Mayorkas: Migrants Shouldn't 'Take the Dangerous Journey' But 'We Very Well Could' Have a Surge When Title 42 Goes Away

During an interview aired on Wednesday’s “CBS Evening News,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated that while “we very well could” see a surge at the border if Title 42 is rescinded, the message to asylum seekers is “do not take the dangerous journey.”

Mayorkas said, “It’s very difficult to predict what that migration will be. But we are planning for different scenarios. We are then, at the border, surging resources. What distinguishes us from the past is the fact that we will not implement policies of cruelty that disregard our asylum laws. We are rebuilding a system that was entirely dismantled.”

Host Norah O’Donnell then asked, “But do you acknowledge you’re likely going to see a surge?”

Mayorkas answered, “We very well could. And our job is to be prepared to address it.”

O’Donnell also referenced a migrant that CBS spoke to who had been waiting to claim asylum for nine months and has had her life put in danger from gang threats and asked what Mayorkas would say to people like that.

Mayorkas responded, “What we say is do not take the dangerous journey. We are building an asylum system that has been dismantled. We are providing alternative pathways to seek relief under the laws of the United States.”

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