Tipsheet

LOL: Former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Now Claims He Wanted Biden to Close the Southern Border

Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is now claiming that he urged President Joe Biden to close the southern border, according to remarks he made Tuesday during an interview at the POLITICO Security Summit.

"Did you feel that you had the support from the president in order to succeed," Mayorkas was asked.

"There were areas of disagreement within immigration policy and in other areas," he replied. "But I voiced my views."

I was very pleased that in June of 2024 we took executive action that I thought made reforms that were sensible. If those again that had and that proved proved successful if those executive actions had been taken one or two years earlier. 

The executive action taken by the Biden administration in June 2024 temporarily suspended and restricted the entry of most noncitizens crossing the southern border while tightening asylum eligibility requirements. Although the policy reportedly reduced border crossings by between 30 and 50 percent, the move was widely viewed as too little, too late after years of an open-border policy approach throughout Biden’s presidency. 

It was not until President Trump’s election, supporters argue, that illegal border crossings began to fall dramatically.

And despite Mayorkas’ claims this week, his record tells a different story. During congressional hearings throughout the Biden administration, the former DHS secretary repeatedly insisted that the border was both “closed” and “secure,” even as record numbers of illegal crossings fueled widespread outrage.

Some are calling for Mayorkas to face perjury charges over his conflicting statements.