Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas appeared before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and said that the border was “not” open even as the Biden administration has struggled to stem a surge of illegal crossings.
Mayorkas defended the administration’s policies during the hearing as he was grilled by Republicans about the state of the border. Since President Joe Biden took office, illegal immigrants have crossed into the U.S. in record numbers, and crossings are estimated to exceed at least 5 million.
“Our approach to managing the border securely and humanely, even within our fundamentally broken immigration system is working,” he said. “Unlawful entries between ports of entry along the southwest border have consistently decreased by more than half compared to the peak before the end of Title 42.”
After Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) asked him if the border was open, Mayorkas said “It is not,” a statement that was disputed by House Republicans.
“The…
