    [Senate Hearing 117-426]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                            S. Hrg. 117-426

       DHS ACTIONS TO ADDRESS UNACCOMPANIED MINORS AT THE SOUTHERN BORDER

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   before the

                                  COMMITTEE ON
                   HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                         ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                                  MAY 13, 2021

                                   __________

            Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov

                           Printed for the use of the
            Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

               	[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    		 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

    45-984 			 WASHINGTON : 2022

            COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                       GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
    THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
    MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire         RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
    KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              RAND PAUL, Kentucky
    JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
    ALEX PADILLA, California             MITT ROMNEY, Utah
    JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                         JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                       David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
                        Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
             Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
                        Sarah C. Pierce, Senior Counsel
                   Katie A. Conley, Professional Staff Member
                    Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
        Andrew Dockham, Minority Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director
           Kirsten D. Madison, Minority Director of Homeland Security
           Jeremy H. Hayes, Minority Senior Professional Staff Member
                         Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
                         Thomas J. Spino, Hearing Clerk

                                C O N T E N T S

                                     ------
    Opening statements:
                                                                       Page
        Senator Peters...............................................     1
        Senator Portman..............................................     3
        Senator Hassan...............................................    12
        Senator Carper...............................................    15
        Senator Johnson..............................................    15
        Senator Rosen................................................    18
        Senator Lankford.............................................    20
        Senator Romney...............................................    23
        Senator Scott................................................    29
        Senator Hawley...............................................    31
        Senator Ossoff...............................................    34
        Senator Padilla..............................................    37
        Senator Sinema...............................................    39
    Prepared statements:
        Senator Peters...............................................    43
        Senator Portman..............................................    45

                                   WITNESSES
                             Thursday, May 13, 2021

    Hon. Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary, U.S. Department of
      Homeland Security
        Testimony....................................................     6
        Prepared statement...........................................    52

                                    APPENDIX

    Unaccompanied Children Encountered at Southwest Border chart.....    60
    Number of Children in CBP Custody chart..........................    61
    Average Number of Hours Children in CBP Custody chart............    62
    SW Border Apprehensions chart....................................    63
    Picture of fence.................................................    64
    Statement for the Record from Kids in Need of Defense............    65
    Responses to post-hearing questions for the Record:
        Mr. Mayorkas.................................................    75

       DHS ACTIONS TO ADDRESS UNACCOMPANIED MINORS AT THE SOUTHERN BORDER

                                  ----------

                             THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2021

                                         U.S. Senate,
                               Committee on Homeland Security
                                      and Governmental Affairs,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:16 a.m., via
    Webex and in room SD-342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon.
    Gary C. Peters, Chairman of the Committee, presiding.
        Present: Senators Peters, Carper, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen,
    Padilla, Ossoff, Portman, Johnson, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and
    Hawley.

                OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN PETERS\1\

        Chairman Peters. The Committee will come to order.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ The prepared statement of Senator Peters appear in the Appendix
    on page 43.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Secretary Mayorkas, welcome back, and thank you for your
    willingness to testify and your continued service to our
    Nation. We appreciate that.
        I know that you and the Biden administration as a whole
    inherited a number of very serious challenges, and I have been
    impressed with what you have accomplished in a relatively short
    time. Your efforts to support the wide distribution of vaccines
    to every community so we can get through this Coronavirus
    Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and your concrete actions to
    combat domestic terrorism, including white national violence,
    is appreciated. While you help ensure communities across the
    country are safer and more secure, we know that it is a big job
    that requires your constant attention.
        While doing all of that, your Department has also grappled
    with the situation on our Southern Border, addressing the
    humanitarian challenges presented by the arrivals of
    unaccompanied alien children (UAC) while also working to keep
    our border secure. That is the focus of today's hearing, and I
    look forward to hearing about some of your successes and the
    challenges that you continue to face and the support and
    resources that your Department needs to effectively carry out
    your mission while ensuring appropriate care of people who are
    in DHS custody.
        Although we saw higher-than-usual numbers of unaccompanied
    minors arriving at the border earlier this spring, these
    numbers appear to be decreasing. Even so, the significant
    numbers of migrants seeking asylum in the United States
    continues to present a very serious challenge.
        Our Nation rightfully serves as a beacon for those who are
    fleeing persecution. We have an obligation to ensure that the
    migrants that our border security professionals encounter are
    being treated with dignity and have appropriate food, care, and
    shelter.
        But we also must ensure that those efforts do not restrict
    the ability of border security personnel to continue their
    critical front-line mission to stop illicit drugs, contraband,
    and other illegal activity along our borders and help keep
    Americans safe.
        Mr. Secretary, many of the challenges that you inherited
    were made worse because of the actions of the previous
    administration. The Trump administration's decision to suspend
    longstanding legal protections afforded to minors and those
    fleeing persecution for significant numbers of asylum seekers
    to wait in a very precarious condition in Mexico. As a result,
    when President Biden took office in January, there was already
    a significant population of vulnerable asylum seekers,
    especially minors, waiting to seek refuge in the United States
    from violence or persecution in their home countries.
        The ongoing pandemic has compounded challenges faced by
    both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the
    Department Health and Human Services (HHS) as they work to
    house unaccompanied children. COVID-19 health protocols have
    limited the amount of space and staff available at State-
    licensed shelters. These factors resulted in more than 5,000
    children at a time being held for days in the care of Border
    Patrol agents who are simply not trained in child care.
        These minors should have been transferred, ideally within
    hours, to Health and Human Services facilities where licensed
    child welfare professionals ensure they receive adequate care
    while waiting for release to sponsors in the United States.
        I have had the opportunity to visit the Southern Border
    twice so far this year to see both the border facilities and
    the shelters for unaccompanied children firsthand and speak
    directly with the folks on the ground who are working to
    address these challenges.
        During my most recent visit, I spoke with dedicated Border
    Patrol agents who are personally supplying toys and food to
    unaccompanied minors in their care at their own expense. They
    were going above and beyond their official responsibilities,
    and we all appreciate that effort. I am happy to see the DHS'
    recent efforts to help Health and Human Services identify
    additional shelter locations and expedite the safe transfer of
    these children, and it is beginning to show positive results.
        I am encouraged to see a drastic reduction in the number of
    these vulnerable children in Border Patrol facilities and that
    they are staying for shorter periods of time. While the
    situation at our Southern Border continues to improve--thanks
    to the Biden administration's efforts, I will say--
    unfortunately, many challenges still persist, especially
    because of the population of migrants who are continuing to
    flee incredibly dangerous conditions in their home countries.
        This Committee and Congress must work together to address
    the root causes of migration flows and ensure that the Federal
    agencies in charge of responding to these challenges have the
    right resources and support. This is a big task, but it is not
    insurmountable.
        Secretary Mayorkas, I look forward to hearing from you and
    how Congress can work with the administration to secure our
    borders and ensure we have sufficient personnel, provide asylum
    seekers with appropriate care, and ensure asylum applicants are
    processed efficiently and fairly to help address these
    concerns.
        With that, I turn it over to Ranking Member Portman for
    your opening comments.

                OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR PORTMAN\1\

        Senator Portman. Thank you, Chairman Peters. I appreciate
    your moving ahead with this hearing, and it is critical we have
    it, and I appreciate the bipartisan oversight of the critical
    issues we will talk about today.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ The prepared statement of Senator Portman appears in the
    Appendix on page 45.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        More than 50,000 unaccompanied children have come to our
    border during the 113 days since the first day of the Biden
    administration when they immediately began to put in place new
    policies. Typically, these kids were brought by unscrupulous
    traffickers and too often abused along the way.
        This chart\2\ behind me shows what has happened. It uses
    Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data to show that the
    crisis today is unprecedented, far worse than it was last year,
    and even substantially worse than 2019, when everyone
    considered it a crisis.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ The chart referenced by Senator Portman appears in the Appendix
    on page 60.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Here is 2019. Here is the Inauguration. Here is where we
    are today.
        Because the focus today is on unaccompanied children, these
    numbers do not even include families which are also coming in
    in large numbers, 50 times higher than last year at this time,
    or single adults where there is a 20-year high, as predicted by
    the Secretary, a 20-year high in crossings, or, of course, the
    drug trafficking, which is a huge concern. We know that
    seizures of deadly fentanyl as an example are at a record high.
    We do not know how many of these deadly drugs are getting
    through, but it is most of them.
        Last month, over 108,000 single adults were apprehended at
    the border, up from 96,000 in March and, again, seven times
    greater than last April. On top of that, the Border Patrol
    conservatively estimates that over 40,000 people who crossed
    illegally got away and were not apprehended in April. We have
    no idea who these individuals are.
        Our Federal agencies on the border are, of course,
    overwhelmed. My hope is that today we can quickly get past the
    debate on the nature of this unprecedented surge so we can turn
    to solutions to stop this surge and ensure that vulnerable
    children are not further endangered by the policy choices being
    made here in Washington, DC.
        Mr. Secretary, it has been two months since you, Chairman
    Peters, the Ranking and Chairs of the DHS Subcommittee on
    Appropriations, and I traveled to El Paso to see this crisis at
    the border firsthand. I appreciated your support of our trip,
    and I have appreciated our conversations since.
        What I learned on our fact-finding trip was that the Border
    Patrol is overwhelmed and short staffed because the
    overwhelming pressure at the border from not only the
    unaccompanied minors arriving but also the significant increase
    in adult and family arrivals we have discussed. I am proud of
    the Border Patrol agents and welcome the progress made in
    getting out of the situation we were in where so many children
    were crowded into CBP facilities. They have now gone into other
    government shelters run by HHS, so more frontline agents in the
    Border Patrol can now go back to their critical law enforcement
    duties along the border.
        Border Patrol agents are doing the best they can in a very
    difficult situation, and we must support them, including
    providing additional resources. I learned the pressure on the
    Border Patrol of managing the influx of migrants, particularly
    processing children and families as they are detained, has
    taken them away from border enforcement activities. Human
    traffickers and drug smugglers know that. They are using
    unaccompanied children and families to divert Border Patrol
    agents so that they can cross the border with other illegal
    entries and illicit and deadly narcotics such as fentanyl that
    are killing Ohioans and others across our country, with record
    levels of drug overdoses and hurting families across the
    country.
        I learned that the surge of children puts those children at
    risk of abuse and trafficking, even once they are in the United
    States. Remember, these children are only held until sponsors
    can be found in the interior of the United States. Then, as we
    have learned, regardless of the asylum adjudication that might
    occur, hardly any of these children will ever be returned to
    their home country. In fact, those who came in the last surge
    in 2019 I am told are almost all still here in the United
    States.
        We have all heard the horrifying stories of the trauma some
    children experience on their way north. We have heard of sexual
    assault and other abuses, including, unfortunately, at HHS
    facilities. Now hundreds of Federal employees with no formal
    experience or training in child care are being brought in from
    other jobs around the country to help care for these children.
    I appreciate those volunteers, but I am also concerned that
    they do not have the training and experience to be able to
    properly care for them.
        HHS is repeating the same mistakes of the two previous
    administrations as they deal with this crisis. With the
    overwhelming number of children, HHS has released children
    quickly without proper background checks of sponsors or other
    adults in the same household. We know that in some cases in the
    past, children have even been sent back to their traffickers,
    and HHS has lost contact with these kids.
        I am glad that CBP has moved children to HHS, again, but
    these children have only been moved from one Federal agency to
    another. Now HHS is in crisis. Moving from one unsafe,
    overcrowded family to another is not a measurement of success.
    Neither is releasing them to sponsors who have not been
    properly vetted.
        We have seen this before. While Chairman of the Permanent
    Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), we issued three
    bipartisan investigative reports and held three hearings over
    two administrations on this very issue. We found that HHS
    failed to conduct background checks and as a result released
    children to human traffickers, including some who were placed
    into forced labor at an egg farm in my home State of Ohio.
        A major issue left unresolved is that unaccompanied
    children remain at risk because no Federal agency claims legal
    responsibility or authority to ensure they are not being
    trafficked or abused once placed with a sponsor. There is no
    accountability.
        These are all downstream problem statistics exist because
    of the surges and the incentives that encourage parents to send
    their children with human smugglers to enter our country
    unlawfully. The current policy is essentially that any child
    from anywhere, other than Mexico, who shows up at our Southern
    Border is allowed to come into the United States for an
    indefinite period of time. As long as that is true, in my view,
    the surge will continue.
        I support more help to the Central American countries, the
    so-called Northern Triangle country, where most of these
    unaccompanied children are coming from. But no one who looks at
    this problem seriously can believe that any amount of aid to
    Central America will change the pull to come here in the short
    term. Properly targeted U.S. foreign assistance and engagement
    in the region can help to change conditions over time, but the
    crisis at the border is now.
        There are three actions the administration must do and two
    actions Congress can do.
        One is to support the Border Patrol with more agents, more
    technology, and certainly the completion of the parts of the
    border wall that are already paid for. My hope is that we made
    some progress on this issue just in the last 24 hours.
        Second, we must provide incentives for children to apply
    for asylum from their home country, not to come to the border,
    and we must reinstate the safe third-country agreements so they
    can apply there.
        Third, we should require immediate asylum adjudication at
    the border for children and families and adults. It will
    require some resources, but it is well worth it. We should not
    be releasing children to sponsors in the interior of the United
    States pending a decision. We should be making the decision at
    the border.
        We should also pass our bipartisan bill, the Responsibility
    for Unaccompanied Minors Act, to require better background
    checks and to ensure accountability to be sure HHS keeps track
    of these children who have already come in. We also need to
    pass my legislation to mandate E-Verify to reduce the jobs
    magnet which is behind all of this. The sad reality is that
    some of these children are exploited and abused, including
    being forced to work in violation of labor laws in order to pay
    off their smugglers. That this is happening right now here in
    this country is unacceptable.
        Mr. Secretary, again, I appreciate your being here today,
    and I look forward to discussing all these issues in more depth
    with you.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Portman.
        Secretary Mayorkas, it is the practice of the Homeland
    Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) to swear in
    witnesses, so if you will stand and raise your right hand. Do
    you swear that the testimony you will give before this
    Committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
    the truth, so help you, God?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I do.
        Chairman Peters. Thank you. You may be seated.
        Secretary Mayorkas is the seventh Secretary of the
    Department of Homeland Security. Previously he served the
    Department as Deputy Secretary and as a Director of U.S.
    Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and began his
    public service at the Department of Justice (DOJ).
        Secretary, thank you again for appearing before this
    Committee, and I now recognize you for your seven minutes of
    opening remarks.

    TESTIMONY OF THE HONORABLE ALEJANDRO N. MAYORKAS,\1\ SECRETARY,
                  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

        Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you very much, Chairman Peters,
    Ranking Member Portman, and distinguished Members of the
    Committee. Good morning and thank you for the opportunity to be
    here with you today.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ The prepared statement of Mr. Mayorkas appear in the Appendix
    on page 52.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        This hearing addresses a subject of intense focus at the
    Department of Homeland Security. We are addressing the needs of
    unaccompanied children who arrive at our Southern Border
    without a parent or legal guardian, children who have fled
    torture, persecution, extreme violence, and poverty, many who
    have crossed Mexico in the grasp of smugglers with the hope of
    reaching safety and uniting with their parent or close relative
    here in the United States. These are children, many of tender
    age.
        To address the needs of these children, we mobilize
    capabilities from our different agencies and offices. We called
    upon the dedication, expertise, and talent of the workforce of
    the Department of Homeland Security. I am privileged to speak
    with you today about the challenges we confronted, the actions
    we have taken to overcome those challenges, and the
    extraordinary results we have achieved thus far.
        First, the challenges. We began our work with systems and
    tools that the prior administration had dismantled and with
    assistance programs that had been torn down or cut short. We
    had to rebuild while at the same time addressing the surge of
    unaccompanied children that had begun in April 2020, many
    months before we took office, and our efforts had to be
    undertaken in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
        We are dedicated to an orderly, safe, and humane
    immigration system, and, therefore, we stopped the prior
    administration's policy of expelling the unaccompanied
    children. We did not turn them away.
        Because the prior administration failed to increase the
    Department of Health and Human Services' capacity to receive
    the unaccompanied children from Border Patrol stations within
    the required timeframe, children were staying in Border Patrol
    stations for too long. As I have said before, a Border Patrol
    station is no place for a child.
        In late March, more than 5,700 children were in Border
    Patrol stations, and the average length of their stay was 133
    hours. We managed the situation because of, quite simply, the
    selfless dedication, the heroism of the United States Border
    Patrol. I repeated then what I had said two weeks earlier: that
    we have a plan, that we were executing on our plan, and that it
    will take time. This is what we do, and we know how to do it.
        On March 13th, I directed our Federal Emergency Management
    Agency (FEMA), to support an all-of-government effort to assist
    HHS in transferring and sheltering the children. Then I
    directed our expert U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
    personnel to serve as caseworkers to further support HHS,
    helping unite the children with their verified relatives here
    in the United States. Our Department's dedicated and talented
    workforce volunteered to provide further assistance.
        We also deployed our Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and his
    team's expertise, instituting COVID-19 health and safety
    protocols, and mobilizing additional medical teams, including
    those of the United States Coast Guard (USCG). It is now about
    six weeks later. On March 29th, more than 5,700 children were
    in Border Patrol stations. Two days ago, there were 455.
        On March 29th, 4,078 children were in Border Patrol
    stations, more than the maximum allowed, 72 hours. Two days
    ago, there were none.
        On March 29th, the average length of time a child spent in
    a Border Patrol station was 133 hours. Two days ago, on May
    11th, the average time was 22 hours.
        The challenge is not behind us, but the results are
    dramatic, and not only did we mobilize the talented workforce
    of the Department of Homeland Security in partnership with our
    colleagues at HHS, we have also been reengineering the process
    from start to finish and creating new efficiencies. These
    changes are reducing the time a child spends in the shelter and
    care of HHS before being united with her or his parent or legal
    guardian in the United States.
        More broadly, to effect more foundational change, our
    immigration strategy focuses on three key areas.
        First, we are addressing the root causes of migration for
    the Northern Triangle countries, addressing the reasons why
    families send their children in the first place.
        Second, we are building legal pathways for children and
    others to come to the United States if they qualify under the
    laws that Congress passed many years ago so that they do not
    think that they have to take the dangerous journey north.
        Third, we are urging you to pass immigration reform. We are
    all in agreement that the system is broken. We need to come
    together to pass the proposed legislation that fixes the broken
    system.
        Thank you again for the opportunity to be here today. I
    look forward to answering your questions.
        Chairman Peters. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for your opening
    comments.
        I just want to be clear. As I listened to your comments, as
    you opened it up, you stated that the number of unaccompanied
    children arriving at the Southern Border started to rise in the
    second half of last year, tripling between June and December
    2020. Is that correct?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chairman, the surge of
    unaccompanied children first began in April of last year, April
    2020, and it swelled from there.
        Chairman Peters. So could you explain how the Trump
    administration anticipated and began making preparations for
    this increased arrival? As these unaccompanied children are
    coming in, what were they doing to prepare for this trend that
    was clear last year?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chairman, they did nothing to
    facilitate addressing the surge. What they did was they
    dismantled the tools that we had to address it, and they tore
    down the programs that could have helped alleviate the
    pressure.
        Chairman Peters. They were dismantling facilities while we
    are seeing this surge begin? That does not seem logical to me.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chairman, in my view, it was
    antithetical to not only our values and our principles, but
    also our operational needs.
        Chairman Peters. If efforts to expand HHS shelter capacity
    had started earlier, back in the time that we are talking
    about, in the fall or the early winter, could bottlenecks that
    had led to the 5,000 children in CBP, would that have been
    avoided?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Most certainly, Mr. Chairman. In fact,
    the conditions that were depicted on photographs that troubled
    us all but two months ago, those photographs would have
    depicted a very different situation at Border Patrol stations
    had we had the capacity for throughput that the operational
    efficiency of the system is predicated upon. But we did not
    have that capacity at HHS. We did not have the shelters and the
    processes in place and the resources in place to achieve that.
    That is what we have built.
        Chairman Peters. Yes, that is what you inherited, and you
    had to work pretty quickly to try to build and expand HHS
    capacity in order to transfer minors. How can the Department's
    expertise that you are bringing to bear now, such as the FEMA
    rapid response and contracting capabilities that I know you are
    using in order to expand that capacity, how can they be better
    leveraged in the future?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I think one of the things that we are
    looking at, Mr. Chairman, is actually equipping the Department
    of Health and Human Services with a Federal workforce. It is
    right now built on a contracting architecture, reliant on
    vendors. One of the models that we are taking a look at is
    whether there can be a permanent Federal workforce and then a
    contracting architecture to address surges as they arise,
    because we all know that surges arise periodically. They arose
    in 2019. They arose in 2016, in 2014, and well before then.
    Migration is a very dynamic and fluid challenge that we have
    faced for many years.
        Chairman Peters. Mr. Secretary, I know many children arrive
    at the Southern Border with caretakers who are not their
    parents. They are separated under U.S. law from them. This
    policy was developed with child welfare in mind to ensure that
    a child is not being trafficked, a victim of trafficking, or
    otherwise being taken advantage of.
        At the same time, this policy can cause some heartbreaking
    separations even if they are temporary. Aunts can be separated
    from nephews and nieces. Grandparents can be separated from
    grandchildren. During my trip to the border last month, for
    example, I met a very young boy, who had arrived with his older
    brother, but was separated from him and being processed
    separately and, therefore, was alone.
        Do you know how many children arrive with caretakers who
    are not their parents? Do you have any numbers related to that?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chairman, I do not have those
    numbers with me. I would welcome the opportunity to see whether
    we collect that data and circle back with you. But if I can
    make a couple points, if I may, Mr. Chairman.
        First of all, certainly I grew up in the law enforcement
    arena. I was a Federal prosecutor for 12 years, and I believe
    in enforcing the law. The law includes the humanitarian laws
    that Congress passed. Those, too, are deserving of enforcement,
    and, frankly, it is our obligation and commitment in government
    to enforce those as well. One law that the prior administration
    did not enforce was the Trafficking Victims Protection
    Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), and that is our obligation to
    enforce, and that is what we are doing.
        Second, if I may, ``Building Back Better'' is not a slogan.
    It is a mandate. It is a mandate that I am obligated to carry
    out as a member of President Biden's Cabinet. And that is
    exactly what we are doing.
        The issue that you raise is something that we are very
    carefully looking at, and not only have we brought our
    capacities, our talent, our expertise to bear to address the
    surge of unaccompanied children that started in April 2020, but
    we are taking a look at the process, the system, and how we can
    reengineer it for a better future. That reengineering has well
    begun and is underway and will continue to be executed
    consistent with the mandate that President Biden directed me to
    execute.
        Chairman Peters. The government's ability to ensure
    children are moved out of CBP facilities in a timely manner is
    dependent not only on HHS' bed capacity but also HHS' ability
    to officially release children to sponsors here in the United
    States. You have already discussed some of the ways that DHS
    has assisted HHS both in increasing bed capacity and in making
    the sponsor release process much more efficient. While I
    realize this is not specifically a DHS jurisdiction, could you
    just elaborate for the Committee on protections that remain in
    place to ensure that children are not being released into a
    dangerous situation?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chairman, we have brought expertise
    to bear on that part of the process as well. We have dedicated
    very experienced asylum and refugee officers from U.S.
    Citizenship and Immigration Services who are expert in
    verifying the identity of individuals, and we work in tandem
    with experts from the Department of Health and Human Services
    to ensure that the individuals in whose care the children will
    be placed are qualified to be caretakers for those children.
    There is an extraordinarily important data point here.
    Approximately 40 percent of the children who come to the border
    unaccompanied have a parent or legal guardian here in the
    United States. Over 90 percent of them have relatives here in
    the United States, and that is very relevant to our
    verification responsibilities that we execute in the hands of
    expertise.
        Chairman Peters. All right. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
        Ranking Member Portman, you are recognized for your
    questions.
        Senator Portman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        I said at the outset I hope that we can kind of move on
    from the debate about the crisis and what happened and how we
    got here. I have a lot of respect for you, as you know, Mr.
    Secretary, but I am not able to sit here and not comment on
    this idea that somehow this is Donald Trump's fault. I mean,
    you can say that the Trump administration should have been
    letting children in, but you have said instead you think it was
    inhumane what they were doing by turning children away based on
    Title 42, which said basically during the COVID-19 period we
    were not going to let folks in. And so that is fine, we can
    have that debate. But you cannot say that and then also say the
    Trump administration is at fault because they did not prepare
    for the surge. You are saying they did not allow children to
    come in because they, believed that under Title 42 they should
    not come in, as well as adults and families; therefore, kids
    did not come up to the border, they did not make that arduous
    journey from Central America; and then at the same time say
    they are at fault because they did not prepare for the HHS
    facilities that they knew were necessary. They did not know
    they were necessary because the kids were not coming in.
        These are the facts. These are the charts. OK? I mean, let
    us just stipulate this so we can move on and talk about policy.
    This chart is very clear. You see where the yellow line is.
    That is the Biden administration Inauguration. Actually, I was
    generous. That yellow line should be one bar to the left. I
    gave kind of the whole situation a month to kind of percolate
    so people would know in Central America and elsewhere what was
    going on. Here is January 21st, this bar right here. Look at
    that surge. I mean, it is obvious what happened. And you have
    said it. You said they were not allowing unaccompanied kids or
    families or individuals to just come into the border and then
    go into the interior. They stopped that practice, and it had
    the intended effect. People stopped sending their kids up to
    Central America, paying smugglers, paying traffickers, those
    kids, as we have said, facing all kinds of assaults and
    exploitation.
        So, we can agree to disagree on what the policy ought to be
    going forward. I get that. But let us at least stipulate as to
    what happened here. And what happened is when the Biden
    administration came in, they made a decision. You were asked to
    implement it. I remember talking to you at the time, and you
    realized this was going to result in some real issues. But the
    thought was this is the humane way to go, let us allow these
    kids to come in. So do not blame the previous administration
    for not having facilities that they did not need because they
    did not have the surge. Again, let us look at the numbers.
        So here we are. ``What do we do?'' is the question. And for
    these kids, you had said earlier about the trauma some of them
    have faced and the difficulties that their families face in
    Central America. I get that. If I was a dad in Central America,
    I would want my kids to have a better life. As I have talked to
    children and families on the border, both on our most recent
    trip and previous trip, they all say the same thing to me,
    which is they do want their families to have a better life.
    These kids say they have come here to have the opportunity to
    have a life where they cannot just make more money but have, a
    life in the United States of America because it is a better
    place to live. I get that. I am all for legal immigration, and
    I am all for providing asylum to people who really have a
    credible fear of persecution. But what we have done instead is
    just opened the doors.
        I would make the point that those children who came in 2019
    during the last surge, I would ask you, Mr. Secretary, those
    children were allowed to come into the interior of the United
    States with sponsors. Some of those sponsors were unscrupulous,
    as we know, and we have done investigations on this and had
    hearings on this, and some of these kids were exploited. Some
    were not. But of those children who came in in 2019 who did not
    receive asylum because they did not meet the criteria for
    asylum, how many have been deported and sent back to their home
    countries?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Ranking Member, may I comment?
        Senator Portman. Yes, sir. But I would like an answer to
    that because I think it is illustrative of where we are now.
    You look at your own U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
    (ICE) deportations in the month of April. I am told they were
    at a historic low, that people are not being sent back even if
    they do not receive the asylum. Only 15 percent of individuals
    from Central America, I am told--you can correct me--are
    successfully adjudicated, in other words, successfully, having
    claimed and received asylum. And my understanding is there is
    no process in place to send those other folks back to their
    country of origin. So surely these smugglers have the
    opportunity to tell these families in Central America, ``Give
    your child to me, and that child will get into the United
    States and indefinitely will be able to stay there.''
        So that is the policy we need to look at and we need to
    change. But could I hear your answer on the 2019 surge and how
    many of those children have been sent back to their home
    country?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Ranking Member, assuredly we will
    have the opportunity to discuss the many issues that you have
    raised. It will take me quite a bit of time to answer them
    fulsomely, but I will do so in bullet point fashion as rapidly
    as possible.
        First of all, my parents brought me here to this country so
    that my sister and I could have a better life, so I am very
    familiar with the challenges that we are addressing and more
    powerfully and heartbreakingly the challenges that the parents
    are facing when they send their children to traverse Mexico to
    reach our Southern Border.
        Second, we speak of lawful pathways and support of them,
    and yet the prior administration tore those down, too. They
    tore down the Central American Minors (CAM) Program that
    provided a lawful pathway for the adjudication of children's
    rights to arrive here in the United States and stay in the
    United States under the laws that Congress passed, but that was
    torn down.
        Senator Portman. Mr. Secretary, just for a second, before
    we just continue the blame game here, how many children were
    processed over a three-year period through that program? Which
    I support, by the way, and I support reinstating it.
        Secretary Mayorkas. That program should have been built up
    rather than torn down.
        Senator Portman. How many children during the Obama
    Administration were brought in under that program?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I would be pleased to provide that
    data.
        Senator Portman. I think it is about 5,000 children. Five
    thousand children. Look at these numbers, over three years. I
    support that program. But let us not think that these are going
    to solve the problems that we face. Anyway, please continue.
        Secretary Mayorkas. That is 5,000 children that were
    expelled. Next, I do not think that the prior administration
    supported legal immigration. They threw up every obstacle
    possible to permit legal immigration.
        Fourth, the asylum system is in need of improvement. It is
    in need of strengthening, and that is precisely what we are
    dedicated to achieving. It has been a years-long challenge
    preceding the Trump administration, preceding the Obama
    Administration, that the time of adjudication of asylum claims
    is too long. We need to shorten that, but not at the expense of
    permitting individuals to develop their legitimate claims
    through the recovery from the trauma that they might have
    suffered and so many, in fact, have suffered.
        Last, with respect to our enforcement efforts, we are
    focused on enforcing the law and focusing on individuals who
    pose the greatest threat to public safety, national security,
    and border security, and that is what we are executing upon,
    just as I did as a Federal prosecutor for 12 years in a
    jurisdiction of approximately 18 million people with limited
    resources. We said we were going to allocate those resources to
    have the greatest public safety impact. I am proceeding no
    differently as the Secretary of Homeland Security.
        Chairman Peters. Thank you, Secretary Mayorkas. I
    appreciate it.
        Senator Hassan, you are recognized for your questions. I
    need to momentarily step away to the Armed Services Committee
    to ask some questions, so the gavel will be turned over to
    Senator Carper.
        Senator Hassan, you may ask your questions.

