Biden DHS Secretary Defends Record in Interview

Steve Inskeep interviewed the outgoing Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas.  The interview focused on terrorism, national security, and the many functions of the DHS.  There is not much discussion of immigration excerpt for this exchange:

“INSKEEP: Isn’t Customs and Border Protection also understaffed?

MAYORKAS: Yes, it is. And we need more border patrol agents. We need more customs officials. And this is not only to serve our nation’s physical security, but it also facilitates lawful trade and travel and will serve to fuel America as an economic engine.”

As the Biden administration winds down, Mayorkas is doing interviews to defend his record.  Here is another one with Rebecca Santana of Associated Press, which discusses immigration in more detail.   One telling passage from the AP report on the interview:

“Mayorkas became a lightning rod for criticism about border security and was impeached in early 2024 by Republicans who argued that he wasn’t upholding immigration laws. At the time, Mayorkas called those charges politically motivated and baseless. . . . The secretary said the department had to build the capacity to do things like beef up the number of expedited removals and pointed to a lack of funding from Congress.”

Fair or not, Mayorkas will probably be most remembered for his impeachment.  Unlike Barack Obama’s Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Mayorkas will not leave a signature policy like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) as a legacy.

KJ