Migrants are crossing the Southern border in record numbers because they know they'll be released in the U.S. even if they don’t have a valid asylum claim, acting DHS secretary Kevin McAleenan told "60 Minutes" Sunday.
What he's saying: McAleenan told CBS journalist Sharyn Alfonsi smugglers know families and unaccompanied children would be allowed to stay now, regardless of their status, and they're "advertising that directly in their hometowns." "[O]ur court system is so backlogged, and our laws prevent effective repatriation, even if there's no right to stay in the U.S," he said.
60 Minutes was the first news organization allowed to film inside the McAllen Border Patrol Station, where asylum seekers begin the immigration process. The facility allowed our cameras inside, because they wanted to show the public how busy they are https://t.co/DDNc3qDwbm pic.twitter.com/Bm07gjUTBX
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) April 28, 2019
Details: CBS journalist Sharyn Alfonsi traveled to the border with McAleenan to find out how McAleenan how to plans manage the border situation, with 100,000 migrants detained last month alone.
- Alfonsi asked McAleenan how he could follow President Trump's tough immigration stance while working with work a Congress "that has absolutely no incentive to get anything done in this area before the election." McAleenan said he believes you can be tough and compassionate at the same time.
The big picture: Trump has directed top officials to execute the most aggressive changes in immigration policy since his inauguration, Axios' Jonathan Swan notes. An acceleration in deportations is critical to this new approach. McAleenan will play a key role in this.
The backdrop: McAleenan was previously responsible as commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection for the enforcement of the Trump administration's "zero tolerance policy," which resulted in the separation of children from parents. The Trump administration said this month it could take 2 years for federal officials to identify the thousands of children most likely separated.
- McAleenan told Alfonsi he had regrets about the way the policy was carried out.
Does acting DHS secretary Kevin McAleenan have any regrets about enforcing the “zero tolerance policy,” which resulted in the separation of thousands of children from their parents? https://t.co/DnACxhqcKU pic.twitter.com/hHc4pLVRFd
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) April 28, 2019
Go deeper: Trump on his future DHS head Kevin McAleenan: "He's an Obama guy!"
