Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’s steadfast refusal to say how many illegal immigrants have been allowed by federal immigration officials to enter the United States in recent years, or their current whereabouts, shows he knows that it’s a national security threat but won’t acknowledge it, according to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).
“The security threat is that we don’t know who these people are—1.7 million known gotaways,“ Mr. Johnson told The Epoch Times. ”We’re just detecting them coming in. Plus, we have no idea where these people are. We just let 6 million people in this country, and we don’t know a thing about them, [or] what they may be up to.
“In a dangerous world, that’s a real threat to our homeland security. The fact that Secretary Mayorkas won’t answer my question indicates he knows it’s a national security threat but simply won’t admit it.”
“If Secretary Mayorkas had any integrity, he would faithfully execute the law,“ Mr. Johnson said. ”Because he hasn’t done so, the House should impeach him. And barring that, he ought to resign.”
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) also called for Mr. Mayorkas to resign.
FBI Director Christopher Wray and National Counterterrorism Center Director Christine Abizaid also testified during the hearing.
“The number of people found to be inadmissible at U.S. ports of entry rose to an all-time high in the summer of 2023,” according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). “In the two months of June and July 2023, Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers determined that a total of 199,535 were inadmissible, including 101,450 in June and 98,085 in July.
“This is over four times the level typically encountered during the last decade up until monthly numbers began to rise in 2021.”
The total for the first 10 months of 2023 reached 788,953, according to TRAC, which uses the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain data from government agencies that are then analyzed and made public.
“The number of inadmissible alien encounters at ports of entry is rising due to the Biden Administration directing illegal aliens to enter through them.” an Oct. 23 report by The Heritage Foundation stated. “The administration is mass-paroling illegal aliens into the U.S. under the label of a ‘lawful pathway,’ but neither the pathway nor the aliens using it are lawful.”
The monthly average of inadmissibles since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021 has increased 200 percent, compared to 2020, the last year of rigorous U.S. border enforcement operations ordered during the Trump administration.
The inadmissible individuals are typically given a “Notice to Appear” (NTA) at an immigration office at a later date for an official decision on their status and are then provided transportation to a location of their choice within the United States.
“We’ve experienced a rapid rise in CBP [Customs and Border Protection] encounters of inadmissible aliens at the ports of entry (POE) because, in January 2023, DHS Secretary Mayorkas instructed future illegal aliens to use the CBP Mobile One Application and make an appointment for their illegal immigration at a POE instead of crossing between the ports on the SW border,” former DHS senior official Lora Ries told The Epoch Times.
“For it, Mayorkas rewards the inadmissible aliens with the temporary status of parole in the U.S. and work authorization for at least two years,” said Ms. Ries, who now is director of The Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center.
“When it comes to immigration to the U.S., if you offer it, they will come.”
The resulting flood of illegal immigrants in the country is creating political, social, and economic havoc. After more than 100,000 such illegal immigrants were shipped by federal authorities to New York City, for example, Mayor Eric Adams declared, “This issue will destroy New York City.”
During the Senate hearing, Mr. Johnson repeatedly pressed Mr. Mayorkas to be specific about the magnitude of illegal immigrants entering the country during the Biden administration, referring to a chart based on DHS data showing more than 6.2 million.
“Secretary Mayorkas, I’ve asked you this in the past. What numbers are represented here? How many people has this administration let in by encountering, processing, dispersing, or that have come in as a known or unknown got-away? What approximately? I don’t need an exact number. So what do we got?” Mr. Johnson asked in one such tense exchange.
“Senator, let me say at the outset—” Mr. Mayorkas said.
“I need numbers. Again, don’t filibuster me. How many people has this administration let into the country?” Mr. Johnson repeated.
“Let me say at the outset that our job would be a lot easier if the broken immigration system was fixed—” Mr. Mayorkas said.
“Mr. Secretary, I want a number. How many people have you let into this country?” Mr. Johnson asked.
“I should also comment—” the DHS secretary said.
“OK, I'll give you the number. It’s about 6 million. About 1.7 million as known got-aways. Now, again, we don’t know who these people are. We just know that they’ve come to this country and they’re residing somewhere. Where are all these people residing? Where did the 6 million people go?” Mr. Johnson said.
“Senator, you speak of encounters. Let me—” Mr. Mayorkas said.
“Would you answer my questions? Where did these 6 million people go? Are you keeping track of them? To what extent do we have a handle on where these 6 million people are in America?” an increasingly exasperated Mr. Johnson replied.
“Senator, as you well know, when an individual is released, they are released into immigration proceedings and are subject to removal if they do not have a legal basis to remain in the United States,” Mr. Mayorkas responded.
“You are not answering the question. Where do these people reside?” Mr. Johnson again asked. Shortly thereafter, the senator declared, “I am not going to get answers from the secretary.”
Following the hearing, a DHS spokesman spoke to The Epoch Times on background.
“DHS is and always will work tirelessly to screen, vet, and prevent anyone who poses a threat from entering the country,” he said. “DHS works with our international partners to share intelligence and other information, including to prevent individuals on the terrorist watchlist from entering the United States.”
In addition, the spokesman said: “Our multilayered border security efforts include various screening and vetting processes that work to detect and prevent individuals who pose national security or public safety risks from entering the United States. Our border security efforts include biometric and biographic screening and vetting.
“Customs and Border Protection screens and vets every individual encountered, and if an individual is determined to pose a potential threat to national security or public safety, in coordination with the Joint Terrorism Taskforce, we either deny admission, detain, remove, or refer them to other federal agencies for further vetting and prosecution as appropriate.”
