WASHINGTON (AP) — In the final days of the Biden administration, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended his agency’s work to curb border crossings and argued against breaking up the sprawling department in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press.
President-elect Donald Trump, who from day one promised vigorous efforts to stop illegal immigration and deport people from the country illegally, has picked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to take over the agency that oversees border and Airport security, disaster relief and protection is responsible for high-ranking dignitaries and more. She faces a confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
As he prepares to leave office, Mayorkas said he has spoken repeatedly with Noem, including about the Jan. 1 truck attack in New Orleans and the California wildfires, calling the conversations “meaningful, very productive.” , very positive”.
Here are some takeaways from AP’s interview with Mayorkas:
How the border numbers have changed
The number of people crossing the border illegally initially surged under President Joe Biden before falling sharply this year.
Republican critics pointed to the rising numbers and argued that the Biden administration was not doing enough to control the border, and many voters agreed in November.
Mayorkas argued the surge actually began toward the end of the first Trump presidency, but then the COVID-19 pandemic suppressed migration. The U.S. has emerged from the pandemic faster than other countries in the hemisphere, and numbers have been rising, he said.
Mayorkas said people are traveling worldwide and not just toward the United States
“The scale of displacement is greater now than at any time since World War II,” he said. “And this is a phenomenon that is experienced internationally.”
Mayorkas praised what the Biden administration has done to address the rising numbers, including setting up safe and sound mobility offices in other parts of the world and negotiating agreements with other countries to repatriate their citizens.
“It’s a multi-pronged and multi-pronged approach,” he said.
Criticism of border security and policy exposed
Mayorkas became a lightning rod for criticism of border security and was impeached in early 2024 by Republicans who argued he was not following immigration laws. At the time, Mayorkas called these allegations politically motivated and baseless.
He said it was vital to remember the context as the Biden administration took office. Title 42 — the pandemic-era rule that allowed officials to quickly expel migrants without allowing them to apply for asylum — was still in effect. Biden ultimately ended the policy, although Mayorkas said there was intense pressure to keep it in place because of fears that immigration numbers would rise.
The secretary said the department needs to build capacity to, for example, escalate the number of expedited deportations, pointing to a lack of funding from Congress.
“We have reached out to Congress and requested additional funding. We failed to do that,” Mayorkas said. “We actually reached a bipartisan agreement in the Senate that would have been a permanent solution to the border. … It was torpedoed politically.”
At the other end of the political spectrum, some immigration advocates were disappointed with the Biden administration, pointing to asylum restrictions put in place when the southern border was overwhelmed and other measures.
Mayorkas fought back, pointing to examples such as the rebuilt refugee program that Trump switched to life support in his first term.
“I couldn’t disagree more forcefully. I just fundamentally disagree,” Mayorkas said. “Do they understand the reality of the many encounters we have experienced at the border and how unacceptable that is from a border security perspective?”
On Trump’s threats of “mass deportations”
One of Trump’s most vital campaign promises is the illegal mass deportation of migrants in the country.
Mayorkas said he would not “judge intentional actions based on headlines,” although he noted that headlines can “incite fear.”
But he said DHS has already made promises from the Trump administration to prioritize enforcing the deportation of migrants who pose a threat to national security or public safety.
“That’s exactly what we did and what we focused on,” Mayorkas said.
The secretary pointed to Trump’s support for the H-1B visa program, “the path for high-skilled workers that I agree with.”
And he said Trump’s comments about finding a solution for immigrants brought to the country as children by their parents “raise hope that perhaps legal reform that gives them status may be on the horizon.”
Dissolution of the Department of Homeland Security
The DHS was created after the attacks of September 11, 2001 to create an agency responsible for defending the homeland and preventing terrorist attacks.
22 agencies were merged and it is now the third largest federal ministry with 260,000 employees.
Critics doubt that the DHS has really prevailed. Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s policy blueprint that lays out a conservative vision for American government and society, calls for the department’s dissolution.
Mayorkas said that would not be good for homeland security.
“The challenges facing the homeland have also become more complex and dynamic, affecting multiple elements of our department,” he said. “And I think that this department is now more fit for purpose than ever before.” And I think that it functions more cohesively than ever before.”
Increasing morale
Mayorkas noted efforts to lend a hand employees during his time in office, such as: B. Pay increases for Transportation Security Administration frontline officers and steps to improve mental health.
DHS has consistently ranked near the bottom of a job satisfaction survey conducted annually among all federal agencies. But this year, Mayorkas said, it received an award for its rise in the rankings.
“This year we climbed even higher and that is the result of hard work,” he said.
The Threats America Faces
Mayorkas listed a litany of threats facing America: domestic extremists; “adversarial nation-states,” including China, Iran, North Korea and Russia; extreme weather events; cybercriminals; and more.
Asked what the next government should be concerned with most, he said: “I think they need to focus on all of that.”
