Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told lawmakers Tuesday that the US-Mexico border is “as secure as it can be” — adding that he did not “recall” admitting earlier this year that more than 85% of migrants apprehended at the southern frontier are released into the US.
Mayorkas — who faces an impeachment trial in the Senate later this week in part for lying to Congress about the border being “secure” — denied that allegation during a budget hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee.
“With the authorities and the funding that we have, it is as secure as it can be,” the 64-year-old Mayorkas told Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) in the DHS chief’s first appearance before the panel since his impeachment.
House Republicans impeached Mayorkas in February for providing misleading testimony last year about US border security and failing to enforce immigration law since President Biden took office in January 2021.
Since then, more than 9 million migrants have been apprehended illegally crossing into the US, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics, with more than 7.5 million of those encounters occurring on the southern border.
That excludes another 1.8 million known “gotaways” who were not caught when coming into the country.
National Border Patrol Council president Brandon Judd has confirmed to The Post that he was present when Mayorkas said during a January sit-down with agents that “higher than 85%” of those migrants are later released into the US.
Three Border Patrol sources present for the meeting also confirmed that “above 85%” were being released, according to Fox News, which first reported the exchange.
“I do not recall that exchange in an internal meeting with the workforce, and let me assure you that the security of the southern border is our highest priority,” Mayorkas told Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.) when asked Tuesday.
The large influx has led to a record-breaking backlog of more than 3 million court hearings for asylum seekers — with some scheduling appearances as far in advance as 2035 and many not showing up to subsequent hearings after obtaining work permits.
Judd also told The Post in a phone interview Tuesday that Mayorkas’ failure to deport those who don’t appear for their follow-up immigration hearings constitutes “dereliction of duty” on the secretary’s part.
“Once they’ve been ordered [to be] deported, they must be removed — and he’s not doing that,” Judd said.
At least 159 migrants encountered at ports of entry nationwide, and another 76 caught between those ports since Oct. 1 have suspected ties to terrorism, other CBP data show, with recent reports revealing how the dangerous border crossers are being released into the country.
Asked by Pfluger whether people on the US terror watchlist were still “at large” or had been apprehended, Mayorkas refused to answer directly.
“Let me assure you, Congressman, that the safety and security of the American people is our highest priority,” he said.
When Pfluger pressed that FBI Director Christopher Wray “had the courage to answer the question” and confirmed not all had been during a November 2023 hearing, Mayorkas replied that the suspects were a “priority for detention.”
Mayorkas also came under fire during the Tuesday budget hearing for cutting down on beds in detention spaces for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and not fielding enough Border Patrol agents to apprehend migrants.
“Your actions and directives remain unchanged. You’ve doubled down,” said Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.), who led the drive to impeach Mayorkas. “This budget request reflects this obstinance.”
Senate Democrats are expected to scuttle the secretary’s trial on Wednesday — despite pressure from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Republicans to hold Mayorkas accountable.
“The Biden border catastrophe is the number one priority of House Republicans, and it remains the number one priority of the American people,” Johnson told Fox News on Wednesday.
“Now we’re transmitting it to the Senate and we’re demanding that [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer [D-NY] have the full trial, that they hear the evidence, let us put it on for the American people and then remove this individual from office,” he said.
“Secretary Mayorkas is, in my view, the worst cabinet secretary that has ever served in the history of the United States. It is a catastrophe that was committed by design. They allowed this.”
Democrats like Homeland Security Committee ranking member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) have rejected the impeachment push as a “partisan stunt,” while joining with Biden and Mayorkas to call for the passage of a $118 billion bipartisan border security bill that Republicans rejected in February.
The Senate legislation failed to gain enough procedural votes under bipartisan opposition, with congressional Republicans leading the charge against it and former President Donald Trump decrying it as a “great gift to the Democrats.”
