Alejandro Mayorkas, Homeland Security Secretary, has refused to label the current situation at the southern border as a “crisis” again in an interview. He claimed that admitting it was a crisis would be a withdrawal from our mission.

Mayorkas was asked by “60 Minutes” if he considered the current situation at the border, which saw record numbers of 1.7 million and more than 2.5 million migrants in FY 2021, a crisis.

Mayorkas stated, “I see it as a significant problem,” echoing his multiple answers to this question.

Mayorkas answered a question about why he didn’t use the term “crisis” when he said that he had tremendous faith in the Department of Homeland Security.

“And a crisis tells me that we are withdrawing from our mission. He said that we only put more force and energy into it.

Mayorkas was repeatedly questioned about the border situation during hearings in both the Senate and House this week. Many Republicans said he should quit or be fired.

These hearings were held in response to a hearing last month that featured Raul Ortiz, Chief of Border Patrol — who claimed that agents didn’t have “operational control” over the border.

“In five out of the nine southwest border sections, we have witnessed an increase in flow which has caused a significant strain on our resources and has really forced the Border Patrol so agents and migrants to some other areas,” Ortiz stated in response to a question regarding whether the border was secure.

Ortiz stated that he was against the wall-building plan and used the term “crisis”, to describe the situation.

He stated that the migration flow “represents challenges and in certain areas, a crisis situation.”

Mayorkas was specifically asked if he agreed to those remarks.

He said, “I believe that we face an extremely serious challenge in parts the border.”

Republicans believe that the Biden administration’s policies are responsible for the drastic increase in migrants crossing the border. While the administration sought to increase legal pathways, it also ended many Trump-era border protections and tightened interior enforcement. It expanded “catch and release” as well.

According to the administration, it wants to encourage humane and orderly immigration and increase resources to the border while simultaneously dealing with a crisis that spans the entire hemisphere and fixing an asylum system that was destroyed by the previous administration. Republicans were also criticized for not agreeing to funding requests at the border, including a December request of nearly $5 billion.

Mayorkas argued again in the interview that the surge wasn’t being faced by only the U.S.

“The amount of people who are crossing our border at an incredible rate is staggering. This is undisputed. This isn’t a problem only at the United States’ southern border. Mayorkas stated that there is tremendous movement in the hemisphere, and indeed, all over the globe.