EFE
The Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States, Alejandro Mayorkas, in charge of the country's immigration policy, admitted this Wednesday that the border with Mexico is in crisis, but reiterated that the only one who can solve the problem is Congress.
Mayorkas participated in two hearings, one before the House of Representatives and another before the Senate, to present the Joe Biden administration's budgets for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for 2025.
His appearances coincide with the impeachment trial promoted in February by the Lower House, with a Republican majority, for his management of border policy, and which must pass in the coming days by the Senate, controlled by Democrats.
Asked this Wednesday if he would describe the situation on the southern border as a crisis, Mayorkas affirmed yes.
In turn, the secretary criticized Congress' rejection in February of a bill negotiated by a group of Democratic and Republican senators that sought to toughen border policy.
“Only Congress can fix our broken and outdated system. Only Congress can respond to our need for more Border Patrol agents, asylum officers, immigration judges, facilities and technology,” he stressed.
The Republican Party and its candidate for the White House, former President Donald Trump, have put migration at the center of their campaign, which has become one of the biggest issues of concern for voters, and they accuse Biden of having the “open borders”.
The Biden administration reversed Trump's policy, which facilitated pushbacks of migrants, and launched humanitarian parole programs for people from several countries, while restricting asylum claims at the border.
In December of last year, more than 300,000 irregular crossings were recorded on the border with Mexico, a historic figure.
Mayorkas assured in his two hearings this Wednesday that the government has deported more than 630 thousand people in the last year.