                  OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HASSAN

        Senator Hassan. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and
    Ranking Member Portman, for holding this hearing. Secretary
    Mayorkas, welcome and thank you for your service.
        I want to start with a question about interagency
    coordination. At the end of 2020, even as the number of
    unaccompanied children began increasing, HHS capacity to
    shelter children remained limited. As numbers continued to rise
    in 2021, DHS mobilized support to provide care, speed up
    processing, and stand up emergency shelters. This included key
    assistance from FEMA, which helped HHS open 14 emergency intake
    sites, as well as assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S.
    Citizenship and Immigration Services.
        The surge of unaccompanied children has slowed recently
    from more than 52,000 children transported to the Office of
    Refugee Resettlement (ORR) facilities in March to approximately
    20,000 children in April.
        Secretary, given that the volume may continue to fluctuate,
    is DHS prepared to remobilize personnel and resources from FEMA
    or other parts of DHS when it is necessary?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you very much, Senator. Yes, we
    are. But to something I said earlier, we are also focused upon
    building the capacity for the Department of Health and Human
    Services so that it has the resources to address its elements
    of the process of the care for young children.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you for that. But given the
    fluctuations, I just think you will need to have some
    flexibility there and supports available.
        Secretary Mayorkas. We most certainly do. We have that
    capacity, that surge capacity, if you will.
        Senator Hassan. OK.
        Secretary Mayorkas. The President has, in fact, directed an
    all-of-government effort to address that.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you. Let me turn to a different
    topic. There are several interagency and intergovernmental
    programs designed to identify threats and prevent dangerous
    people from entering our communities. These includes the Visa
    Security Program, the Refugee Admissions Program, USCIS
    processes to evaluate asylum claims, and the National Vetting
    Center (NVC) within DHS.
        Secretary Mayorkas, do you believe that any of these
    vetting programs need to be enhanced to ensure that our
    programs can identify and prevent dangerous people from
    entering the United States?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, we have tremendous vetting
    capabilities in the Department of Homeland Security and across
    the Federal enterprise. They are very strong vetting
    capabilities of which we are extremely proud and, of course,
    extremely proud of the personnel at the Department of Homeland
    Security that have developed and administer those vetting
    programs. But we never rest on what we have achieved. We are
    always looking at how everything we do can be strengthened and
    improved, and that is especially the case with our vetting
    programs, with the use of new technologies, new analytic tools,
    new sources of expertise.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you. Now I want to talk a little bit
    more about how we vet sponsors for unaccompanied children.
    Coordinated efforts between the Department of Homeland Security
    and the Department of Health and Human Services have reduced
    the time that unaccompanied children spend in government
    facilities. However, I am concerned--and you have heard it from
    other folks here this morning--about the vetting process for
    sponsors.
        For example, in the past, HHS has sometimes failed to
    recognize that people who were sponsoring multiple unrelated
    children could also perhaps be human traffickers, that when
    they do that kind of sponsorship of unrelated children, they
    could be engaged in human trafficking, or that sponsors
    hopefully failed to ensure that children appear in immigration
    court.
        I understand that HHS has primary responsibility for
    vetting sponsors, but could you explain how DHS is working with
    HHS to ensure that sponsors are appropriately vetted to prevent
    human trafficking, to ensure that children are placed in safe
    environments, and ensure that sponsors bring children into the
    immigration proceedings?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you, Senator. We have achieved
    and are continuing to achieve efficiencies in the process, but
    never at the expense of the quality in our administration of
    the processes. That is quite evident in precisely the subject
    that you are focused upon, which is the vetting of the family,
    relatives, or sponsors of the unaccompanied children. It is
    precisely why we did not take from our volunteer workforce or
    our surge capacity workforce individuals unqualified to conduct
    that vetting. Quite the contrary, what we did was deploy
    experts in the vetting of individuals with respect to their
    identity and their qualifications.
        We took asylum and refugee officers who deal with these
    very issues in the hottest spots around the world and applied
    their technical expertise and experience to the vetting of the
    sponsors. We are working as hard as we can to ensure that the
    mistakes of the past are not repeated. We learn from mistakes,
    and we move forward. And that is precisely what we are doing in
    our support of the Department of Health and Human Services that
    does indeed have ultimate responsibility for that part of the
    process.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you. Medical professionals have noted
    that unaccompanied children apprehended at the border suffer
    trauma before they ever enter DHS and HHS custody, trauma from
    being separated from their loved ones, from being in the
    company of strangers, or even from mental or physical abuse
    prior to or during the journey to the United States. In a
    briefing to the Committee, officials stated that DHS and HHS
    were focused on building trauma-informed procedures.
        Secretary Mayorkas, could you tell the Committee about what
    DHS has done and what you further plan to do to address trauma
    experienced by children before they are in custody and to
    reduce trauma experienced by children while they are in
    custody?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, we cannot overstate the trauma
    that some of these children have endured. It speaks to, on the
    one hand, the cruelty of some, but it also speaks poignantly of
    the resilience of the human spirit. It is remarkable what these
    children have gone through, but how they can see a better day
    ahead.
        It is our responsibility, it is the responsibility of
    humanity, to address the needs of these children, and what we
    have done with our Chief Medical Officer, an extraordinarily
    talented and dedicated individual, Dr. Pritesh Gandhi, is to
    see what these children have gone through, what their needs
    are, and to bring that health professional counseling at the
    earliest possible time in our operational processes and the
    Department of Health and Human Services and their expertise in
    this area, to bring those resources to bear so that it exists
    throughout the period. One thing, why we speak of efficiency
    but not at the expense of quality, is sometimes it takes an
    individual time to work through the trauma they have suffered
    and articulate the claim for relief that they have legitimately
    under the laws that we have passed. We are very mindful of
    that.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you very much, and thank you, Senator
    Carper.

                  OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR CARPER

        Senator Carper [Presiding.] Senator Hassan, thank you for
    those questions. It is not every day that a former Chairman of
    this Committee is asked by the current Chairman and Ranking
    Member of this Committee to preside and to recognize another
    former Chairman of this Committee to ask questions of a former
    Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. It is
    great to see you again, and, my friend, you are recognized.

                  OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JOHNSON

        Senator Johnson. Unprecedented. Thank you, Senator Carper.
    This does feel like old times back in 2014, a little deja-vu.
    You have the gavel, I am sitting next to you, and we are in the
    midst of a crisis at the border, even though some are denying
    it.
        I know during my chairmanship in hearings where we were
    always going through the problem-solving process, I would often
    say the first step in solving any problem is admitting you have
    one. And it just does seem like we are in an utter state of
    denial.
        I have a chart,\1\ a little bit different than Senator
    Portman's. His is children. I have total apprehensions at the
    border. It shows clearly--it is galling, quite honestly, to
    hear that this is a crisis inherited by this administration.
    The Chairman is saying that the numbers are decreasing, the
    situation is improving, the surge started in April 2020. To the
    extent that we had any surge in 2020, it is because Democrat
    Presidential candidates were saying we are not going to deport
    anybody and we are going to give everybody free health care.
    That was an incentive; that was a pull factor.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ The chart referenced by Senator Johnson appears in the Appendix
    on page 63.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        But it is very clear what has been happening. The crisis in
    2018, 2019, we had probably a little over 4,000 apprehensions
    per day. We have for the last four or five weeks been close to
    6,000 per day. In 2014, we were dealing with around 2,000 per
    day. This is unprecedented what is happening here.
        When you talk about the Trump administration dismantling
    things, what they did is they ended catch and release. They
    ended the enormous incentive for people to come into this
    country and exploit our very generous asylum laws.
        Mr. Secretary, real quick, isn't it true that when cases
    are actually adjudicated on asylum, about 90 percent of them
    are denied?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I do not believe that is true, and----
        Senator Johnson. What is the real percentage then?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I do not have the data right
    before me, but I am very happy----
        Senator Johnson. OK. Please get that for me.
        Let me ask you, have you done a cost study on how much
    money the taxpayers will waste, that is going to be expended by
    not honoring the contracts to build the final 250 miles of
    wall? Have you figured out how much that is going to cost the
    American taxpayer and get no wall built?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I certainly have taken a look
    at the expenses that were incurred in building the wall and, in
    my opinion, how much waste was caused by that construction
    when, in fact, we could have leveraged innovation of new
    technologies that prove far more effective in securing the
    border.
        Senator Johnson. OK. I know you are in the state of denial,
    but let us go back to my chart here. What the Trump
    administration did is they ended the incentives, so they put in
    place Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). Then they quite
    honestly threatened some tariffs to get cooperation from
    Mexico. That is that line right there, and you can see it
    worked. Add to that the imposition of Title 42. We pretty well
    stopped a robust surge of illegal immigration at the border,
    and that was pretty much in effect--again, it started ramping
    up when Democratic Presidential started talking about open
    borders and free health care. This is President Biden's
    Inauguration. Here is the surge.
        Let me talk about real numbers, too. At the height of the
    surge in May 2018, it was about a little over 7,000
    unaccompanied children per month. In March 2020, right here,
    that had dropped to about 3,000. After Title 42, it dropped
    down to 741 per month. That was the low point. In March of this
    year, almost 19,000. Last month, in April, 17,000 unaccompanied
    children. Those are the numbers. We can talk about, percentages
    and tripling the number since April, but here is the problem.
    There is the surge. And it is undeniable, and yet you are
    denying it.
        This is as close to open borders as we could possibly have.
    Don't you think that is going to be even more of a pull factor?
        Secretary Mayorkas. May I have a minute to answer your
    question?
        Senator Johnson. Again, is that going to be a pull factor
    or not?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator----
        Senator Johnson. That is kind of a yes-or-no answer.
        Secretary Mayorkas. You have asked a few questions.
        Senator Johnson. No, I have not really asked a question. So
    let me ask you some questions. I want to go back to----
        Secretary Mayorkas. If I may----
        Senator Johnson. I want to talk about the February 18th
    interim guidance to all ICE employees in terms of carrying out
    enforcement removal priorities. First of all, was there any
    analysis regarding how the new priorities would impact crime
    and public safety before that guidance was issued?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
        Senator Johnson. Can you provide us those documents of that
    analysis?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I have worked for 12 years as
    a Federal prosecutor. I have been in the immigration----
        Senator Johnson. No, would you provide us those documents?
    Will you provide me those documents of that analysis?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator----
        Senator Johnson. Yes or no?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Yes, I will.
        Senator Johnson. OK. Thank you.
        Was there any consultation or coordination with States
    regarding how the new guidelines would impact law enforcement
    and public safety?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, one of the things that I have
    articulated in the promulgation of the guidelines that I will
    execute is that I will engage with the workforce of Immigration
    and Customs Enforcement----
        Senator Johnson. No. The question is: Did you engage and
    coordinate with State governments prior to that guidance being
    issued? Yes or no?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I do not know what engagement
    preceded me. I took office in February----
        Senator Johnson. OK. Can you check? And if there was, can
    you provide me that documentation?
        Finally, talking about States----
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator----
        Senator Johnson. Again, we are running out of time. I do
    not want long answers. As local law enforcement is apprehending
    and holding illegal immigrants that they have flagged for
    removal--OK? So we have that group of people. Is ICE issuing
    detainers on every one of those individuals that local law
    enforcement is holding and that are flagging for removal?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I am sure they are not, nor should they
    be.
        Senator Johnson. Can you tell me what percentage they would
    be issuing detainers on?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I do not have that percentage, and I
    will get that to you as well.
        Senator Johnson. OK, good. Thank you.
        My final question then is--because I was shocked when we
    were at the border. I have heard the word--we have become more
    efficient. Yes, you have become more efficient at apprehending,
    processing, and dispersing. I was shocked when we went down to
    the border and said that the guidelines for CBP is to literally
    process people in 8 hours and disperse them, get them out of
    CBP custody and send them all over the country.
        I was also shocked to find out that we are not issuing
    notices to appear (NTA). What percentage of people are we
    dispersing around this country that do not even have a notice
    to appear?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, the individuals who arrive at
    our border and are placed in the interior are subject to
    immigration proceedings, and they receive a notice to appear.
        Senator Johnson. So 100 percent are receiving a notice to
    appear. That is your testimony?
        Secretary Mayorkas. The policy of our administration is
    that each individual is placed into immigration proceedings and
    receives a notice----
        Senator Johnson. So you are not aware that CBP has been
    directed not to provide notice to appear as they are dispersing
    people into the interior? That is your testimony?
        Secretary Mayorkas. That is my testimony because the
    process is that U.S. Customs and Border Protection issues a
    notice to appear, and if, in fact, they are operationally not
    able to do so, the individual receives a notice to appear at an
    Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. Individuals in the
    interior are placed in immigration proceedings in accordance
    with enforcement law, period.
        Senator Johnson. I will be following up that with other
    information we have gotten. Thank you.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, may I make a
    couple points that I did not have the opportunity to make
    because I did not have an opportunity----
        Chairman Peters [Presiding.] Yes, it is important to have
    these questions answered, so you may continue, Mr. Secretary.
        Secretary Mayorkas. One of the things the Trump
    administration did was separate children from their parents,
    and they ripped sons and daughters out of the hands of fathers
    and mothers and said they would never see each other again.
    That is one of the things. Maybe that worked, and maybe it did
    not. But I will tell you what it did not work for, is the
    values and principles of this country. No. 1.
        Senator Romney. This is not a hearing about the Trump
    administration. This is a hearing about the current
    administration.
        Chairman Peters. Secretary, you may answer the question as
    you see fit. Let us have an open forum to discuss the issues
    before us. You may continue, Mr. Secretary.
        Senator Romney. Will we have enough time for----
        Secretary Mayorkas. No. 2----
        Senator Romney [continuing]. Questions from the Senators,
    to ask questions?
        Chairman Peters. You can have questions, but your questions
    take up the full seven minutes. We would certainly like to have
    the Secretary have an opportunity to answer these questions,
    Senator.
        You may continue, Secretary.
        Secretary Mayorkas. The only additional thing I will say is
    that our----
        Senator Johnson. I did not ask that question, by the way.
        Senator Romney. That is not a question.
        Senator Johnson. I did not ask that question.
        Chairman Peters. If you could answer the questions as they
    were asked, I would appreciate it, Mr. Secretary.
        Senator Johnson. I did not ask that question.
        Secretary Mayorkas. The only other thing I would say is
    that our enforcement efforts are focused on smart and effective
    enforcement that delivers the greatest public safety
    consequence. Thank you.
        Chairman Peters. Thank you.
        Senator Rosen, you are recognized for your questions.

