Homeland Security head responds to challenges of illegal immigration at border | 60 Minutes

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when he was less than a year old Alejandro mayorcas and his family came to the United States as refugees fleeing Fidel Castro's regime in Cuba today he's the first immigrant to head the U.S Department of Homeland Security his portfolio includes everything from counter-terrorism and cyber security to overseeing the Coast Guard and Secret Service but it's what he's done or not done about the large number of migrants crossing the U.S border with Mexico that's prompted protests by migrant Advocates and fiery attacks by Republicans who want to impeach him tonight you will hear from secretary mayorkas about the efforts to push him out of office and why he refuses to call the situation on the southern border a crisis the story will continue in a moment early morning is often the busiest time for illegal Crossings along the U.S Mexico border the day we went out with the U.S border Patrol near El Paso Texas was no exception they're headed towards the carousel before meeting the cabinet secretary in charge of securing the borders we got a view from the field the border patrol reported over 2 million apprehensions in the past year a record high some migrants surrendered themselves to border agents with the intention of seeking Asylum but the DHS estimates another 600 000 people evaded agents and entered the U.S illegally the highest number in over a decade which is why secretary mayorkas's testimony before Congress last fall raised a few eyebrows secretary mayor orcas do you continue to maintain that the border is secure yes and we are working day in and day out to enhance its security Congressman what the American people see is a border that looks to be chaotic that looks to be porous well let's I mean the number of people that are arriving at our border is at an extraordinary height there's no question about that but that is not unique to the southern border of the United States there is a tremendous amount of movement throughout the hemisphere and in fact throughout the world the chief of the Border Patrol role Ortiz testified before Congress that some areas of the Border are in a crisis situation do you agree I think that we Face a very serious challenge in certain parts of the Border do you view what's happening right now in the border is a crisis I view it as a significant challenge why won't you say the word crisis you know what because I have tremendous faith in the people of the Department of Homeland Security and a crisis speaks to me of a withdrawal from our mission and we are only putting more force and more energy into it good morning secretary mayorkas a lot of force and energy is now being directed at secretary mayorkas on Capitol Hill when you open up the border to the worst illegal immigration in our nation's history people die this past week Republicans took aim at the secretary blaming him personally for the drug deaths of Americans the rape of Migrant children and more how many more Have You released into America Senator I'm not aware of any murder whom we've so you don't know Senator let me say something do you know if you take a look at no no you don't get to give a speech Congress seems to be more interested in impeaching you than passing immigration reform one member of Congress said he'd like to arrest you for negligent homicide for the deaths of young people from fentanyl another compared you to Benedict Arnold I disregard um that type of rhetoric um I'm focused on the mission do you think they're just trying to get you to resign I'm not going to resign I love Public Service I think it's an incredible honor to be a part of it how often do you and President Biden discuss the situation at the border there's a perception that the president doesn't want to talk about the Border that's a false impression that I I consider to be also political uh rhetoric I was with the president when he visited the board I've spoken multiple times with the president I of course speak with the White House team on a regular basis and with my colleagues in the cabinet absolutely the problems at the border didn't start with the the Biden Administration and likely won't end with it Congress hasn't passed major immigration reform in nearly three decades secretary mayorkis is asking Congress for additional resources on the southern border this is the first year since 2011 that we have added to the border patrol 300 more agents the the fiscal year 2024 budget calls for 350 more border patrol agents more than a hundred million dollars in technological Investments is there anything that's off the table that you won't do to secure the Border well the president as I think you know very well said we are not going to construct more wall that costs billions and billions of dollars that is immovable and that is already beginning to corrode secretary mayork has joined the Biden Administration with a resume seemingly well suited for the job he'd been the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles and deputy director of Homeland Security under President Obama he was also a refugee whose Romanian mud mother and Cuban father fled Cuba when he was an infant I understand deeply the yearning of parents to give their children opportunities that America offers we are a nation of laws if people qualify under the law then we embrace them if they don't then we return them the first weeks in office the Biden Administration halted deportations for 100 days stopped all border wall construction and suspended the remaining Mexico policy critics say it all added up to putting a come in we're open sign on the door I don't think that the more than