"Well, we don't bear responsibility for a broken system, and we're doing a tremendous amount within that broken system. But, fundamentally, fundamentally, Congress is the only one who can fix this," Mayorkas said.
"Congress needs to fix it. We're doing everything we can -- short of legislation -- to address what is not just a challenge for the United States, but one throughout our region," Mayorkas said.
KRISTEN WELKER: No doubt there is gridlock on Congress. But do you bear responsibility for what is happening at the border, what the president himself has called a crisis?
SECRETARY ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: It certainly is a crisis, and, well, we don't bear responsibility for a broken system, and we're doing a tremendous amount within that broken system. But, fundamentally, fundamentally, Congress is the only one who can fix this.
KRISTEN WELKER: You testified for years, really, that the border is secure. And now, in recent comments, President Biden says it's not secure. Do you now agree with President Biden's assessment that it's not secure?
SECRETARY ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: Kristen, the challenges of the border have been longstanding. The president correctly noted that those challenges have existed for ten years--
KRISTEN WELKER: So, you agree with him--
SECRETARY ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: --in fact, even longer. There is no question that we have a broken system. There is no question that we have a challenge, a crisis at the border. And there is no question that Congress needs to fix it. And we're doing everything we can within that broken system short of legislation to address what is not just a challenge for the United States but one throughout our region.
KRISTEN WELKER: NBC News is reporting that President Biden is actually right now considering taking some executive actions to deal with the border. As you know, Republicans are calling for him to shut down the border right now, something that undoubtedly would face legal challenges. But, Mr. Secretary, why doesn't the president just shut down the border and let the courts just try to stop him?
SECRETARY ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: Well, the fact of the matter, Kristen, is that we have taken executive actions already. We continuously review what options are available to us. But those are always challenged in the courts. And whether or not they see the light of day and actually are able to be operationalized is an open question.
That is why the bipartisan group of senators actually prepared and presented a piece of legislation that would, you know, base it in statute, the ability to close the border for a limited period of time, an extreme measure, and it would be immune from court challenge because it is statutorily based.
KRISTEN WELKER: If it were done legislatively, no doubt you wouldn't have these legal challenges. But isn't trying to do something better than doing nothing at all? Why doesn't President Biden try to shut down the border? Are you encouraging him to do that?
SECRETARY ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: Well, we have already taken important steps. We certainly haven't done nothing. I will tell you, we issued a regulation, the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways, that actually created a rebuttable presumption of ineligibility for asylum seekers if they did not avail themselves of the lawful pathways that we've built. And so, we've done a tremendous amount. It's very important to remember: We have removed, returned, or expelled more individuals in the past three years than the prior administration did in all four.
Watch the full interview below:
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