HYGO News Mandate "Different", Amnesty, Payment To Migrants, Sen. Cotton Questions DHS Sec Alejandro Mayorkas
Cotton Confronts Mayorkas: Why Vaccine Mandates for Americans but Not Border Crossers, Why Walls for Biden but Not the Border
On November 16, 2021, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) engaged Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in one of the most pointed exchanges of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on border security. Cotton pressed Mayorkas on three central contradictions: why the Biden administration imposed vaccine mandates on American workers but not on illegal border crossers, why Biden supported walls around the White House and his Rehoboth Beach house but not on the southern border, and why the administration prioritized amnesty over border security when illegal crossings had risen from 458,000 in 2020 to approximately 1.3 to 1.4 million unique individuals in 2021. Cotton also challenged Mayorkas on the $450,000 migrant payments, family separation policies under the Obama administration, and what Cotton characterized as a “complete tolerance” policy replacing the Trump-era “zero tolerance” approach.
The Vaccine Mandate Double Standard
Cotton opened with a question that framed the administration’s enforcement priorities as fundamentally inconsistent. He noted that Biden was implementing a national vaccine mandate for all employers with over 100 employees and for the entire federal workforce.
“Why shouldn’t we mandate that somebody who comes across the border illegally should be vaccinated, or that’s a reason for expulsion under Title 42 or any other law?” Cotton asked.
Mayorkas’s answer drew the distinction that Cotton had anticipated: “Senator, the analysis for migrants encountered at the border is quite different than for the federal workforce that leads by example.”
The response — that the situations were “quite different” — became Cotton’s foil for the rest of the exchange. The senator’s argument was straightforward: the administration was willing to threaten American citizens’ livelihoods over vaccination status while making no equivalent requirement of people entering the country illegally, many of whom would be released into American communities.
The distinction Mayorkas drew between a federal workforce that “leads by example” and migrants at the border implied that border crossers occupied a separate category from Americans when it came to public health enforcement — a position that critics argued revealed the administration’s priorities.
”Biden Obviously Likes Walls When They Protect Him”
Cotton then pivoted to one of his most effective rhetorical setups of the hearing, walking Mayorkas through a series of questions about physical barriers.
“Have you ever visited the White House?” Cotton asked. Mayorkas confirmed he had. “So you’re aware there is a fence around the entire perimeter of the White House to prevent unauthorized individuals from entering the White House, correct?” Mayorkas agreed.
Cotton then introduced a new detail: “U.S. taxpayers are also funding a half-million-dollar fence around President Biden’s Rehoboth Beach house, correct?”
“I’m not aware,” Mayorkas responded.
“And your department is overseeing this construction. You should be aware of that,” Cotton said. The revelation that DHS — the same department responsible for border security — was overseeing the construction of a security fence around the president’s personal residence added a layer of irony to Cotton’s argument.
He delivered his conclusion: “President Biden obviously likes walls when they protect him. So can you explain to me why a wall is effective and necessary at the White House and the Biden Beach house but is not necessary at the southern border?”
Mayorkas did not provide a direct answer. The exchange distilled what Republicans had argued throughout 2021: that the administration’s opposition to border wall construction was ideological rather than practical, given that it simultaneously invested in physical barriers to protect the president and other high-value targets.
Border Security vs. Amnesty: “Refuse to Prioritize”
Cotton pressed Mayorkas on what he framed as a fundamental question about the government’s priorities: “What should be a higher priority of the United States government, securing our border or giving amnesty to illegal aliens who are already here?”
Mayorkas attempted to frame both as intertwined priorities: “Justice is our priority. That includes securing our border and providing relief to those who qualify for it under our laws.”
Cotton pushed back: “You refuse to prioritize whether we should try to protect our border from people crossing it who have zero right to be here, or giving amnesty to the millions of people that are in this country illegally.”
Mayorkas’s response was forceful: “Senator, I disagree wholeheartedly with the phrasing of your question. It is an inaccurate phrasing of our missions, our responsibilities, our challenges, and our actions.”
Cotton then established the statistical case. He cited 458,000 illegal crossings in 2020 and asked Mayorkas for the 2021 figure. Mayorkas estimated approximately 1.3 to 1.4 million unique individuals out of approximately 1.7 million total encounters (excluding recidivists).
“Are you satisfied that two and a half times as many illegal migrants have crossed into this country this year as compared to last year?” Cotton asked.
“No, I’m not,” Mayorkas acknowledged. “But worse is to promulgate and operationalize a policy that defies our values as a nation.”
Cotton’s retort was sharp: “How about that defies our sovereignty as a nation?”
“Our sovereignty is unflinching,” Mayorkas responded.
“Oh, really? Because as it stands now at the border, anyone from anywhere in the world can simply show up and cross into this country,” Cotton said.
The $450,000 Payments and Family Separation
Cotton raised the reported $450,000 payments to illegal immigrants separated under the Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy. He asked whether Mayorkas found it “shocking that illegal migrants could get up to four and a half times what the family of a service member” who was killed received.
Mayorkas fell back on legal caution: “I’m a lawyer by profession, so I don’t think it’s advisable to render opinions on cases, the facts and circumstances of which I am not familiar.”
Cotton cut him off when Mayorkas attempted to elaborate: “No, actually, no, you may not. It’s my time. I’m sorry. My time is limited.”
Cotton then asked a question designed to undermine the premise of the family separation lawsuits: “You were the deputy secretary during the Obama administration. Did the Department of Homeland Security ever separate a single illegal alien from someone they claimed was their child in the Obama administration?”
Mayorkas responded carefully: “Neither in the Biden administration nor in the Obama administration did we execute the zero tolerance policy that the Trump administration promulgated.”
Cotton’s closing line converted Mayorkas’s own language into an indictment: “I’d say the policies you’ve been implementing are complete tolerance.”
The Procedural Battle
The exchange also featured a tense procedural moment when Mayorkas attempted to provide extended answers and Cotton repeatedly shut him down. “If I may—” Mayorkas began at one point. “No, actually, no, you may not. It’s my time,” Cotton responded.
The dynamic reflected the broader tension of the hearing. Mayorkas consistently sought to provide context and nuance for the administration’s positions. Republican senators consistently argued that the context and nuance were deflections from basic questions that deserved simple answers.
Cotton’s approach — rapid-fire questions with short time windows for response, followed by new questions before the witness could fully answer — was a deliberate strategy to prevent Mayorkas from consuming the limited questioning time with lengthy explanations.
Key Takeaways
- Cotton exposed two contradictions: Biden imposed vaccine mandates on American workers but not border crossers (Mayorkas said the situations were “quite different”), and taxpayers were funding a half-million-dollar security fence around Biden’s Rehoboth Beach house overseen by DHS while the administration opposed border wall construction.
- Mayorkas admitted illegal crossings rose from 458,000 in 2020 to approximately 1.3-1.4 million unique individuals in 2021 — a 2.5x increase — and said he was “not satisfied” with the number, but argued that enforcing stricter policies would “defy our values as a nation,” to which Cotton responded “how about that defies our sovereignty?”
- Cotton asked whether the Obama administration had ever separated families at the border, and when Mayorkas said neither the Obama nor Biden administrations had executed “zero tolerance,” Cotton closed with: “I’d say the policies you’ve been implementing are complete tolerance.”