                   OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR ROSEN

        Senator Rosen. Thank you, Chairman Peters, Ranking Member
    Portman, for holding this important hearing.
        Secretary Mayorkas, I really want to take this moment to
    thank you, commend you for your compassion and for your
    leadership navigating this critical moment personally,
    professionals, and for the families that are going through
    this. Before I ask my question, I will allow you to use some of
    my time. If you have anything additional you would like to say,
    you can take that, and then I can go into my questions.
    Otherwise, I can go straight in. Mr. Secretary?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you very much for that courtesy,
    Senator. I look forward to your questions.
        Senator Rosen. OK. Thank you.
        I really just want to talk about, building on what Senator
    Hassan talked about, child welfare and child welfare
    professionals. Children in CBP custody, there are poor
    conditions, and the treatment has not been good. I worked with
    the last administration trying to develop a plan to bring child
    welfare professionals to all CBP facilities. Unfortunately, the
    previous administration ignored my requests.
        And so to follow up on some of the recommendations proposed
    by child welfare advocates, are CBP facilities currently
    staffed with medical professionals with pediatric experience
    and child welfare professionals to provide those other wrap-
    around services that these children who are experiencing trauma
    or other issues, as Senator Hassan brought up? Do you have
    those folks at facilities?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, we do have individuals with
    those capabilities and that expertise at Border Patrol
    stations. Of course, in March, when we experienced such a great
    surge, we did not have the ratio that was optimal. Our focus
    has been on moving the children out of the Border Patrol
    station as rapidly as possible to ensure that they are in the
    shelter and care of the Department of Health and Human Services
    that does indeed have a greater level of that expertise, as
    appropriately should be the case.
        Senator Rosen. Thank you. I want to build on that when we
    were working with the prior administration, and they were not
    really listening to what we were trying to ask them to do. Do
    non-governmental organization (NGOs) currently have access to
    CBP facilities to assist and augment any care or programming
    that these children might need? The prior administration was
    not allowing that as well.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, there is some access, and that
    is one thing that we are taking a close look at, because, of
    course, when we were experiencing the greatest challenge, there
    were operational capacity issues with respect to providing that
    access. But we believe that that access will strengthen the
    efficiency of the system in all regards, and it is one of the
    areas that we are keenly focused on as we are improving and
    strengthening the process from beginning to end.
        Senator Rosen. Thank you. I am going to move on. I know
    Senator Johnson talked about Title 42, and so I am pleased that
    the Biden administration took immediate actions to reverse
    several of the previous administration's cruel and misguided
    policies. I do remain concerned about the continuation of Title
    42, that policy that the Trump administration used to expel
    migrants across the board, including children and families
    desperately attempting to come here for our asylum process.
        And so are you concerned that Title 42 could still be a new
    source of family separation? It is so painful and making
    migrant parents make that painful decision to separate from
    their children in order for them to find safety in the United
    States. What is DHS doing to mitigate the risk of family
    separation while Title 42 is still in place?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, we are certainly hearing
    anecdotally that some families self-separate to allow their
    children to enter the United States unaccompanied. That speaks
    to the trauma that these families have endured and their
    desperation to give their children a better life. Our exercise
    of Title 42 is the exercise of a public health authority to
    protect the American public with respect to COVID-19, as well
    as the migrants themselves. It is an exercise of authority that
    rests with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
    (CDC). The issue that your question addresses is something that
    we are keenly focused upon.
        Senator Rosen. Thank you. I know the prior administration
    as well when they were separating families, we are still
    concerned that the recordkeeping was not, I guess I will say,
    ``adequate.'' That is how we will put that, lightly and
    diplomatically. I want to be sure that if families are self-
    separating, if there is separating going on, that we know where
    children go, where their parents go, because I never want to
    hear a story that some child could never find their parents
    again or do not know who they are. So can you let us know that
    you are doing that and how you are doing that, because that is
    keenly important to us.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I look forward to following up
    with you. I appreciate it.
        Senator Rosen. Thank you. One last thing on Title 42. We
    know that, of course, because of COVID that lies not within
    your Department. Do you anticipate with the vaccines becoming
    more available that Title 42 might be rescinded soon? Do you
    have anything that you would like to bring up about that for
    us?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I do not have a timetable. As
    I sit here today, I know that the Center for Disease Control
    looks at the public health landscape in determining whether its
    authorities need to continue to be exercised, and its
    responsibility is to look at that public health imperative and
    make that decision, and that falls within its jurisdiction.
        Senator Rosen. In my last 30 seconds, I will take the
    responses to these off the record, but we know that some
    migrants were removed by a tent court process. They really were
    not given a fair process. Are you considering allowing those
    individuals to re-present their cases? Some of those cases also
    that were in the MPP program that remain in Mexico, they were
    closed. Are you considering opening these tent courts and these
    MPP cases? I will take those off the record to allow the next
    Senator to speak.
        Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Rosen.
        Senator Lankford, you are recognized for your questions.

