Washington — Alejandro Mayorkas, Homeland Security Secretary, on Sunday defended Biden’s immigration policy after the deaths of 53 migrants left behind in a tractor trailer. He said that U.S immigration officials had repeatedly warned against traveling south to the border.
Mayorkas stated that “we have repeatedly said and we continue to warn people against the dangerous journey.” Mayorkas spoke to “Face the Nation” in an interview. “We saw in San Antonio, Texas, one possible tragic result of that dangerous journey, and so many people don’t even make it that far in their hands by exploitative smugglers. We will continue to enforce immigration laws as it is our legal responsibility.”
According to the secretary, migrants crossing central America to reach the U.S. border with Mexico often get false information from smugglers. This encourages them to make the trip.
He said, “They put their lives, and their life savings in the hands these exploitative organisations, these criminal organizations who do not care about their lives but only seek to make money.”
The 53 migrants who died in the heat of San Antonio from human smuggling appears to have been the most horrific case in American history. Four people are being charged with federal crimes in connection to the deaths.
Mayorkas stated that the Biden administration has been working with Mexico to dismantle caravans of migrants trying to cross the border to the U.S. He also said that addressing the high number migrant arrivals at the southern border requires a regional response.
“These are highly sophisticated transnational criminal organisations. He said that they have developed over the past 30 years. “In the 1990s, they were far less sophisticated than what I was able to prosecute. They are now very sophisticated and use technology.
Mayorkas stated that the U.S. has also increased its efforts through technology, manpower, and authorities at the border have saved more than 10,000 lives this year.
“Can a truck pass through complex means?” He said that sometimes yes. “But, I must say that we have interdicted greater amounts of drugs at ports of entry than ever. We’ve rescued more migrants. We are seeing a regional and hemispheric challenge, so we are addressing it accordingly.
The Biden administration is continuing to defend its immigration policies following record-setting migrant arrests in May as well as the devastating smuggling campaign in Texas. However, the Supreme Court gave the administration a victory on Thursday when it allowed the administration to end the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy.
Asylum seekers had to wait outside the U.S. for their court proceedings under the former President Donald Trump.
Mayorkas stated that the department was “pleased” by the decision. He also said that the “Remain in Mexico” program had “endemic flaws and unjustifiable human cost.”
