Below is the transcript of an interview with Alejandro Mayorkas, Homeland Security Secretary, that was broadcast on Face the Nation Sunday, July 3, 2022.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Good Morning and Welcome to Face the Nation. We are grateful for your participation this holiday weekend. Today’s topic is immigration. We will discuss the victory of the Biden administration in the Supreme Court last week. The end of President Trump’s “remain in Mexico” policy. We would like to discuss this and many other topics with Alejandro Mayorkas, Homeland Security Secretary. Good morning, Mr. Secretary. Happy early Fourth of July.
HOMELAND SECURITY SEECRETARY ALEJANDRO MAORKAS: Good Morning and the same wishes to you, Margaret. We are grateful.
MARGARET BRENAN: What happens now that “remaining in Mexico” has ended? Is this a decision to end the policy now? What happens to the people in the encampments just across the border?
SEC. MAYORKAS. Margaret, We were delighted with the Supreme Court’s decision to support our end of the “remain-in-Mexico” program that was implemented by the previous administration. It has many flaws and has high human costs. I’ve said it from the beginning. Now, with the positive Supreme Court ruling, it is necessary to wait for the ruling of the district court to reach them. They have issued an injunction that will prevent us from ending “remain Mexico”. We have several weeks before the injunction is lifted by the district court. Until then, the ruling of the district court obligates us to continue to implement the “remain in Mexico” program.
MARGARET BRENAN: These people will continue to have to wait at the border camps, but what next?
SEC. MAYORKAS. So what happens to them? Right now, they must remain in Mexico and then we will continue with our immigration enforcement proceedings. People are not simply released into the United States if they are stopped at the border. These people are subject to immigration enforcement proceedings. They will be pursuing their asylum claims in immigration court. If they are not successful, they will be quickly removed from the United States.
MARGARET BRENNAN : So, Reuters reports that thousands of people left Friday and are now moving towards the U.S. border. What are you looking for right now? Are you in need of more staff for border and customs control? Are you in need of more equipment to combat these smugglers?
SEC. MAYORKAS, Margaret: We are very close with our south partners, with Mexico. This breaks up often these caravans, which seek to make that dangerous journey to reach the border. Only then can we enforce our laws. We have repeatedly warned people not to make that dangerous journey. One of the tragic consequences of this dangerous journey was seen in San Antonio, Texas. Many people are not able to make it all the way in the hands exploitative smugglers. We continue to enforce immigration laws, as it is our legal responsibility. These migrants are given false information by smugglers. These migrants give up their lives, and their savings, to these exploitative organizations, criminal organizations that don’t care about their safety but only want to make a profit.
MARGARET BRENAN: But, but I can hear you saying that you don’t come. However, people are moving at the moment so those words are not being understood. They aren’t being stopped by the efforts to address the root causes. The horrific trafficking of migrants, which is the most serious smuggling incident in American history with the deaths of those who were trapped in a trailer truck, is not stopping them. Do you think this will get worse? Will we see more migrants than ever before?
SEC. MAYORKAS: I’m not, I’m not anticipating that. In fact, the federal agency that is leading the investigation into the San Antonio tragedy and the Homeland Security investigations has been working with the United States Attorney’s Office to bring forth four people who have been charged for this heinous crime. Because this is a regional problem that demands a regional solution, we are working with our southern partners. Last week, I spoke-
MARGARET BRENNAN – But they passed the U.S. border officers-
SEC. MAYORKAS: We have a multi-layered approach. Margaret. Our sophisticated, non-intrusive technology allows us to inspect the entry port. The checkpoints are open 24 hours a days, seven days a semaine. The Laredo checkpoint in question. Every day, 10-14,000 vehicles pass that checkpoint. Only this fiscal year
MARGARET BRENAN: How did this smuggler manage to get these people across the border? 53 people died.
SEC. MAYORKAS: These transnational criminal organisations are highly sophisticated. Over the past 30 years, they have changed. They were far less sophisticated in the 1990s when I prosecuted them. They are now very well-organized transnational criminal organizations and highly skilled in technology. We are more technologically advanced and have more staff available 24 hours a days. We have helped more than 10,000 people and performed more than 400 vehicle inspections in this fiscal year. Can a truck pass through if it uses sophisticated means? Sometimes, yes. However, I must say that we have stopped more illegal drugs from entering the country than ever before. We’ve rescued more migrants. We are seeing a problem that is regional and hemispheric. We are addressing it accordingly.
MARGARET BRENAN: I’m also here to ask you, Mr. Secretary, about the last 24 hours. There has been a lot of back and forth between federal and state law enforcement about security for Supreme Court justices, and protests outside their homes. Is the threat greater than picketing? Is the threat specific and credible
SEC. MAYORKAS. We have witnessed a heightened threat-environment over the past several months due to a variety of volatile issues that galvanize people from different sides of each issue. The Department of Homeland Security is involved in situations where there’s connectivity between opposing views or ideologies of hate, violence, and false narratives. We engage when there is a connectivity to violence. We are aware that Roe v. Wade’s Supreme Court decision to reverse and overturn it has greatly heightened the threat environment. We have invested resources to ensure that justices and the Supreme Court remain safe and secure. The Department of Homeland Security has deployed personnel to this end. We don’t condone violence. Law enforcement has and will respond to acts of violence by people who do not respect their right to peaceful protest and instead violate the laws of the country and the other states.
MARGARET BRENNAN They planned an event in Idaho and you can see that the Proud Boys, far-right group, disrupted events in California. Are you concerned about these militias right now?
SEC. MAYORKAS, Margaret: I have stated, and the FBI director has echoed this, that domestic violence extremism is the greatest threat to our homeland’s security. Individuals who are motivated by hate ideologies or false narratives can become violent and cause personal grievances. This is what we address and try to prevent. We live in an environment of increased threat.
MARGARET BRENNAN You just placed it in the context terrorism. They are not terrorist groups. What should Americans think about them?
SEC. MAYORKAS (SEC.): It’s not violence, but the- and threats to individuals that law enforcement is involved in. We protect the First Amendment rights of individuals and we defend them vigorously. However, we don’t condone violence or threats to violence.
MARGARET BRENAN: Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
SEC. MAYORKAS, Margaret.