                 OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR LANKFORD

        Senator Lankford. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Secretary
    Mayorkas, thanks for being here.
        The last time you were here, several months ago during the
    process of the nomination, I asked you about the border wall.
    You said you were studying that. I understand the
    administration called for a study that was completed the 21st
    of March. None of us have seen the results of that study,
    though there was a press release that came out of your office
    saying that we are now protecting the border communities from
    the wall at this point.
        When I was down at the border area--you have been down
    there as well a couple of times; thanks for doing that--in
    Arizona, this is what I saw.\1\ The day that border wall
    construction stopped, miles and miles of wall with the gates
    incomplete, this seems to be the status that we are still at.
    This is nonsensical. As you know, the Border Patrol now has to
    park a vehicle right there next to that gap because on the
    other side of this fence is a city of 450,000 people on the
    Arizona--from the Arizona side into Mexico.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ The picture of border wall appears in the Appendix on page 64.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        So my question to you is: What is the result of the study
    on the border wall completion? There is $1.4 million that was
    passed with a bipartisan majority last year that is in the law
    to be able to complete this. Where is this going?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you, Senator. Two things, if I
    may.
        Number one, we have committed to finishing the levees as
    well as addressing the erosion of land under roads adjacent to
    the wall as two public health imperatives. We have made that
    decision, and we are studying the very issue that you identify
    here about how are we going to address, what is the most
    effective way to address gates and the completion of gates as
    well as the closing of gaps. That is something that is under
    review now.
        Senator Lankford. So this requires a review to be able to
    evaluate if you should just hang the gate when the steel is
    sitting right there, if that should be complete?
        Secretary Mayorkas. The review is indeed underway.
        Senator Lankford. What would be the challenge here? I would
    tell you people in my State and myself included, when I went
    and looked at it, I do not understand what needs a review to be
    able to evaluate if you just have to be able to close the gate,
    especially when the law already has set aside those dollars and
    it is already there.
        Let me follow up on a couple of things. You have given
    testimony about the notice to appear. We understand there have
    been 19,000 individuals that have crossed the border this
    calendar year that were not given a notice to appear. Are you
    saying that is incorrect?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I am not aware of that number,
    but let me, if I may, say that it is our policy to issue a
    notice to appear to individuals who are permitted entry into
    the United States to make their claim. Ideally, they are issued
    the notice to appear at the Border Patrol station. If we are
    not able to do that, the objective is to issue them a notice to
    appear at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office to
    which they are directed.
        There was a time when we were unable to issue certain
    notices to appear and placed those individuals immediately in
    immigration proceedings. But our policy----
        Senator Lankford. So our understanding is from being down
    in Texas, in Arizona, talking to some of the folks on the
    ground, we have the number of 19,000 individuals have been
    released into the country without a notice to appear. They are
    told to go to an ICE office wherever they are going in the
    country to self-report at the ICE office, basically turn
    themselves in there are ICE, and ask for a notice to appear. Do
    you know of any that have actually done that? Of the 19,000
    that have been asked to do that, how many have actually done
    that?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I can get that number to you because we
    have seen a high rate, and I should say that individuals who do
    not appear are a priority of ours for apprehension in the
    service of border security.
        Senator Lankford. I understand those were family units that
    are coming in, or it is a parent with a child, at least one
    child at that point, and they are told to be able to do that.
    The notices to appear that are being given out right now, do
    they comply with the previous Supreme Court orders that had
    been done to be able to make sure that they are consistent and
    they will stand up under the rule of law?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I believe they do, and I will confirm
    that, Senator.
        Senator Lankford. Please do, because we have several
    Supreme Court rulings recently that have given greater clarity
    to those NTAs, and I want to make sure that we are actually not
    giving out something that will violate the Court in that.
        Speaking of court, there was a court order that was done
    from Drew Tipton about the 100-day moratorium that was
    announced to not deport individuals even if a court had said
    they have a final order of removal. The Biden administration
    announced that. The Federal court in Texas immediately said,
    no, you cannot just do that. In the meantime, since that has
    occurred, if I am tracking these numbers correctly, ICE
    removals have fallen anyway by 50 percent from January to April
    of this year and by 70 percent from October to April of this
    year.
        I want to ask you, are you complying with the Federal court
    order that ruled that you cannot just stop, you have to
    continue to be able to remove people that have a final order of
    removal?
        Secretary Mayorkas. We are complying with the court order,
    Senator. The policy was promulgated at the outset that there
    would be a pause on removals to enable the administration to
    review the policies. The court did, in fact, enjoin that pause,
    and the pause was indeed lifted, and new guidelines were
    issued.
        Senator Lankford. That is a pretty stark drop in removals,
    though, that has already happened this year.
        Also, the policy seems to be for ICE removals and for
    enforcement priorities that--it seems to me pretty high
    criteria at this point for removal of individuals, and if they
    are not on the predetermined list to be able to be removed,
    they have to go get permission in advance to be able to remove
    someone. ICE informed my staff on April 8th of this year that
    enforcement action directed at sex offenders that do not meet
    the aggregated felony criteria will require preapproval from
    the field office director or special agent in charge (SAC).
        So my question is about this. Can you share with us today
    the number of sex offenders that ICE has declined to deport
    this year because they did not meet that criteria?
        Secretary Mayorkas. It is my view that individuals who
    commit sex offenses should be apprehended and removed.
        Senator Lankford. Why is there a special request to get
    preapproval before you actually address that?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, allow me to explain the
    process, because I have yet to issue my enforcement and removal
    priorities, and I intend to do so after engaging with the ICE
    workforce, hearing from our personnel on the front lines, as
    well as other stakeholders.
        Senator Lankford. I would say there is a real concern about
    the additional hoops that people have to go through which seems
    to discourage them, and we see that in the numbers, a 50-
    percent drop.
        Let me ask about Title 42, because when I was at the
    border, that was a major concern of folks on what to do on
    Title 42. You and I spoke about this the last time that you
    were here saying that you are going to study it and try to
    examine what to do on this. There is a significant number of
    people--in fact, of the 178,000 people that were encountered at
    the border last month, 111,000, almost 112,000 of them were
    turned around due to Title 42. The question is: How are you
    examining, what is your criteria for dropping Title 42? What is
    your plan? Because if you drop Title 42 at this point, there
    are 112,000 more people that are actually engaging across the
    border.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, Title 42 is the CDC's public
    health authority.
        Senator Lankford. Correct.
        Secretary Mayorkas. It is not a tool of immigration. It is
    a tool of public health. Therefore, the use of Title 42 will be
    governed by the CDC's analysis of the public health imperative.
        Senator Lankford. But is the public health imperative in
    Mexico or in the United States?
        Secretary Mayorkas. It is the public health imperative with
    respect to the protection of the American people.
        Senator Lankford. So that would be where they are coming
    from, if they are coming across the border from Mexico, the
    health status there?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I cannot speak to the precise analysis
    that the CDC undertakes, and I would be very happy to follow up
    with that.
        Senator Lankford. Please do.
        Mr. Chairman, thank you for the additional time. This is a
    very important issue that we started a couple of months ago
    that we still have to get clarity on how that is going to be
    handled, because this is a very serious issue of how those
    individuals that are currently being returned, what happens
    next? Thank you.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you, Senator.
        Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Lankford.
        Senator Romney, you are recognized for your questions.

