Sec. Mayorkas struggles to dodge questions over cartels circumventing Biden's executive order

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas refused to explain how Mexican cartels and smuggling operations will not take advantage of the loopholes created with President Joe Biden's new executive order that claims to address the ongoing border crisis.

Among the many exemptions, unaccompanied minors who illegally cross the southern border will not be counted for the 2,500 threshold that triggers the shutdown of people trying to seek asylum through a point other than a port of entry. There is a concern that unaccompanied children will continue to be exploited since the U.S. government will take them in, no questions asked.

Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto pressed Mayorkas about the loophole, but the Biden appointee had a hard time dodging the question.

“So the one thing I didn’t understand, Secretary, there are a number of exemptions for this, including, you know, unaccompanied children. And isn’t that a green light for drug cartels to take advantage of that? And, you know, the whole purpose of this, it sort of blows up in your face," said Cavuto.

“Oh, absolutely, absolutely not, Neil," Mayorkas first replied.

'Asylum has already been banned for most migrants who cross illegally since the end of Title 42 last year — and that hasn’t stopped them from coming.'

"But where — who’s going to watch those unaccompanied children?" Cavuto interjected. "If they are allowed and you don’t ship them back, you don’t do anything like that, so where do they go?”

"Neil, we deal with unaccompanied children in a humanitarian way, adhering to our values. We deter irregular migration. ... We’re taking it to the drug cartels with unprecedented strength ..." Mayorkas said repeatedly while refusing to address what Cavuto was asking.

"The cartels, the smuggling organizations are unscrupulous. They exploit individuals of all different types of vulnerabilities. We are taking it to the cartels. We excepted unaccompanied children from this asylum bar because of the compelling humanitarian picture they present," Mayorkas added.

The unaccompanied minors aspect is only part of the many problems Biden's order has, the primary of which is that it will do little to stem the flow of illegal immigrants. Another loophole is anyone who claims "credible fear" will still be allowed through, and the Biden administration has ordered authorities to make it as easy as possible for anyone they encounter to give them such a chance.

"Also, asylum has already been banned for most migrants who cross illegally since the end of Title 42 last year — and that hasn’t stopped them from coming. Highest numbers in recorded history end of 2023," Fox News reporter Bill Melugin explained.

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