backlash from Democratic activists, they stopped using Title 42. Meanwhile, in August, the Supreme Court ruled that the administration must reinstitute President Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, which required asylum seekers to wait there until their cases are heard. Biden and Mayorkas are just ignoring it; Texas is going to court to force them to comply. That’s not following the law — that’s flouting it.
Lie 3: “We have enforcement guidelines in place that provide the individuals who are recent border crossers who do not show up for their hearings are enforcement priorities and will be removed.”
Fox News’ Chris Wallance noted that 44 percent of those who apply for asylum fail to show up for their court hearing. Oh no, Mayorkas said, this time will be different. Considering he can’t even give an exact number of people released into the US, how can we possibly believe him? Aid groups are helping these migrants blend into society, and liberal politicians in states like New York and California will quickly make sure that they don’t cooperate with Immigrants and Customs Enforcement — which has been detoothed by President Biden anyway. No one’s getting deported.
Lie 4: Border Patrol agents blocking migrants from crossing illegally “painfully conjured up the worst elements of our nation’s ongoing battle against systemic racism.”
The photographer who took that picture already has debunked this. The agent was holding reins, and they didn’t whip the migrants. The agents were trying to block migrants from rushing past the horses into the US, which is their job. Biden and Mayorkas claim to want to follow the law and prevent illegal immigration, then shamefully slander the people who try to enforce those laws. If anyone is to blame, it’s Biden.
Lie 5: “We do not agree with the building of the wall. The law provides that individuals can make a claim for humanitarian relief. That is actually one of our proudest traditions.”
The wall is to prevent someone from sneaking over the border illegally. If someone is applying for humanitarian relief, they go to an official border crossing — how can Mayorkas conflate the two? Meanwhile, our amnesty laws are meant to cover people who face persecution at home for their religious, social or political beliefs. Wanting better economic opportunity is not asylum. By all accounts, most of the Haitians coming here are looking for a better life — fair enough. But that would mean applying for a green card, going through the process. Instead they rushed the border, asked for asylum, were given a court date a year or two years down the road and let into the country. Will they show up? And if they do, will any judge rule against them?
Lie 6: “Eleven million people in this country without lawful presence is a compelling reason why there is unanimity about the fact that our immigration system is broken and legislative reform is needed.”
By “reform,” Mayorkas means “mass amnesty.” To the Democrats, there should be no limit to those allowed into the US, and all of them should become instant legal residents — heck, citizens. And no, there’s not “unanimity” about this, because while most people polled do want a path to citizenship for Dreamers, they also want some border security to ensure that there aren’t 11 million more illegal immigrants living here next year.
Lie 7: “I wouldn’t call it a flood.”
The pictures of a ragged tent city of 15,000 under a bridge in Texas would say otherwise, as would month after month of record numbers of border encounters. But this isn’t the end. Letting 12,000-plus into the US en masse just guaranteed that caravan after caravan from Central and South America, not to mention Haiti and Cuba, are massing to come here. Biden and Mayorkas just sent a message to the world: Come on in. The flood has only started.
