President-elect Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary nominee, Alejandro Mayorkas, says he “would be privileged” to help congressional Democrats and Republicans pass an amnesty for the 11 to 22 million illegal aliens living in the United States.
During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday, Mayorkas said he is onboard with Biden’s plans to provide amnesty to millions of illegal aliens so long as they are in the U.S. by January 1, 2021.
“I would be privileged to work with Congress to pass immigration reform legislation that provides that path and provides a permanent solution to what is clearly a broken system,” Mayorkas said when asked about the plan.
As part of Biden’s plan, millions of illegal aliens who are enrolled and eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program would be able to immediately obtain green cards, as well as foreign nationals who are in the U.S. on Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
Mayorkas, as former head of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for the Obama administration, said he “was proud to implement” the DACA program despite its spurring a rush to the southern border.
“President-Elect Biden also has committed to reinstating the DACA program that I was proud to implement when I was head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and President-Elect Biden also has committed to following the law and applying Temporary Protected Status … to populations who qualify for it by reason of the country conditions in their nations of origin,” Mayorkas said.
“I look forward to executing the president’s commitments should I have the honor of serving as the secretary of Homeland Security,” Mayorkas continued.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who has since said he will oppose Mayorkas’ nomination, noted the negative jobs and wage impact that an amnesty would likely have on the roughly 18 million Americans who remain jobless and another 6.2 million who are underemployed. Their economic opportunities are crushed when cheaper, foreign labor in the labor market is readily available to employers.
Mayorkas also deferred to Biden’s plan which seeks to end President Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy that has drastically reduced asylum fraud and kept illegal immigration at bay.
“I would execute on that commitment should I have the privilege of serving,” Mayorkas said when asked if he would throw out the Remain in Mexico policy as Biden has proposed.
Biden’s amnesty plan will include a litany of giveaways to big business, the open borders lobby, and Democrats who are looking to secure their permanent political majority by importing voters. The plan includes:
- Amnesty with an eight-year path to American citizenship
- Green cards for DACA illegal aliens and TPS beneficiaries
- A 700 percent increase in the refugee resettlement program
- Reinstatment of the Central American Minors (CAM) program
- Funding for technology mechanisms at the U.S.-Mexico border
- Work permits for the family members of H-1B and H-2B visa holders
- Additional employment-based and chain migration visas
- Fast-track to the U.S. for Central American family members of citizens
Already, Biden’s plan has resulted in a nearly 9,000-strong caravan of migrants vowing to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border to seek asylum. Mayorkas would not turn down potentially allowing many of the caravan migrants into the country during the confirmation hearing.
“President-elect Biden and people who will be joining us in the incoming administration have spoken about the fact that there’s a commitment to follow our asylum laws, to enforce our asylum laws, and that means to provide humanitarian relief for those individuals who qualify for it under the law,” Mayorkas said when asked to send a message to the caravan migrants.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
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