million people last year that we removed or expelled would consider the Border open but the messaging was the messaging wrong there that you know we're open that wasn't our messaging but that was the but that's the migrants were getting because remember something that we are not the only source of messages that the migrants receive we have smuggling organizations that exploit the migrants and those smuggling organizations engage in Miss and disinformation December according to border patrol figures an average of 1800 migrants a day cross the border into the hasso area overwhelming the city to manage the increasing flow of migrants from crisis-stricken Nicaragua Haiti and Cuba President Biden expanded the use of a public health law known as title 42 vote during the pandemic to expel migrants to Mexico Mexico has agreed to allow up to return up to 30 000 persons per month at the same time the administration unveiled new Pathways for migrants to enter the U.S legally all the people in this line at a border crossing in El Paso scheduled an appointment with U.S Customs and Border Protection by using a mobile app called cbp1 Carla Delgado from Venezuela told us her family had crossed the Darion Gap a dangerous stretch of jungles straddling Panama and Colombia to get here after a series of background checks and screenings they were granted permission to temporarily enter the United States by early afternoon they enjoyed their first slice of pizza in America they have friends in Chicago and told us they planned to build a new life there and apply for asylum in the U.S there's a backlog in the immigration system we know only years from now will judge figure out whether they actually qualify for asylum in the U.S how is that Arrangement good for them how is that Arrangement good for the country I would ask them after they enjoyed their their first pizza how do they feel as compared to what they fled you mentioned that their Asylum claim may not be adjudicated may not be judged for years our Asylum system is broken we need Congress to fix it the new policies have reduced the number of migrants Crossing into the U.S in January and February created a bottleneck on the other side of the Border Juarez Mexico Monday night a fire at a migrant Detention Center killed at least 38 men from Central and South America days earlier at this women's shelter we met families who'd been stuck in Juarez for months every morning at 9 00 a.m women frantically try to refresh the government app hoping to get an appointment to enter the U.S we watch with Karina berseda who runs the shelter by 905 all the appointments and hope were gone it's Lottery with people's lives with people's families with people's livelihoods with people's well-being the fight Administration says this is more Humane than what was going on before it is not the most Humane process because the most vulnerable aren't aren't getting access to it like Guadalupe Vasquez she told us her husband had been murdered in Southwest Mexico and one of her sons had been shot in the eye needed bullet fragments removed she said she's been trying for two months to get an appointment to legally enter the U.S but I think I'm willing to wait to get an appointment even if it takes long she told us but I'm going to make it if you're not able to get an appointment on the app what's your plan I'll try to cross with The Smuggler and I'll cross with my children we saw more desperation outside a nearby Cathedral Christina Granado runs a food program there is in a moment of Crisis she told us more than ten thousand migrants are now in the city and most of them are sleeping in the streets as people wait here are they getting frustrated very frustrated very angry very confused these men told us they'd been trying in vain for weeks to get an appointment on the cbp1 app oh yeah and it gets stuck right at nine o'clock no more five minutes five minutes you have to wait for tomorrow tomorrow we were in Juarez and we're surrounded by a group of migrants everybody's holding up the app pointing to it saying it's not working it's not working and there's frustration and the numbers are growing I will not represent to you Sharon that it is Flawless but remember something that to to build a safe and orderly way and we are continuing to build that remember where we were two years ago the Biden Administration has reunited more than 600 children that were separated from their families at the border during the Trump Administration but now the secretary is facing what could be another defining moment for the country on May 11 title 42 the pandemic era Public Health order will expire that means without some new Arrangement the only illegal border crossers the U.S could expel to Mexico would be Mexicans thousands of migrants are waiting at the border and thousands more are arriving every day as Mexico agreed to take back non-mexicans if title 42 ends so we are in discussions with Mexico with regard to how they will handle any increase in the number of individuals seeking to migrate North if Mexico doesn't accept other Nationals then what well we have all sorts of contingencies I mean that's what we do it's going to be complicated it's going to be expensive it is going to be complicated it is going to be expensive this has been complicated expensive and challenging for decades
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Channel: 60 Minutes
Views: 133,563
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Keywords: 60 Minutes, CBS News, immigration, border, Mexico, Alejandro Mayorkas
Id: FR_qGutOb7k
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Length: 12min 57sec (777 seconds)
Published: Mon Apr 03 2023
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