Former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admitted on Tuesday that the Biden administration should have moved sooner to strengthen immigration enforcement at the US-Mexico border.
Speaking at the Politico Security Summit, Mayorkas said the US immigration framework itself played a central role in shaping outcomes at the border, describing it as a “broken immigration system” with a “low bar” for admission based on claims of “credible fear of persecution.”
Asked whether earlier action on border policy, including raising standards for credible fear claims, could have resulted in President Donald Trump not returning to office with his 2024 election victory, Mayorkas responded: “I am not in a position to speculate, but I will tell you that I would be far more better rested and less punched.”
