Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told a House panel on Wednesday that illegal immigrants apprehended at the southern border have been released into the United States without submitting to a COVID-19 test.
Mayorkas, testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee, confirmed that testing was not conducted on some of the people released after being apprehended crossing the border.
“There were times earlier when individuals were apprehended, and we sought to expel them, and we were unable to expel them, and we were compelled to release them, and we did not have the opportunity to test them,” he said.
In his opening remarks, Mayorkas described the situation as "undoubtedly difficult."
"But we will not waver in our commitment to succeed. That is our job," he said. "We will also not waver in our values and our principles as a nation. In the Department of Homeland Security, we can and we will tackle the many challenges we face while complying with our legal obligations and honoring our nation's values and principles."
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, praised the Trump administration's "masterful job" in negotiating the Remain in Mexico policy and Asylum Cooperative Agreements with Central America.
"Cartels and traffickers see that the greenlight is on at our southern border and the United States is open for business again," McCaul said. "This administration has created this crisis by rescinding these agreements."
He added: “I think words do matter. I think you said exactly the wrong message when you stated, ‘We are not saying don’t come. We’re just saying don’t come now.’ That is not a message of deterrence.”
Mayorkas, however, slammed the Trump team's tactics at the border as "deplorable and absolutely unacceptable."
"Sometimes the tools of deterrence defy values and principles for which we all stand," he said.
Mayorkas added: “I will share with you how I define a crisis. A crisis is when a nation is willing to rip a 9-year-old child out of the hands of his or her parent and separate that family to deter future migration. That to me is a humanitarian crisis. And what the president has committed to and what I am committed to and execute is to ensure that we have an immigration system that works and that migration to our country is safe, orderly and humane."
Mayorkas went on to push back on the accusation that Biden had encouraged illegal immigrants to surge across the border.
"A claim of asylum is a claim that is recognized by law in the United States of America," he said. "And an individual who makes a claim of asylum is not breaking the law by doing so. As a law enforcement officer, I enforce the laws of accountability as well as the humanitarian laws that Congress passed."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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