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The Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday that Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas “welcomes candor” from Border Patrol agents after a tense meeting with agents in Yuma, Arizona — in which an agent reportedly turned their back on the secretary and Mayorkas reportedly admitted Biden administration policies are “not particularly popular” with them.
Townhall obtained audio of Mayorkas’ remarks to agents in the Yuma Sector during a tense meeting in which an agent turned his back on the secretary after accusing the administration of not allowing agents to do their jobs of patrolling the border. Another agent reportedly pressed Mayorkas on how agents are unable to patrol the border due to the policies of the Biden administration, while another reportedly said that Yuma was better under President Donald Trump as “everyone was doing their jobs.”
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“The job has not gotten any easier over the last few months, and it was very, very difficult throughout 2021,” Mayorkas told the agents, according to Townhall. “I know apprehending families and kids is not what you signed up to do. And now we got a composition that is changing even more with Cubans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, and the like, it just gets more difficult,”
“I know the policies of this administration are not particularly popular with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, but that’s the reality, and let’s see what we can do within that framework,” Mayorkas added.
He also told agents that he had approved gaps to be filled in the border wall where construction had ended abruptly under the Biden administration.
As for the agent who turned his back on him, Mayorkas reportedly told the agent, “You can turn your back on me, but I won’t turn my back on you.”
A DHS spokesperson told Fox News that Mayorkas had invited frank discussion, that the point of his trip was to hear from agents unfiltered and that had a number of constructive discussions already on the three-day trip to the area.
“Secretary Mayorkas’s priority for this trip is to meet directly with the workforce to hear about their experiences and address their needs,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“Border Patrol Agents are dedicated to their mission, and demonstrate tremendous bravery and life-saving skills in the performance of their duties. Secretary Mayorkas welcomes candor during these conversations, and appreciates and respects the opinions of each member of the CBP workforce,” they said.
The Biden administration has overseen one of the biggest influxes of migration in years — while unraveling Trump-era border policies and restricting interior enforcement at the same time.
There were 178,840 migrant encounters in December, an increase over November and the latest indicator that the border crisis is likely to roll on through 2022.
The Biden administration was forced by court order to re-implement the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) after it was found that the administration ended it illegally. However, the restored program — which sees migrants returned to Mexico instead of being released into the U.S. — had fewer than 300 migrants enrolled in it in December.
BIDEN ADMIN ENROLLED FEWER THAN 300 MIGRANTS IN ‘REMAIN IN MEXICO’ IN DECEMBER
Mayorkas reportedly admitted that that is inadequate, when pressed by one of the agents who spoke up.
“The numbers are not where they need to be. I agree with that,” he said.
The report immediately drew ire from congressional Republicans.
“Instead of supporting the men and women of CBP, Biden’s DHS Secretary is gaslighting them for raising legitimate concerns about the border crisis,” Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, tweeted. “This is shameful.”
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It isn’t the first time a meeting between Mayorkas and Border agents has leaked. Mayorkas met with agents in August, during which he said that the border crisis is “unsustainable” and that “we’re going to lose” if “borders are the first line of defense.”
“A couple of days ago I was down in Mexico, and I said, ‘Look, you know, if — if our borders are the first line of defense, we’re going to lose, and this is unsustainable,'” Mayorkas said.
