Southwest
Mayorkas blames Mexico, Congress for historic border surge; calls for more funding and 'reform'
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visited Eagle Pass, Texas on Monday to discuss the ongoing crisis at the southern border.
During a press conference, Mayorkas acknowledged there were unprecedented levels of illegal crossings that put “tremendous stress on our broken immigration system [and] our under-resourced facilities.”
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas holds a press conference at a U.S. Border Patrol station on January 08, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)
“Our immigration system is outdated and broken and has been in need of reform for literally decades,” Mayorkas said.
He called on Congress to provide additional funding for more officers and judges who can resolve asylum claims quickly. Mayorkas also blamed historic surges in December on a lack of funding for the Immigration Enforcement Agency in Mexico.
MAYORKAS TELLS BORDER PATROL AGENTS THAT ‘ABOVE 85%’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: SOURCES
The comments came days ahead of an impeachment hearing into the DHS Secretary over his handling of the southern border. Under his watch, hundreds of thousands of migrants crossed into the U.S., with Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) sources telling Fox News Digital last month that there were more than 276,000 migrant encounters near the end of December, setting a new record for crossings in a month.
Texas National Guard take security measures as hundreds of migrants are attempting to reach the United States border to seek humanitarian asylum in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on January 02, 2024. (David Peinado/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The previous record was set in September when officials saw 269,735 encounters. The number includes illegal immigrants encountered between ports of entry and migrants entering at ports of entry via the CBP One app.
If impeached, Mayorkas would be the first Cabinet secretary to receive the black mark since 1876.
In Eagle Pass, Mayorkas pushed back on the notion that DHS was not enforcing the border.
SENATE NOT EXPECTED TO RELEASE TEXT ON BORDER SECURITY PACKAGE THIS WEEK
“Some have accused DHS of not enforcing our nation’s laws. This could not be further from the truth,” Mayorkas said. “There is nothing I take more seriously than our responsibility to uphold the law and the men and women of DHS are working around the clock to do so.”
He noted that, through the end of the fiscal year, “DHS removed or returned more noncitizens without a basis to remain in the United States than in any other five-month period in the last ten years.”
“In fact, the majority of all migrants encountered at the Southwest border throughout this administration have been removed, returned, or expelled,” he said.
FILE: U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas holds a press conference at a U.S. Border Patrol station on January 08, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)
The comments appeared to be at odds with remarks he made earlier during a private meeting with agents in Eagle Pass, admitting to Border Patrol agents that the current rate of release for illegal immigrants apprehended at the southern border is “above 85%.”
As officials continue to be overwhelmed at the U.S. border, many court dates for asylum claims are being set years into the future including, in one case, as late as 2031.
Senate negotiators met Monday morning as they raced to finish work on the legislative text for a bipartisan border security proposal aimed at reducing the number of migrants who travel to the southern border to apply for asylum protections in the U.S.
The small group of senators has been working for months on the legislation after Republicans insisted on pairing border policy changes with supplemental funding for Ukraine, but disagreements remained.
The Biden administration has also been directly involved in the talks as the president tries to both secure support for a top foreign policy priority — funding Ukraine’s defense against Russia — and demonstrate action on a potential political weakness — his handling of the historic number of migrants seeking asylum at the U.S. border with Mexico.
Biden has faced staunch resistance from conservatives to his $110 billion request for a package of wartime aid for Ukraine and Israel as well as other national security priorities. In the Senate, Republicans have demanded that the funding be paired with border security changes.
Fox News’ Houston Keene and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
Dangerous rip currents and high surf are forecast for Los Angeles County beaches, including the Malibu Coast this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous beach statement, warning of the potentially deadly beach conditions. The dangerous conditions are forecast to last from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning,” the NWS forecast reads. “Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore.”
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A guide to surviving rip currents from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Minor Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible through the weekend. The flooding is most likely to occur during evening high tides from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the water and remain near lifeguard towers. Jetties and tidepools are also especially dangerous during the weekend forecast.
“Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks,” the NWS forecast reads.
Similar hazardous beach conditions are also in the forecast for Santa Barbara County. A high surf advisory is also in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties this weekend, where 10 to 15-foot waves will be possible.
If you live or want to live in Los Angeles, the city controller has released a new dashboard highlighting some of the city’s most notorious problem rental properties, a tool designed to help renters avoid future headaches.
“This project comes at a time when tenants are reporting harassment and illegal evictions violating the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance and Tenant Anti‑Harassment Ordinance, but very few of the complaints end up leading to strong enforcement or real accountability,” L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a media release Thursday.
The new Top 100 Problem Rental Properties dashboard includes a searchable database of all residential addresses with reported housing violation cases within the city of Los Angeles, a ranked list of the 100 addresses with the most violations and an interactive map.
“There has never before been an uncomplicated way for anyone to look up years’ worth of violations by address,” Mejia said in the release.
Data for the dashboard was compiled from multiple sources, including the Los Angeles Housing Department, Los Angeles City Planning and the L.A. County Assessor’s Office, according to the controller’s office.
The release also identified the top three addresses with the highest number of reported housing violations:
1. 636 1/2 North Hill Place, Chinatown
192 housing violation cases
2. 11700 West Wilshire Boulevard, Sawtelle
166 housing violation cases
3. 6650 West Forest Lawn Drive, Hollywood Hills
113 housing violation cases
“Our new dashboard is an easy‑to‑understand public tool that we hope will help renters and organizers document patterns of harm, as well as put pressure on both landlords and the City to act,” Mejia said. “Everyone deserves safe, stable and dignified housing.”
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