Mayorkas urges patience at southern border, says Trump 'dismantled system'
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday urged patience when it comes to the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border.
There has been an influx of migrants at the southern border, many of them unaccompanied minors who are being held at Border Patrol facilities, which are not meant for children, for longer periods of time. ABC News' Martha Raddatz, who was hosting Sunday's edition of This Week from the border, pressed Mayorkas on the issue, reading him a tweet sent from Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who visited a border facility and described a harrowing scene involving a frightened young girl.
Mayorkas said the Biden administration has a plan to build capacity at shelters and help either reunite children with their families or other guardians or transfer them to safer facilities. "Martha, it takes time," he said, arguing the Trump administration would have turned the minors away. "When I say it takes time, I mean it, because we're dealing with a dismantled system. And we did not have the ordinary safe and just transition from one administration to another."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Mayorkas repeated the argument that the Trump administration had set things in motion on multiple networks Sunday. Tim O'Donnell
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Why Johnson won't just pass Ukraine aid
Speed Read The House Speaker could have sent $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine — but it would have split his caucus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of war
Speed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How powerful is Iran?
Today's big question Islamic republic is facing domestic dissent and 'economic peril' but has a vast military, dangerous allies and a nuclear threat
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Trump's first criminal trial starts with jury picks
Speed Read The former president faces charges related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How will Israel respond to Iran's direct attack?
Speed Read Iran’s weekend attack on Israel could escalate into a wider Middle East war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US, Israel brace for Iran retaliatory strikes
Speed Read An Iranian attack on Israel is believed to be imminent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Congress honors real-life Rosie the Riveters
Speed Read These American women reshaped the work force during World War II
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Outgunned Ukraine could fall, US general warns
Speed Read Without more US aid, Ukraine is at risk of losing the war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published