DHS Secretary Mayorkas went to Del Rio, Texas on Thursday to meet with Border Patrol agents. He surveyed operations along the border as the Biden border crisis edges into press coverage, thanks to Governors Abbott and Ducey sending buses of illegal migrants to Washington, D.C., and New York City. Would Mayorkas have bothered to make the trip to Del Rio if the mayors of those two cities were not melting down over the arrival of the buses?
Mayorkas refused to answer any questions from the press and barred the press from covering his meetings. Remember when Joe Biden said his administration would be the most transparent ever? Good times, good times. He met with Border Patrol agents at Shelby Park. It is the site from which Border Patrol launches boats. The visit with Border Patrol follows a recent sit down interview Mayorkas gave to the San Antonio Express-News. During that interview, Mayorkas criticized Governor Greg Abbott for increasing the number of DPS officers at the border for inspections. The DHS secretary did admit that human smuggling operations have gotten more sophisticated. He said international collaboration is needed.
“[W]hen we work with DPS, in coordination with DPS, they are of tremendous assistance to us,” Mayorkas told the Express-News’ editorial board. “When state officials work unilaterally and do not coordinate and collaborate with us, it can actually wreak havoc.”
“We’re working very closely with our partners to the south and Mexico. On this, we have brought, I think, over 4,000 prosecutions between our two countries. I think the attack on the smuggling organizations is what we need to continue, and to continue to escalate.”
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Mayorkas may think he is “working very closely” with partners in Mexico and further south. Actions show that it not the case. It was Governor Abbott who met with and struck deals with four bordering Mexican states in order to end inspecting every truck that crossed into Texas from Mexico. That eliminated congestion along the border and long lines of trucks often stuck for hours on the highway waiting for an inspection. Abbott authorized the mandatory inspections as a way to curb human smuggling and the activities of drug cartels at the border. It’s easy for Mayorkas or the mayors of sanctuary cities to criticize Abbott for actions he makes to do what he can to stop the flood of illegal migrants coming into Texas each and every day. Yet, these actions are a result of the refusal of Mayorkas and Joe Biden to provide the personnel and resources needed by Border Patrol and other law enforcement along the border.
Mayorkas has made ten trips to the border to survey the situation and speak with Border Patrol and ICE agents. Nothing changes. Mayorkas gets his photo ops and usually makes statements to the press so that they document the fact that he made the trip, then he leaves. That’s it. After a year and a half of the Biden border crisis, it is abundantly clear that the open border is intentional. This is what Democrats want -. no borders. Mayorkas doesn’t even insist that law enforcement enforce the immigration laws already on the books. He gives lip service to saying that Congress must act in order for changes to be made, which is true, but in the meantime, Joe Biden signed executive orders on his first day in office that eliminated policies and agreements that were working in the previous administration to better secure the border. It is not a coincidence that the Biden border crisis has brought historically high numbers of illegal migrants crossing the border, most not using legal ports of entry to have asylum claims processed.
As I mentioned above, the press was not allowed to cover the visit so there is no official statement on what exactly Mayorkas did while he was in Del Rio. Perhaps some Border Patrol agents who got an opportunity to speak with the secretary will talk to the press about what was said. Instead of criticizing Governor Abbott, Mayorkas should have met with him and done some of that coordination and collaboration he was telling the San Antonio paper is needed to address the border.
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