                  OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR ROMNEY

        Senator Romney. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        I must admit that I have found this hearing to be stunning
    in that it seems, Mr. Secretary, that you are proud of the
    progress being made by the administration, that things are
    going well at the border. I look at this chart\1\ that was
    prepared by Senator Johnson, and I see an extraordinary crisis.
    I mean, do you recognize this as an alarming crisis?
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ The chart submitted by Senator Johnson appears in the Appendix
    on page 63.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I look at immigration as a
    challenge that has been persistent for many years----
        Senator Romney. Of course, but we were running along here,
    and now we are seeing apprehensions at the border that have
    skyrocketed. As alarming, perhaps even more so, is the chart\2\
    that came from Senator Portman, which is unaccompanied children
    who are being let into the country, an explosion. Is this not a
    massive failure that would suggest that the administration
    needs to take immediate action to remedy what we are seeing
    here?
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ The chart submitted by Senator Portman appears in the Appendix
    on page 60.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, we have taken immediate action
    with respect to the unaccompanied children, and we have made--
    --
        Senator Romney. Is the number coming down?
        Secretary Mayorkas. We are addressing that challenge with
    increasing efficiency every single day.
        Senator Romney. Increasing efficiency to get them moved to
    other parts of the country and with families and out of these
    crowded facilities. I understand that. I am delighted that we
    are not having kids sleeping on floors and in cages. But the
    number coming into our country and being released into our
    country is at a skyrocketed level, as is this. The question is:
    Do you have plans to do something dramatically different such
    that those numbers come down to an acceptable level? Because
    you can imagine this overwhelms our Border Patrol agents. If
    they have numbers like this they are dealing with, this means
    that the drug cartels can be smuggling through drugs because
    our folks are taking care of kids, they are taking care of
    people coming in illegally.
        Do we have plans to dramatically address what is happening
    here?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Two points, if I may, Senator, both of
    which are extremely important. The laws of our country provide
    certain procedures and certain rights for children who arrive
    unaccompanied and have claims of asylum, who claim fear of
    persecution by reason of their membership in a particular
    social group, so----
        Senator Romney. I understand that.
        Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. We have an obligation----
        Senator Romney. But we were turning those kids away under
    Title 42, and the new administration came in and said we will
    not turn them away, we will let them come in. I presume as a
    result of that the numbers went through the roof.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, we are addressing the numbers
    consistent with the law under the Trafficking Victims----
        Senator Romney. Well, propose a new law. I mean, we have a
    crisis both for children--I mean, you talk about the
    humanitarian concerns of kids that come here, and I understand,
    we have addressed that----
        Secretary Mayorkas. These are children.
        Senator Romney [continuing]. You are addressing that. They
    are children. Think of them coming here all the way from
    Honduras. Think of the trial of going across the entire country
    of Mexico to get here, and then not being able to come into the
    country.
        Yes, let us put this up.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator----
        Senator Romney. I mean, this is a crisis for children. The
    fact that these kids are coming here making that kind of
    journey, and they are not going to be allowed to stay in this
    country.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, if I may, we are the United
    States of America. Ninety percent of these children have a
    parent or legal guardian in the United States, and they have a
    claim of fear of persecution----
        Senator Romney. So this is not a problem then? Your view is
    that this is the way it is going to be.
        Secretary Mayorkas. If I may, Senator, they have a claim
    under the law for humanitarian relief, either a claim of asylum
    or their claim for special immigrant juvenile status. And we
    can, in fact, meet the challenge of humanitarian----
        Senator Romney. What I find astonishing, Mr. Chairman, is
    that we have the Secretary responsible for securing our border
    and our immigration system who does not recognize these charts
    as being a problem, and there are human beings behind these
    numbers, and is not saying, hey, we have to make some changes
    immediately. I find that extraordinary and extremely damning.
        Secretary Mayorkas. No, I----
        Senator Romney. Let me turn to a different topic, and that
    is, some years ago immigration was, well, if you will, the
    huddled masses yearning to be free, and we were encountering
    people who wanted to come to this country, and we were able to
    offer them hope for a better life.
        Today, increasingly, much of what we are seeing here is a
    result of cartels that have learned how to take advantage of
    current law in the United States to defeat our systems and not
    provide the people that are being brought here the opportunity
    that they were seeking.
        I think there is an urgent need to rethink our immigration
    system to make sure that we recognize we are dealing with a
    different circumstance in many cases than we were before. A
    discussion of root causes, we need to address the root causes
    in Latin America, gosh, we have root causes in our own country.
    We have challenges here we cannot solve that we have been
    working on for years. The countries around the world who have
    problems, we cannot solve all the problems of the world, let
    alone the problems in Latin America and the problems here in
    our country.
        Do you agree with this, that we have to focus on enforcing
    our border, finishing the border barrier, using the
    technology--by the way, if it is technology, use technology,
    but somehow deal with this in an urgent and aggressive manner.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, we are indeed focused on
    securing our border and, in fact, using technology is the most
    effective or one of the most effective ways of doing it, first.
        Second, I do agree with you that we do need change in the
    law, and that is precisely why I hope that Congress does indeed
    pass immigration reform.
        Third, these are people yearning to be free, and what the
    cartels do, unfortunately, is too often control the means by
    which they arrive, not the reasons why they flee and why they
    seek relief, humanitarian relief in the United States under the
    laws that Congress passed many years ago.
        Senator Romney. You indicated the last time we were
    together that you would study E-Verify. Senator Portman and I,
    among others, have proposed a mandatory E-Verify system in our
    country. Do you believe that is a good idea? Florida is using
    that effectively. Should we have an E-Verify system for our
    country that is mandatory?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I believe in E-Verify. I think
    it is an effective tool. Its effectiveness grew under my
    administration as the Director of U.S. Citizenship and----
        Senator Romney. Should it be mandatory so businesses are
    required to check the legal status of people they are hiring?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Whether it should or should not be
    mandatory is actually something that I have not yet determined.
        Senator Romney. I will look forward to that determination.
    Thank you.
        Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Romney.
        I have a quick question, because I think we should know
    this in the Committee. Senator Romney talked about the number
    of apprehensions that are occurring right now. That chart, if
    you could help me, because when I was down on the border, I
    understand that we are apprehending a lot of folks from Mexico,
    single adults who are coming across. They are being expelled
    from the country, but then they come back in a few days. You
    catch them; they go back. Is that reflected in those numbers?
    Give some clarity to us if you have an opportunity to see that
    chart.
        Secretary Mayorkas. It is very difficult for me to see, and
    forgive me, with my diminishing vision. But I do understand
    your question. What is likely measured is the number of
    encounters, and the number of encounters probably includes a
    great deal of duplication because there is recidivism. When an
    individual is expelled under Title 42, a single adult, we have
    seen that same individual return only to be expelled again, and
    that is one of the things that we are looking at in terms of a
    consequence regime.
        Senator Johnson. Mr. Chairman, I have all the numbers. I
    would like to enter them in the record. In the second round of
    questioning, I will spout some of those things off. OK?
        Chairman Peters. That is fine.
        Senator Carper, you are recognized for your questions.
        Senator Carper. Thanks. Mr. Secretary, thank you so much
    for joining us and for your past service to our country and
    your current service and your leadership.
        Would you like to take a minute of time to respond to any
    questions that you did not have a chance to respond to?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you for the opportunity. I look
    forward to your questions, Senator.
        Senator Carper. All right. Thanks. A number of us have had
    the privilege of traveling to the Northern Triangle countries--
    Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador--repeatedly in bipartisan
    groups. I hope to be part of one of those later this year and
    look forward to some of the Members of this Committee joining
    at that time.
        I want to remind you of Scripture: When I was a stranger in
    your land, did you welcome me?
        We are reminded in the Flores decision, which actually
    reflects and mirrors, I think, very much the message in Matthew
    25. I think Matthew 25 is a moral obligation that we have to
    the least of these, including people who are trying to escape
    violence and crime and corruption and lack of opportunity,
    which we are implicit in. We are implicit in by virtue of our
    addiction to illegal drugs that are trafficked through these
    countries. We are implicit in their misery. The question is:
    What are we going to do about it? I would suggest that what we
    do about it is walk and chew gum at the same time.
        We have some charts\1\ here that indicate what has been
    going on at CBP in terms of how long we are holding kids and so
    forth. Let us see. Average number of hours children in CBP
    custody. What was it on March 28th? A hundred and three hours.
    What was it on May the 11th? Twenty-six hours in CBP custody.
    That is a reduction of 80 percent. That is improvement.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ The chart referenced by Senator Carper appears in the Appendix
    on page 61.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Do you have another chart? Number of children in CBP
    custody on March 28th, 5,767 children were in CBP custody,
    almost 6,000. May 10th, what is that? Two days ago. We had 455
    children in CBP custody. That is a reduction of 92 percent.
    That is an improvement. That is a marked improvement. I just
    want to say to you but particularly the folks at CBP that the
    Department of Health and Human Services, whose work is making
    this possible, good work.
        If we want to do something about these charts we have been
    shown by our colleagues with the most recent surge, we can do
    something about that, my friends. We can do something about
    that. Three primary reasons why people are coming out of these
    countries to try to get up here: No. 1, lack of opportunity and
    hope; No. 2, crime and violence; No. 3, corruption.
        We created something called the ``Alliance for Prosperity''
    a number of years ago, the idea that we would put money into
    fighting those three ills: crime and violence, corruption, lack
    of economic opportunity. The idea was that we would provide
    some money and in return each of these countries would provide
    money, a lot more than we were going to provide.
        No. 2 was try to leverage money from other countries to
    help out in these three areas, to leverage money from NGO's, to
    work and focus on these three areas.
        The most recent trip I took was down to the border with a
    congressional delegation (CODEL) about a month ago, and we saw
    some indication that this kind of progress could be realized. I
    just want to take my hat off to the CBP folks, the men and
    women who are down on the border doing this work every day. I
    just want to take my hat off to the folks from HHS who are
    taking the hand-off and trying to do difficult work, important
    work, but in compliance with Flores.
        Let me ask, Mr. Secretary, how important is it--and then I
    am going to ask you to be very brief in your responses. We have
    not had a U.S. Ambassador to Honduras for four years. Four
    years, no confirmed U.S. Ambassador to Honduras for four years.
    We do not have a confirmed U.S. Ambassador in El Salvador right
    now. We have a pretty good Ambassador--I talked to him just
    this past week, highly regarded. I think he is doing a good
    job. But if we want to do something about changing these
    numbers, why don't we confirm--why don't we get from this new
    administration--they have had a chance to get their feet wet
    now. We need them to nominate career Ambassadors, and we need
    to hold speedy hearings, vet them, and vote them up or down. I
    think one of the best things we can do is put in place career
    Ambassadors with Senate confirmation, Senate support, as much
    as anything. We need to make sure that they are surrounded by
    terrific staff in the embassies in Honduras, Guatemala, and El
    Salvador. They need to be the counterbalance to all the thugs
    and the crooks and the criminals down there that are using drug
    money that we provide to continue to screw up those countries.
    That is the first thing we can do.
        The second thing we can do, and I think here is my
    question. I actually am going to ask a question. The ability
    for the young people or not so young people to apply for asylum
    within their own country, at our embassies, at our consulates,
    is that something that we are doing a satisfactory job and
    doing? If not, is there something that we on our side need to
    make that possible?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you very much, Senator Carper. We
    are very focused on that. As I articulated at the very outset
    in my opening remarks, we have a three-pronged approach: to
    address the root causes, to build legal pathways, and to
    advocate for, with the hope that Congress will pass,
    immigration reform. And with respect to that second prong, I
    think that is what your question goes to, the building of legal
    pathways. If we can, in fact, adjudicate claims in the
    countries of origin or in truly safe places, then we will spare
    children the perilous journey north.
        Senator Carper. Why is it important for the Congress to
    take up and actually debate and pass comprehensive immigration
    reform? Why is that important in this debate today?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I think we all agree, the one thing
    that there is unanimity about is the fact that our current
    system is absolutely broken, and we can provide fixes through
    the legislation that has been proposed and is pending.
        Senator Carper. Let me say to my colleagues, I am not
    surprised but disappointed with the tenor of this hearing
    today. There is a problem here that needs to be addressed.
    There are a bunch of problems that need to be addressed, and
    our pointing fingers at one another and one administration or
    the other, that is not going to solve the problems. There are
    some things we can do and need to do, and if we will follow up
    and work together across the aisle and with this new
    administration, we could make great progress. We can turn this
    around. I want to do that. I want to do it with all of you.
        Thank you.
        Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Carper. I think
    hopefully all of us will come together because these are
    serious issues that we need to deal with.
        Senator Scott, you are recognized for your questions.

