DHS secretary Mayorkas claims there’s ‘no’ crisis at southern border

On 3/1/2021, during the news briefing, when asked whether there is a “crisis” at the border, amid a surge of unaccompanied child migrants, Mayorkas said “no.” “The men and women of the Department of Homeland Security are working around the clock seven days a week to ensure that we do not have a crisis at the border—that we manage the challenge, as acute as the challenge is,” Mayorkas said, adding that the “challenge” is not just for the government, but for non-governmental organizations and border communities.

“It is hard and it will take time, but rest assured, we are going to get it done,” Mayorkas said, while adding that it is “important to understand what we have inherited, because it defines the situation of how it currently stands.”

“The prior administration dismantled our immigration system in its entirety,” Mayorkas said. “Quite frankly, the entire system was gutted.”

Mayorkas claimed that under the previous administration, “no planning had been done to protect frontline personnel of U.S. Customs and Border Protection” among others, including “individuals coming to our border.