Homeland Security Nominee Refuses to Commit to Keeping Current Border Wall

Alejandro Mayorkas, nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security, testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 19, 2021. Joshua Roberts-Pool/Getty Images

WASHINGTON—The nominee to head the Department of Homeland Security under President Joe Biden intends to swiftly halt all border wall construction and won’t commit to keeping the current fencing in place.

“President-elect Biden has committed to stop construction of the border wall—it would be my responsibility to act on that,” Alejandro Mayorkas told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs during his confirmation hearing on Jan. 19.