President Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) comments during a television appearance Wednesday about President Biden’s executive order limiting asylum at the southern border were “misguided,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said. in an interview on Friday.
Mayorkas was reacting to Johnson’s comments in a interview with Fox News host Neil Cavuto, during which Johnson told Cavuto that Biden could resolve the border crisis and close the southern border entirely if he really wanted to.
“If he [President Biden] really wanted to solve the border, Neil, he could close the border completely. But this half-measure executive order he just issued actually exacerbates the problem. He is allowing thousands of people to cross the border every day before they begin to enforce existing federal immigration law,” Johnson said.
“I think it’s wrong,” Mayorkas told CNN, responding to Johnson’s quote. “I would like the Speaker to actually promote and pass the bipartisan Senate legislation, which would be the toughest enforcement measure in over 30 years.”
“Action speaks louder than words,” Mayorkas said, “and words are wrong.”
Johnson also said at the beginning of Wednesday’s interview that Mayorkas “has a serious problem with the truth,” which is why, the House speaker argued, he needed to be impeached.
“What I say is this is exactly why we had to impeach Secretary Mayorkas – he has a serious problem with the truth. What he’s saying is comical,” Johnson told Cavuto.
Johnson disputed Mayorkas’ comments that Congress has failed to act on border security, forcing the Biden administration’s hand.
“We expected Congress to act. They didn’t act once, recently they didn’t act twice, and we took this executive action. It’s not too little and it’s not too late, we expected Congress to act, they failed to do so, and the president exercised his executive authority, as he has done now,” Mayorkas told Cavuto in a previous interview.
“Did he just say Republicans didn’t act? We passed HR 2 – the most secure border measure in Congressional history – 14 months ago. [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer’s (DN.Y.) desk in the Senate now. That would have really solved the problem,” Johnson said, referring to the crisis at the southern border.
The back-and-forth through interviews came immediately after President Biden’s executive action on Tuesday that would turn away asylum-seeking migrants who illegally crossed the southern border at times when daily encounters were reaching high volumes.
The order would take effect when the seven-day average of daily border crossings exceeds 2,500 between ports of entry, senior administration officials said, meaning it took effect immediately.
The Speaker of the House criticized the order before its release, telling reporters it was “weak” and calling it a “façade.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
