'In What Way Is That Not A Lie?': Romney Gets Tough With Mayorkas Over Claim That Border Is Secure

trying to stay on that uh timeline I appreciate that for those of you who weren't here we have our colleagues are all trying to all everybody wants to ask questions everybody uh is scheduling uh tightly so if you try to stay to your time I would appreciate that uh Senator Romney you're recognized for your questions thank you Mr chairman uh Mr secretary in the last three and a third years uh during your term there have been more illegal aliens released into the country than under the four prior presidents combined um I know there some in the country that applaud that but I believe that um frankly if uh President Biden is to be turned out of office it will be largely because of that failure on your part and his part as the person who's responsible for policy um I believe and I think the great majority of the American people believe and that reason why I think it's such a political bomb for the president um that this is an extraordinary crisis and failure do you believe that the numbers that you saw uh that uh that Senator Johnson put up that huge increase in the number of illegal aliens being released into the country that that is a crisis and a terrible problem I have um Senator that's a yes yes or no Senator I have I have said previously that it is a crisis and it is something that we um work to address every single day good thank you uh let me let me turn um the the house I believe House of Representatives uh took action to underscore the extent of this crisis um and the democ rats decided they didn't want to spend more time talking about that but I'm going to ask you a couple questions uh they're not intended to be hostile but the house said that you lied when you said to the house uh in a hearing that the Border was Secure why did you say the Border was Secure was that a lie what do you mean by that um Senator romley allow me to assure you uh that I have honored the oath of office that I have taken more than five times in my 22 plus years of federal service let let me go back to the the question that's as accurate as it is irrelevant which is um my question is you said the Border was Secure what did you mean when you said the Border was Secure is that not a lie Senator um I have you you've asked me now if that is a lie and I have assured you that I have honored the oath of office that I have taken in what way was it not a lie then Senator with the resources and authorities that we have it is as secure as it can be thank you uh second question um uh the the law states uh and the house correctly noted that encounters at the border uh and people seeking parole and so forth should be detained and yet you release them why did you release them Senator we release individuals into immigration enforcement proceedings uh when our detention capacity cannot um uh meet them in detention and they do not pose a threat to public safet safety or National Security based upon the screening and vetting that we perform at the border clearly that screening and vetting was insufficient given the number of murders and other crimes committed by a number of those people so so released but is there a law when the when the Detention Facility is full I understand why you say I I can't put them in detention which the law requires if there's no more detention space but does the law indicate what you then do because under President Trump they were sent back to Mexico as I understand it and under your Administration they were released into the country am I wrong in that assessment yes you are Senator respectfully but you want to explain in what way of course because I believe and I I want to I want to be accurate in the data that I provide to you and so I will verify subsequent to this hearing uh Senator I believe that approx a total of approximately 70,000 people were processed through the remain and Mexico um uh policy and the balance were either detained or placed into immigration enforcement proceedings on a non-detained docket with a notice to appear that is something that has been characteristic of our broken immigration system do you have any sense of the the proportion how many were sent back to Mexico and how many were released into the country I would be pleased to provide that to you subsequently that would be helpful uh the the law also and the house correctly noted that Asylum Seekers uh should be evaluated individually not released on block and yet they were released on block why is that um uh Senator uh I I don't know to what the house was referring because we make individualized Asylum determinations our Asylum officers are trained to do so based upon the facts presented to them in each case well I would refer you to the articles of impeachment which I presume you've had the chance to read is that right actually I have not read the articles of impeachment I probably I probably want to do that because it alleges that you haven't that you did not follow the law of the United States of America and either you or your legal counsil ought to read that to make make sure that you are following the law of the United States of America but it indicates that individuals should to be evaluated individually and not let go or not released into the country on block and yet it says that you did release on block large numbers of individuals into the country that should have been individually evaluated is that the case or not the case that is not the case thank you Mr chairman I've used my time thank you I I appreci

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Published: Thu Apr 18 2024