Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), recently paid a visit to Eagle Pass, Texas to discuss the ongoing immigration crisis at the southwest border. During his visit, Mayorkas met with local city officials and Border Patrol agents to listen to their concerns.
According to Mayorkas, "Members of the U.S. Border Patrol show their commitment to the safety & security of our country every day through their sacrifice & service. Today, along with @CBPTroyMiller, I met with some of these agents to hear their experiences & share our nation’s gratitude for their work."
Mayorkas also recognized the significant challenges faced by the agents and officers due to an unprecedented number of migrants arriving in December. He said, "These agents and officers encountered an historic number of migrants in December, including large numbers of migrants who arrived at the border at one time, putting tremendous stress on our broken immigration system, our under-resourced facilities, the communities – I met with Eagle Pass elected leaders earlier today – and, most importantly, our agents and officers themselves."
The DHS Secretary's visit comes a week after U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) visited Laredo area advocating for an additional international bridge aimed at increasing commerce flow between two countries as reported by Texas Tribune.
In response to this situation, Mayorkas highlighted the need for additional resources saying "We need congress to provide the supplemental funding that President Biden requested months ago," he further added "We need more Border Patrol agents and more case processors so that the agents can be out in the field doing the heroic work that is their fundamental mission. We need more Officers so that migration surges do not force mitigation measures of last resort, like bridge closures. We need more asylum officers and immigration judges so that we can resolve asylum claims quickly – granting relief when it is warranted, removing migrants when it is not, and reducing the three-million-case immigration court backlog that has been growing for years and years."
