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Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the Democrat-turned-independent senator from Arizona, Kyrsten Sinema, had very different views on the crisis at the border as Title 42 is set to expire this week.
Senator Sinema sat down with Margaret Brennan of CBS’ “Face the Nation” for a recorded interview on Friday at the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum.
The senator stated that everyone in the state of Arizona knows that the U.S. is not prepared for what will ensue once Title 42 expires.
She called out the Biden administration for failing to use the last two years to get ready for this day.
Sinema expressed outrage that her state and the migrants themselves “will be in crisis” when the law expires.
Brennan asked Mayorkas in a separate interview that also aired on Sunday about Sinema’s views.
She said, “I want to ask you about Arizona. As you know, we were just there. The governor of Arizona and the senior senator told us that the federal government is unprepared.”
“Senator Sinema said Homeland Security is not sharing information with her or local law enforcement on numbers of migrants, processing time, and available buses to transport them.
“The governor also said she needs more urgency and she can’t get specific information on dollars for emergency shelters. Why isn’t that kind of specific detail being shared?”
“Well, I respectfully disagree with the Senator and the governor. Number one, we are prepared … Number two, we have a migration information center that is specifically set up to communicate with state and local officials,” said DHS Sec. Mayorkas.
“This is the greatest migration surge, you said, in the Western Hemisphere since World War II. And you’ve been preparing for more than a year and a half. How rough will the next few weeks be?” Brennan asked.
“We’ve been preparing for this for more than a year and a half, you are correct. And it is indeed a regional challenge. And it requires a regional response, which is why we are working so closely with many countries to the south,” Mayorkas began.
“With the Los Angeles declaration that we achieved at the Summit of the Americas as our foundational approach. I think we’re going to see larger numbers at first.”
“It’s going to take our plan a while to really take hold for people to understand that they can access lawful, safe, orderly pathways before they reach the border. And quite frankly, if they come to the border, they will receive a consequence under our enforcement authorities,” the DHS secretary continued.
Brennan then asked about the processing centers the administration is setting up in Colombia and Guatemala to begin the asylum process before coming to the border.
Mayorkas said that the center in Colombia should be ready in a matter of weeks and then touted the parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans and the expansion of the family reunification programs.
Regarding the 1500 troops going to El Paso, TX, Mayorkas said they will not interact with migrants but instead provide the support that will allow border patrol agents to be out in the field.
