During portions of an interview with CBS News Immigration and Politics Reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez that took place last Thursday and were released on Tuesday, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated that the Biden administration has “done an extraordinary job to deal with an unprecedented level of migration,” and that the unprecedented levels of migration are due to other factors.
Mayorkas responded to arguments that the Biden administration has encouraged people to come to the border by stating, “That is false. If we take a look at migration, not just at our southern border, but in context, the level of migration throughout the hemisphere is unprecedented. And throughout the world, it’s the greatest level of displacement, of migration since World War II. I think there are about 73 million displaced people in the world. The reasons why people leave their countries of origin are those with which we are quite familiar: extraordinary poverty, violence, extreme weather events, corruption, suppression by authoritarian regimes.”
He also said, “We have done an extraordinary job to deal with an unprecedented level of migration, Camilo. The reality is that some people do, indeed, try to game the system. … And we deal with it accordingly. And importantly, the bipartisan legislation that failed today, for the second time, would have equipped us with more tools to deal with those individuals who seek to game the system.”
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