Gov. Doug Ducey released a statement today, speaking out against leaked comments from Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. Ducey called for the resignation of Mayorkas following leaked comments in which Mayorkas called the border crisis “unsustainable,” said “these numbers cannot continue” and said, “if our borders are the first line of defense, we’re going to lose.”
“A defeatist is not what we need when it comes to fighting for border security,” Governor Ducey said in response.
“A couple of days ago I was down in Mexico, and I said look, you know, ‘If, if our borders are the first line of defense, we’re going to lose, and this is unsustainable,'” Mayorkas said in leaked audio obtained by Fox News. “We can’t continue like this, our people in the field can’t continue, and our system isn’t built for it.”
In April, Ducey issued a Declaration of Emergency at the state’s southern border, AZTodayNews reported. He deployed the Arizona National Guard to help law enforcement with the sudden increase of apprehensions and migrant children. Attorney General Mark Brnovich sued the Biden administration over what he calls “environmentally disruptive” decisions to halt border wall construction and change immigration policies.
In June, Ducey joined 19 other governors in a call for Joe Biden to take action and reverse their policies regarding the U.S. border. The group wrote a letter to President Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris describing worsening conditions at the border.
Gov. Ducey stated, “Unlike Secretary Mayorkas, Arizonans understand that strong borders are essential to public safety and national security. The Biden-Harris administration’s record of failure on this issue has led to this moment. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, through their words and their actions, have signaled to the world that America’s southern border is wide open and unprotected.
“We knew how bad the border crisis has gotten: 21-year record-breaking surges in illegal immigration. Law enforcement and humanitarian groups at a breaking point. Young children enticed to make the dangerous journey to cross the southern border. Drugs flowing into our communities. Cartels essentially in control of vast swaths of territory south of the border. And now, Secretary Mayorkas has confirmed our worst fears.
“Today we are seeing the truth of what’s playing out behind closed doors — what the federal government isn’t telling the American people. Chaos, dysfunction, and a defeatist attitude has infiltrated the highest level of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This administration has completely lost control of the border. And with his comments, Secretary Mayorkas demonstrated that he fully understands the catastrophe playing out at the border, and yet he lacks the skill, ability and will to address it adequately.
“The buck must stop somewhere. A defeatist is not what we need when it comes to fighting for border security. It is time for Secretary Mayorkas to resign, and for him to be replaced with someone who will tell the American people the truth publicly, stand up to the radical activists inside the Biden-Harris administration, and once and for all end the crisis at the southern border. The safety of Arizona and our entire nation depends on it.”
