Mayorkas Insists DHS Has 'Done All We Can' as Title 42 Ends, Blames Congress (May 11, 2023)

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had nearly two years to get ready for the end of Title 42. With the COVID-era border order hours from expiring, a reporter asked whether he was confident he had done all he could. “We have done all we can with the resources that we have and within the system that we are operating under,” Mayorkas said [1].

The video above shows that exchange from the White House briefing on May 11, 2023, where Mayorkas joined Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at the podium. Quotes are from the official White House transcript [1].

”How Can Chaos Be the Expectation?”

The question came after President Joe Biden had warned that the border would be chaotic for a while. “The President said this week that the situation on the southern border is going to be chaotic for a while,” a reporter said. “Given the fact that you’ve had nearly two years to prepare for this moment, how can chaos be the expectation?” [1]

Mayorkas said he had warned for months that the border would be “very difficult” and that “that difficulty may actually only increase at this time of transition.” He blamed the system and Congress: “The fundamental reason why we have a challenge at our border and we’ve had this challenge many a time before is because we are working within the constraints of a broken — a fundamentally broken immigration system. And we also are operating on resources that are far less than those that we need and that we’ve requested” [1].

”Some of Those Aren’t Even in Place Yet”

The reporter pushed back. “Some of the measures that you have been talking about to put in place to mitigate this surge, some of those aren’t even in place yet,” the reporter said. The administration had announced regional processing centers only two weeks earlier, and “as far as I’m aware, they’re not open yet. Of the 1,500 troops that the President deployed, only 550 are actually on the ground” [1].

Mayorkas pointed to the parole programs and said 2,500 Defense Department personnel were already in place before the 1,500 new troops. “We have surged resources of all types over months and months, not just personnel but transportation facilities, technology, additional bed space,” he said [1].

“You’re confident you’ve done all you can at this point?” the reporter asked.

“We have done all we can with the resources that we have and within the system that we are operating under,” Mayorkas answered. Jean-Pierre moved to the next reporter [1].

”Our Borders Are Not Open”

Mayorkas opened the briefing with a warning to migrants. Starting at midnight, he said, people who arrived at the southern border would “be presumed ineligible for asylum and subject to steeper consequences for unlawful entry, including a minimum five-year ban on reentry and potential criminal prosecution” [1].

“We prepared for this moment for almost two years, and our plan will deliver results,” he said. “It will take time for those results to be fully realized.” And he put the blame on Capitol Hill: “Our current situation is the outcome of Congress leaving a broken, outdated immigration system in place for over two decades.” Then: “I want to be very clear: Our borders are not open” [1].

”It’s Not a Message”

A reporter asked why the new asylum rule came so late. “The Title 8 enforcement you’re talking about — you’re trying to send a message. Your — the critics of the administration would argue this is a message that you could and probably should have sent earlier on in the administration,” the reporter said. “How did you arrive at the idea that there should be a presumption of ineligibility and why was that policy not announced earlier?” [1]

Mayorkas blamed a judge. “So, in response to your precise question, we sought to end Title 42, the public health authority earlier. We sought to roll out our immigration enforcement authorities under Title 8 of the United States Code earlier. We were enjoined from doing so by a court,” he said [1].

“But specifically, the asylum policy, the presumption of inadmissibility — why not come out with that sooner? You’re trying to send a message now.” the reporter pressed. “It’s not a — it’s not a message. We — we don’t promulgate a regulation. We don’t promulgate a law to send a message,” Mayorkas said [1].

“But, respectfully, sir, it’s on the screen behind you as deterrence: ‘New regulation directing migrants…’” the reporter said. “That’s not a — that’s not a message. That’s a — that’s an impact on human behavior,” Mayorkas answered [1].

530,000 ‘Got-Aways’

Another reporter brought up the Republicans’ favorite number. Border Patrol’s own figures showed that since October “there were more than a million apprehensions, but then there were also more than 530,000 ‘got-aways.’ That’s roughly the size of the population of the city of Baltimore. How can you say that the border is not open?” [1]

“So, we removed, returned, and expelled 1.4 million people last year,” Mayorkas said. “Ask those 1.4 million people if — if they think the border is open” [1].

Later in the same briefing, he declined to put a price tag on the surge for taxpayers, an exchange covered in HYGO News’ report on Mayorkas and the cost question. Nine days earlier, Fox News’ Peter Doocy had asked Jean-Pierre why a secure border needed 1,500 active-duty troops.

The Next Day: “Our Message Has Been Very Clear”

On May 12, with Title 42 gone, a reporter asked who was delivering the warning. “Why haven’t migrants heard a message from the President or the Vice President — either of them — explaining the new rules or reiterating, you know, what the Secretary said yesterday: not to come here if you’re not going to qualify for asylum?” [10]

“I think hearing from Secretary Mayorkas is a powerful messenger,” Jean-Pierre said. “Look, our message has been very clear for the past — past couple of weeks, especially as we’ve been putting this plan together, really, for the past — past two years, which is: We got a robust plan in place to humanely manage the border through enforcement, deterrence, and diplomacy.” [10]

By the Numbers

204,561: total encounters at the southwest border in May 2023, the month Title 42 ended. Border Patrol recorded 169,244 of them between ports of entry [2].
2.47 million: migrant encounters at the southern border in fiscal 2023, a record [3].
302,034: southwest border encounters in December 2023, the first month ever above 300,000 [4].
214-213: the House vote impeaching Mayorkas in February 2024 [5].
237,565: Border Patrol apprehensions in fiscal 2025, the fewest since 1970, with 72% of them during the last 111 days of the Biden administration [6].

What Happened Next

A dip, then records. CBP reported “a significant reduction in encounters along the Southwest border since the return to full Title 8 immigration enforcement on May 12” [2]. It did not last. By December 2023, encounters hit a record 302,034 [4].

Impeachment. On Feb. 13, 2024, the House impeached Mayorkas 214-213, the first sitting Cabinet secretary ever impeached. One article accused him of breaching the public trust “by lying to Congress and saying the border was secure” [5]. On April 17, 2024, the Senate rejected both articles, “swiftly ending the trial,” NPR reported [9].

Biden changes course. In June 2024, five months before the election, Biden issued Proclamation 10773, “Securing the Border,” suspending most entries across the southern border once the seven-day average reached 2,500 encounters a day and lifting the suspension only after it fell below 1,500 [7]. The proclamation blamed “the decades-long failure of the Congress to address the problem through systemic reform and adequate funding” [7].

A new administration, new numbers. Under President Donald Trump, Border Patrol finished fiscal 2025 with 237,565 apprehensions, the fewest since 1970, DHS and CBP announced [6]. In April 2025 alone, Border Patrol recorded 8,383 apprehensions along the southwest border, a 93% drop from April 2024, according to CBP [8].