The Biden administration is facing criticism from both sides of the aisle for their immigration policies, as the country sees a surge of migrants at the border. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended the policies on Sunday, but not everyone is convinced.
Mayorkas took issue with criticism from progressives who compared President Joe Biden‘s policies to those of former President Donald Trump, who required migrants to apply for asylum in countries they passed through before applying for it the U.S. The secretary pointed to the 50% drop in encounters at the border before the end of Title 42, allowing for expedited deportations of undocumented migrants.
“This is not an asylum ban. We have a humanitarian obligation as well as a matter of security to cut the ruthless smugglers out. That is a responsibility of government and we are doing that,” said Mayorkas.
Mayorkas also fended off criticism about the White House‘s plan to release some migrants without mandated court dates due to overcrowding in facilities housing those who cross the border, despite a judge recently ruling against the policy.
“We have an obligation to comply with that ruling. We respectfully disagree with the judge. We think it‘s a very harmful ruling. When … our border patrol stations become overcrowded, it is a matter of the safety and security of people, including our own personnel, not just the vulnerable migrants, to be able to release them,” he said.
The end of Title 42, which coincided with the end of the national emergency around COVID–19, is expected to produce surges of attempted border crossings, and Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill remain divided over how to address unauthorized border crossings. House Republicans did pass legislation seeking to limit asylum and extend the Trump–era border wall, but the bill is dead on arrival in the Senate.
Mayorkas also defended Vice President Kamala Harris, who was tasked earlier in the Biden presidency to handle immigration.
“That effort is a yearslong effort. And Vice President Harris has led the investment of more than $3 billion in the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador,” he said.
The Biden administration has sought to thread the needle in blunting an expected border surge, making it harder for migrants to apply for asylum while pushing back on any comparisons to the previous administration‘s more draconian policies.
However, many conservatives have argued that the Biden administration is not doing enough to secure the border, and that their policies are too lax.
“This is a crisis created by the Biden Administration’s radical policies and it is only getting worse. The surge of illegal immigrants crossing the border is out of control and the Biden Administration is doing nothing to stop it,” said Senator Tom Cotton (R–AR).
The Biden administration is caught in a tight spot between progressives who demand more humane policies for migrants, and conservatives who want a tougher stance on immigration. It remains to be seen how they will ultimately address the surge of migrants at the border.
