DHS Secretary Mayorkas Responds to Recent Border Wall News Reports

 

WASHINGTON – Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas released the following statement on recent news reports:

“I want to address today’s reporting relating to a border wall and be absolutely clear. There is no new Administration policy with respect to border walls. From day one, this Administration has made clear that a border wall is not the answer. That remains our position and our position has never wavered. The language in the Federal Register notice is being taken out of context and it does not signify any change in policy whatsoever.

“The construction project reported today was appropriated during the prior administration in 2019 and the law requires the government to use these funds for this purpose, which we announced earlier this year. We have repeatedly asked Congress to rescind this money but it has not done so and we are compelled to follow the law.

“This Administration believes that effective border security requires a smarter and more comprehensive approach, including state-of the-art border surveillance technology and modernized ports of entry. We need Congress to give us the funds to implement these proven tools.”

United States to Resume Removals of Venezuelans Who Do Not Have a Legal Basis to Remain

In keeping with our commitment to enforce our immigration laws, and to continue strengthening the consequences for those who cross our border unlawfully, the United States is announcing today that it will resume direct repatriations of Venezuelan nationals who cross our border unlawfully and do not establish a legal basis to remain.

This announcement follows a decision by authorities from Venezuela to accept the return of Venezuelan nationals, as well as high-level discussions yesterday in Mexico City between the United States, Mexico, Colombia, and Panama where Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, and Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall discussed ongoing coordinated efforts to address irregular migration in the Western Hemisphere.

This decision is consistent with the Administration’s efforts to implement a strategy of humane, safe, and orderly enforcement of our immigration laws and to process individuals in a fair and fast manner. These efforts include the Administration’s significant expansion of lawful pathways to enter the United States, including for Venezuelans, which have allowed hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans to enter the country in a safe and orderly manner through our humanitarian parole process and after making an appointment through the CBP One mobile application. Today’s announcement makes clear that we are committed to strictly enforcing immigration laws and quickly removing individuals who do not avail themselves of these orderly processes and choose to cross our border unlawfully.

Irregular migration is a regional challenge that requires a regional response. Through the framework established under the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, other partners across the Hemisphere are also pursuing new actions to address this challenge, including increased repatriations of Venezuelans and other migrants without valid protection claims.

Under the Los Angeles Declaration, which President Biden and 20 leaders adopted last year, we are collectively charged to take coordinated actions to stabilize flows, expand lawful pathways and humanely manage their borders. Conducting repatriations is a key piece to this balanced approach.

We remain grateful for the efforts of these and other nations in the hemisphere to address historic mass migration. United States also continues to support countries as they strengthen their asylum systems.

The United States continues to urge migrants seeking to come to the United States to take advantage of the lawful pathways that we have made available and significantly expanded, instead of putting their lives in the hands of callous smugglers and crossing our border unlawfully only to be removed.

Source: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Office of Public Affairs)