WASHINGTON – Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas issued the following statement on President Biden’s Proclamation to suspend and limit entry of individuals at the southern border and the accompanying joint regulation of the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice:
“Two weeks ago, I joined others in urging Congress to do what only it can do: fix our broken immigration system and provide our personnel with the resources they need and deserve to do their jobs and advance the safety and security of the American people. For the second time this year, Congress had before it, bipartisan border security legislation that would do just that: deliver the strongest border enforcement tools in thirty years. The legislation was the result of months of hard work by both Republican and Democratic Senators and members of the Biden-Harris Administration.
“Congress failed to pass the tough and much-needed border security legislation. Today, this Administration has taken another executive action to do what it can to strengthen border security in the wake of Congressional inaction. The joint Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice regulation – an Interim Final Rule – will, during times when high levels of migrant encounters at the southern border exceed our ability to deliver timely consequences, deem certain individuals ineligible for asylum, including those who cross illegally between ports of entry; raise the standard used to adjudicate protection claims; and, speed our ability to deliver consequences.
“This executive action is yet another step the Administration has taken within its existing authorities to deter irregular migration. Throughout the last three fiscal years, a majority of all southwest border encounters resulted in a removal, return, or expulsion. Over the past year alone, we have removed or returned more than 750,000 people, more than in any fiscal year since 2010.
“The tough measures we announced today are no substitute for much-needed reforms that are only possible through legislation. We continue to call on Congress to act. Only Congress can provide our Department with additional statutory authorities that would actually create a functioning immigration system, and only Congress can provide our personnel – in U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services – with the resources they need to ensure our border is secure and the system works.”
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