Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday blamed Congress for failing to provide sufficient resources to manage the border and leaving the U.S. immigration system outdated, one day before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are set to lift.
The Biden administration is preparing to terminate on Thursday night the so-called Title 42 policy, which has allowed border agents to turn back asylum-seekers without a hearing for more than three years. The Department of Homeland Security has projected border agents could encounter as many as 13,000 migrants per day once the policy ends.
Mayorkas — who has faced calls from House Republicans to resign and threats of impeachment amid record high levels of border crossings — pointed the finger back at Congress over what he warned would be a “difficult” few weeks after the border policy terminates.
