Mayorkas refuses to comment on live migrant smuggling video
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security maintains the border is secure
- A NewsNation live broadcast captured real-time illegal migrant smuggling
- Rep. Michael Guest: Administration continues to deny border crisis
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WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — A day after U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified in front of Congress, reassuring that the border was secure, a live NewsNation broadcast captured migrants being illegally smuggled at the border in Arizona.
Mayorkas was back on Capitol Hill Wednesday for his second round of questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee for matters related to the southern border.
The focus was supposed to be on budgetary matters, but the hearing provided senators another opportunity to question the Biden administration’s stance on border issues.
However, the secretary maintained his belief that the border is secure.
“I stand by my prior assessment because I define it as maximizing the resources we have,” Mayorkas said.
When NewsNation tried to share the footage of the illegal migrant smuggling that the live broadcast caught at the border with Mayorkas, he didn’t answer any questions and kept walking.
But here’s what Mayorkas told lawmakers: “We are intensely focused on securing the Southwest border, securing all of the borders of the United States.”
Mayorkas said his agency will work on 129 separate projects to close gaps in the border wall and invest in personnel and technology. But the ambitious task ahead will be a massive one.
Last fiscal year, U.S. Border Patrol agents recorded more than 2.6 million migrant encounters — the highest on record.
“This administration continues to deny that what we’re seeing on the border is a crisis,” Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.) said.
Republicans who saw NewsNation’s illegal migrant smuggling video said it’s evidence that the Biden administration is failing at the border, but Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) said the GOP is focused on the wrong issue.
Correa said the root cause is a migration crisis affecting all of the Americas — from North America to South America — that can’t be fixed by a wall. He explained that the U.S. needs more legal immigration.
“There is no secure border in the world if your definition is 100% nothing gets in, nothing gets out,” Correa said.
NewsNation Devan Markham contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 28: U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas testifies before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on March 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. Mayorkas testified during an oversight hearing of the Homeland Security Department. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) 
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 29, 2023 in Washington, DC. Mayorkas testified on the 2024 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) 
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 29, 2023 in Washington, DC. Mayorkas testified on the 2024 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) 
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) (L) and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) listen as Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 29, 2023 in Washington, DC. Mayorkas testified on the 2024 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) 
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 29, 2023 in Washington, DC. Mayorkas testified on the 2024 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)