On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas responded to a question on how many of the 300,000 people encountered at the border were released by stating that “we are limited in our detention capacity by the funding that Congress provides to us.” But he wouldn’t be surprised if the percentage released is north of 70%, but “when individuals are released, they are released into immigration enforcement proceedings. They are on alternatives to detention.”
Host Bret Baier asked, “Obviously, President Biden has just completed his third year in office. How many illegal immigrants has DHS released into the country from the border in that time?”
Mayorkas responded, “Bret, let me correct a misunderstanding. When somebody enters the country, we place them in immigration enforcement proceedings pursuant to immigration law. And if their claim for relief, their claim to remain in the United States succeeds, then, by law, they are able to stay here. And if it doesn’t succeed, we remove them.”
Baier then asked, “Just ballpark it, is it more than 500,000? More than 1 million? 2 million?”
Mayorkas answered, “Bret, it’s more than — it’s well more than a million per year, and it is precisely why we have said, since day one of this administration, that the immigration system that is so fundamentally broken needs to be fixed.”
Baier then asked, “But let’s say, last month, you had a new record set, 300,000 encounters by CBP. How many of those were released from detentions into the country?”
Mayorkas then said, “Bret, we are limited in our detention capacity by the funding that Congress provides to us. We have returned and removed a historic number of individuals. The numbers that we experienced in December [are] precisely why I traveled down to Mexico to speak with the president of Mexico, to encourage them that they enforce their southern border, that they enforce their laws along the migratory path, so that we reduce the number of individuals whom we encounter on our southern border. This is a regional challenge that requires regional solutions. It’s precisely why I traveled down to Mexico last week.”
Baier then followed up, “Would it surprise you to hear that CBP sources say that currently, they are releasing more than 70% of the migrants crossing every day, and sometimes more than that number? Higher than 70%, would that surprise you?”
Mayorkas responded, “It would not surprise me at all. I know the data. And I will tell you that, when individuals are released, they are released into immigration enforcement proceedings. They are on alternatives to detention. And we have returned or removed a record number of individuals. We are enforcing the laws that Congress has passed.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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