Mayorkas Won’t Answer Taxpayer Cost Of Historic Illegal Immigration Since Biden Took Office
Reporter: So — so, you talked about cost. What’s the rough cost to American taxpayers since the roughly 4 million people have come into this country illegally, since January of 2021? As those people show up in community hospitals, as they enter the school system, as they get other government help — do you have a taxpayer cost?

MAYORKAS: Let me turn that question around a little bit, because I’m going to turn it around to match the question that an international partner asked of me. And the question that the international partner asked of me is, “What is the economic cost of your broken immigration system?” … there are desperate workers looking for jobs in — desperate workers in foreign countries that are looking for jobs in the United States … What is the cost of a broken immigration system? That is the question that I am asked, and that is the question that I pose to Congress, because it is extraordinary.

Reporter: But do you have — do you have the cost that the taxpayers are paying now?
MAYORKAS: I — I believe I have addressed your question.

Biden DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas Claims Courts Stopped Biden Admin From Tougher Border Security
Reporter: The Title 8 enforcement you’re talking about — you’re trying to send a message. The critics of the administration would argue this is a message that you could and probably should have sent earlier on in the administration. Can you walk us through the deliberation? How did you arrive at the idea that there should be a presumption of ineligibility and why was that policy not announced earlier?

MAYORKAS: 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.

Reporter: But specifically, the asylum policy, the presumption of inadmissibility — why not come out with that sooner? You’re trying to send a message now. And —

MAYORKAS: It’s not a — it’s not a message. We — we don’t promulgate a regulation …

Reporter: But, respectfully, sir, it’s on the screen behind you as deterrence: “New regulation directing migrants…”

MAYORKAS: That’s not a — that’s not a message. That’s a — that’s an impact on human behavior.

Q: “Congress need to act”: GOPs bill? A: Biden package on day one, not concur with GOPs bill
Reporter: Secretary, thank you. So you’re talking about Congress needing to act on this. Any reaction to the immigration package that House Republicans are looking to vote on today?

MAYORKAS: Can you repeat the second part of that question? And I would say the President — President Biden presented Congress with a legislative package on day one of this administration, now about 28 months ago, and we are hopeful that sensible and needed legislative reform will be passed by Congress, and we do not concur with the bill that was presented today.

Q: was it a mistake to not have processing centers ready in time to prevent a surge?
Reporter: So, on the processing centers specifically, though, was it a mistake to not have them ready in time to prevent a surge?

MAYORKAS: As — as I have said, the development of those processing centers is a complex undertaking that requires the work of our foreign partners, international organizations, and the like, and we’ve moved very swiftly.

Q: how long are we talking that this chaotic-ness will be? A: We’re going to meet it
Reporter: May I also ask, in regards to the overcrowding and some of these difficult conditions, how long are we talking that this chaotic-ness will be? Are we talking weeks, months, years before things take traction and you get more of a handle on it?

MAYORKAS: … This is a challenge, and we’re — we’re going to meet this challenge. We’re going to meet it within a broken immigration system while adhering to our values.

Q: Last year 18K each day, Is that still the estimate? A: different scenarios to which we plan
Reporter: Last year, there were some estimates from DHS officials putting the highest level of migrants coming across the border each day at about 18,000 if Title 42 is revoked. Is that still the estimate or do you have a clearer number of what you’re anticipating?

MAYORKAS: So, let me clarify the numbers — the number that — to which you refer. Those weren’t predictions. It is our responsibility in the Department of Homeland Security and across the administration to plan for different scenarios. That’s what we do. And so, what we developed was, in fact, different scenarios to which we plan. And so, we have done so and we continue to do so.

Q: how long are we talking that this chaotic-ness will be?

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Mayorkas Dodges Taxpayer Costs of Illegal Immigration under Biden, Blames Courts, Misleading Statistics