Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas raised eyebrows on Friday with his incredible claim that the U.S.-Mexico border “is not open” and “has not been open” in spite of record numbers of illegal crossings, drug smuggling, and statements from senior Border Patrol leaders who beg to differ.

During a press conference near the Brownsville, Texas, port of entry, Mayorkas acknowledged that the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border will become “very challenging” once the Title 42 pandemic restrictions are lifted next week. He also claimed that the border is not open and that smugglers are “spreading misinformation” to migrants to entice them to cross.

“Last Thursday Secretary of State Tony Blinken and I announced the development of regional processing centers in different parts of South and Central America to enable individuals to access lawful pathways from those regional processing centers, whether they qualify for refugee processing, qualify for our existing and expanding family reunification programs, whether they present acute vulnerabilities that may qualify them for humanitarian parole on a case by case basis,” he said.

“We are reaching the people where they are. It is not only our security obligation, it is our humanitarian responsibility to cut the smugglers out and that is indeed what we are doing,” he added.

“We are building pathways. At the same time, at the same time we will deliver consequences for individuals who arrive at our southern border irregularly. That is our commitment and our obligation as a way of cutting the smugglers out and taking care of the safety and needs of individuals who qualify for relief,” he said, adding:

In a post-Title 42 environment, we will be using our expedited removal authorities under Title 8 of the United States Code. That allows us to remove individuals very quickly. We will, by May 11, finalize the rule that we published in a proposed format that provides that individuals who do not access our lawful pathways will be presumed to be ineligible for asylum and will have a higher burden of proof to overcome that presumption of ineligibility.

We are building lawful pathways and we are delivering consequences for those who do not use those meaningfully accessible pathways. The message is very clear. We are coming with the relief that our laws provide to the individuals in need.

The border is not open. It has not been open, and it will not be open subsequent to May 11. And the smugglers who exploit vulnerable migrants are spreading misinformation, they are spreading false information, lies in a way to lure vulnerable people to the southern border and those individuals will only be returned. To the individuals themselves who are thinking of migrating, do not believe the smugglers. Please access the official government publications. Please access the official government information on the Department of Homeland Security website for accurate information because you are being deceived. And you are risking your lives and your life savings only to meet a consequence that you do not expect at our southern border.

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