In response to a question from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) at a House Judiciary Committee hearing last week, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas revealed that he was unsure if 42 illegal aliens on the terror/no-fly watchlist had been released into the country under his failed leadership. Mayorkas told Rep. Jordan that the data on the issue was not at his fingertips.
By Sunday, however, Sec. Mayorkas revealed the answer to Rep. Jordan's question on "Fox News Sunday," telling host Bret Baier:
Oh, so yes, and I did not want to speak -- misspeak in response to Ranking Member Jordan's question, because we know where those 42 individuals are, on the TSDB, the terrorist screening database.
But we know where those 42 are, and I did not want to speak with respect to the disposition of each and every one of them. But we know where they are, and we've got our hands on it.
[Americans] shouldn't be worried about the 42 [terrorists]. We've got -- we've got a handle on it, and when I say, Bret, it's not the Department of Homeland Security alone. It's the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It's our entire enforcement and intelligence enterprise."
In another disingenuous attempt to ease concerns over the matter, Sec. Mayorkas erroneously added that the Department of Homeland Security is not just "letting people loose and just letting them come in."
Bret Baier then asked Sec. Mayorkas, if he knew how many illegal aliens apprehended at the southern border, had been released into U.S. communities since he began his tenure as secretary. The secretary eventually surrendered that over 836,000 illegal aliens have been released into the U.S. since Jan. 2021 - but not before quipping, "Do you know what release means, Bret?"
"Because release doesn't mean just let go into the United States. It means, if we do not detain individuals, they're placed on alternatives to detention, and they are in immigration enforcement proceedings. And if they do not appear for their immigration enforcement proceedings, they are a priority for enforcement action. That's what we're speaking about," Mayorkas argued.
"OK," responded Baier: "So the numbers are that -- according to the U.S. district court which you submitted -- the DHS has directly released at least 836,000 aliens into the United States since January 21st. Then, you add the...207,000 unaccompanied alien children, UACs, and then your Border Patrol estimate, somewhere from 200,000 to 400,000 got-aways, in other words, encounters that...evade apprehension."
"I believe so," Mayorkas said.
You can read more about Mayorkas's comments here.