                   OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR SCOTT

        Senator Scott. Hi, Secretary.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Good morning.
        Senator Scott. First off, I am appreciative that you are
    trying to do your job with compassion. I do not think any of
    this is easy, and I think everybody that is involved in border
    security is having a very difficult time.
        I had the opportunity to go down to the Arizona border with
    Governor Ducey, and when I went, what actually shocked me was
    we did an aerial tour and they had the wall, and you have heard
    all the stories--Senator Lankford brought it up--that they just
    did not put up the gates. They just stopped. I mean, you
    cannot--if you talk to people around the country, they look at
    that and say, ``Why would that happen?'' And, a lot of have
    said we need to use new technology. They had the lights and
    cameras up. And you talk to Border Patrol; they just did not
    electrify it. They just stopped. Right after January 20th, they
    just stopped.
        When you look at this, you say there is no logic to this,
    right? I know we want to be a compassionate country, and we are
    a compassionate country, but we also have drugs come across our
    border. We have people that do--sometimes criminals come across
    the border, and we have wonderful people who want to come here
    and live our dreams.
        When you and I talked before your confirmation, one thing
    you committed to me is you were always going to enforce the
    law. Do you believe that you and your agency are enforcing the
    existing laws?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Yes, we are.
        Senator Scott. All right. There is none that you have any
    concern are not being enforced?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I believe that we are enforcing the
    laws in a smart and effective way, and, actually, we will do so
    smarter and more effectively as the days and weeks progress. I
    am very focused on that, and I am looking forward to actually
    meeting with the ICE workforce in the coming days to hear from
    them as front-line personnel to learn of their experiences, to
    inform the guidelines that I intend to promulgate.
        Senator Scott. So you have seen this chart, the
    unbelievable increase in apprehensions, and also the chart that
    showed how many unaccompanied minors. Are you disappointed that
    President Biden and Vice President Harris have not taken the
    time to come to the border to see firsthand what a lot of us
    have seen, that there is clearly a crisis, that we have to--and
    you have said there are things we have to address. Are you
    disappointed that President Biden and Vice President Harris
    have not taken the time to come to the border?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Absolutely not. What the President and
    the Vice President have done is directed me to address the
    challenges at the border which are within my responsibility as
    the Secretary of Homeland Security, and I have visited the
    border on multiple occasions thus far.
        Senator Scott. As I talk to sheriffs in Florida, what they
    are seeing since Joe Biden's Inauguration is an unbelievable
    increase in fentanyl coming into Florida. The only thing they
    can say is it has to be it is coming across the border.
    According to CBP data, drug seizures are down significantly
    this year. Do you think the record-low drug seizures are
    because our CBP agents and their resources are being diverted
    to manage the humanitarian crisis at the Southern Border?
        Secretary Mayorkas. No. Our interdiction efforts continue
    effectively, Senator. We have a multi-tiered approach to the
    interdiction of drugs, contraband, and dangerous individuals.
    We take great pride in the capabilities of the men and women of
    the United States Border Patrol and, quite frankly, in the
    actions that I have taken. We launched Operation Sentinel to
    elevate and accelerate those actions, and as Senator Portman
    well knows, I overcame delays that preceded me in the
    promulgation of critical regulations to effect the Synthetics
    Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act of 2017 (STOP) Act,
    which was a tremendous tool for law enforcement.
        Senator Scott. Why would seizures be down then? If all that
    is happening, why are seizures--I mean, that is the data that
    is coming out of the administration.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I would like to review the
    data that you have and exchange data, because our interdiction
    efforts are quite effective. And, regrettably, we are
    interdicting a great deal of contraband that predominantly does
    not come in between the Ports of Entry (POE), historically has
    come through the ports of entry, in hidden compartments of
    vehicles. Our technology is tremendous, and the traffickers
    also use air assets, marine assets that we are interdicting as
    well.
        Senator Scott. Does DHS feel like it has a duty to remove
    illegal aliens convicted of serious crimes, like sexually
    assaulting a child or manufacturing illegal drugs?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
        Senator Scott. And is that happening?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
        Senator Scott. OK. Can you commit that those individuals
    that are being released for future courts dates, like you
    talked about earlier, are clearly going to be deported if their
    asylum claims are rejected?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I am sorry. Can you repeat the
    question?
        Senator Scott. If somebody has come in and they have been
    released, but their asylum claim is rejected, are they clearly
    going to be deported?
        Secretary Mayorkas. They are subject to removal, yes.
        Senator Scott. Are they going to be?
        Secretary Mayorkas. As far as I know, yes.
        Senator Scott. Do you think it is happening now?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I believe so. What I think we need to
    focus on, quite frankly, Senator--and this is something I spoke
    to earlier--is addressing the asylum system and strengthening
    and improving it so individuals who are actually eligible for
    relief and deserving of relief receive it in a reasonable
    period of time, and those who do not, the adjudications are
    delivered in a reasonable period of time, which is a problem
    that has plagued the asylum system for years and years and
    years.
        Senator Scott. Going back to the wall and the technology
    that is not being connected to electricity, why is that?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, we approach this in a very
    methodical and reasonable fashion, in my opinion, which is the
    border wall in many respects was not the most effective use of
    taxpayer dollars to secure the border. the paradigm that had
    bipartisan support certainly when I served as the Deputy
    Secretary was a paradigm of different types of assets brought
    to meet the challenge: physical barriers that were in
    existence, the use of technology, and harnessing innovation to
    really be force multipliers, as well as, of course, the brave
    and heroic men and women of the United States Border Patrol. It
    is that three-part effort that is most effective.
        The methodology that was designed and is being implemented
    is let us put a pause on the construction of the border wall;
    let us assess what is actually needed to be completed, for
    example, the levees and the road erosion that we, in fact, have
    committed to; and let us take a look and see what does deserve
    and needs to be continued and what really should be stopped. We
    are taking a look at the gates, the gaps, the deployment of
    sensors in those parts that have been completed, and what is
    reasonable to complete in the judicious exercise of taxpayer
    dollars, and so that is what we are doing.
        Senator Scott. It sounds really good. You know, just
    looking at it from the outside, it looks sort of crazy. That
    money has been committed, the wall is up, and the gates need to
    go up. Or the lights and the cameras are all there, and they
    are just not--I mean, it just does not seem logical to the
    American public.
        Secretary Mayorkas. I respectfully disagree, Senator. I
    think it is a logical way to approach, and if we can actually
    save the expenditure of dollars on something that should not be
    the subject of expenditures, it would be terrific if we can
    forestall that and use those funds more effectively in a
    different way.
        Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Scott.
        Senator Hawley, you are recognized for your questions.

                  OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HAWLEY

        Senator Hawley. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank
    you for being here, Mr. Secretary.
        I want to talk about the policies that have gotten us to
    where we are with our effectively open border, but let me first
    ask you about this. You said as recently as this week that the
    border is closed. Is that still your position today, the border
    is closed?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Yes, it is.
        Senator Hawley. Don't you think you bear any responsibility
    for the current crisis by telling the world earlier this year
    that the border was open? Your words were, ``We are not telling
    you not to come. We are just telling you that we are putting a
    system back in place in which you can come.'' I mean, don't you
    think people took your words at face value then?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I have never said that the
    border is open, and I have never----
        Senator Hawley. ``We are not telling you not to come.'' How
    would you parse that?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I have never said that the
    border is open, and I have never believed that it should be an
    open border. We have laws that Congress has passed that are
    laws of accountability and also laws of humanitarian relief.
        Senator Hawley. You did say that, ``We are not telling you
    not to come,'' though, right? You said that. You remember that.
        Secretary Mayorkas. I am sorry, Senator. I apologize.
        Senator Hawley. You remember saying, don't you, that ``We
    are not telling you not to come''? Those are your words that
    you said in a press conference. You said that, right?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I do not recall saying that. I do not
    believe----
        Senator Hawley. You do not recall saying that?
        Secretary Mayorkas. That is correct, Senator. I have never
    said----
        Senator Hawley. We would be happy to refresh your memory
    for you in some questions for the record. That is interesting
    news, and I am sure everyone will--the Secretary has just said
    he does not have any memory of making those comments. That is
    extraordinary.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I have never said that the
    border is open.
        Senator Hawley. Let me ask you about this. CBP data says
    that the agency had 178,000 enforcement encounters at the
    Southern Border in April. This is the highest in two decades.
    Of that total, what percentage were subject to immediate
    expulsion?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I will get that data to you. I do not
    have that at my disposal this morning.
        Senator Hawley. Is it 100 percent? Is it 60 percent? Is it
    20 percent? Do you have any idea?
        Secretary Mayorkas. 100 percent of families and single
    adults are subject to expulsion except for those with acute
    vulnerabilities, and we exercise that discretion. However, our
    ability to actually expel families under CDC's Title 42
    authority is limited by, for example, Mexico's ability--
    capacity, I should say, to receive the expelled families, and
    that is what we are addressing as a result.
        Senator Hawley. I think the number is around 60 percent or
    so are subject to immediate expulsion, which means we have a
    very large percentage of migrants who are permitted entry into
    the United States and are still here. But we will give that
    question again to you for the record so that you can go and
    look it up.
        Let me ask you this: Why is it that this week--actually,
    late last night it was reported that CBP terminated a flight
    program that transferred families across the Southern Border
    for purposes of expelling them under Title 42. These flights
    were apparently canceled due to the pressure of left-wing
    groups. Is that accurate?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, we make our decisions as we
    consider to be most effective in furtherance of our mission and
    not because of pressure by outside groups. I would be pleased
    to look into the cancellation of the lateral flights and
    respond to you after I have done so.
        Senator Hawley. So you are telling me here that the
    American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had no role in the
    termination of these expulsion flights? Is that your testimony?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, we are addressing the claims
    of the ACLU. The ACLU has claimed that our exercise of the
    CDC's Title 42 authority is not supported by the law, and we
    are working with the ACLU--actually, adverse to the ACLU----
        Senator Hawley. You are working with them, though?
        Secretary Mayorkas. If I may, Senator, we are adverse to
    the ACLU----
        Senator Hawley. But you are working with them on this
    program? Is that why you canceled it?
        Secretary Mayorkas. If I may finish, Senator, we are
    adverse to the ACLU in litigation with respect to the legal
    authority underpinning our exercise of the CDC's Title 42
    authority.
        Senator Hawley. Right, but you are working with them in the
    termination of these expulsion flights?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, the decisions with respect to
    expulsion flights are ours because of the decisions that we
    have made based on the reasons that we think are necessary to
    execute on our mission.
        Senator Hawley. I think the fact that you are working with
    them is interesting news, so that is also quite relevant. We
    will give you this information as a question for the record.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, they are suing us, and we are
    defendants. That is not what I----
        Senator Hawley. I am just quoting back what you just said.
    You just said that, ``We are working with them.'' The news
    reports indicate that you canceled these flights at their
    behest. You and I both know that there can be such a thing as
    friendly litigation, Mr. Secretary. I mean, let us not pretend
    otherwise. I am just repeating your own words to you. We will
    give this to you as a question for the record so that you can
    look into it further. I think that is interesting news.
        Let me ask you about why you canceled the Safe Third
    Agreements with the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala,
    Honduras? These are agreements negotiated by the previous
    administration that the President canceled once he came into
    office. The President says that he is an avowed
    multilateralist, and yet one of the first things he did was to
    tear up these international agreements with other countries.
    How can you address the root causes of migration, as you keep
    talking about, if you are going to tear up international
    agreements that try to address these problems?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I will answer your question and make
    one comment, but before I do so, I have been a lawyer now for
    35 or so years. ``Friendly litigation'' is a phenomenon with
    which I am completely unfamiliar.
        Senator Hawley. Really? You are not familiar--wait a
    minute. You are not familiar with an outside group bringing
    litigation against the government that the government then
    accedes to in order to change the law? You have never heard of
    that phenomenon?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I am not familiar with
    friendly litigation. As a Federal prosecutor, I was a strong
    advocate for the U.S. Government in the pursuit of criminal
    accountability.
        Senator Hawley. You have never heard--wait, this is
    interesting. You just brought it up. You have never heard of
    regulatory lawsuits in which outside groups bring suits against
    the Federal Government. The government then agrees to settle
    the suit or to change its rules, and it reaches a settlement
    that is favor--that the government actually wants to achieve?
    You have never heard of that before?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I have heard of resolutions of
    litigation. I have heard of settlements of litigation. I have
    heard of arbitration. I have heard of mediation. Friendly
    litigation, the commencement of friendly litigation is
    something with which I am unfamiliar. The reason why----
        Senator Hawley. That is extraordinary.
        Secretary Mayorkas. The reason why the Safe Third County
    Agreements were terminated is because there was nothing safe
    about them.
        Senator Hawley. I am sorry. By which you mean what?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, to have an individual fleeing
    persecution from Guatemala and considering Honduras a safe
    third country is actually empirically incorrect because--and we
    can take a look at the migration from Honduras and the number
    of people leaving Honduras for fear of persecution, and that is
    not our concept of a safe third country.
        Senator Hawley. It is not your concept. So you think it is
    wise policy to come into office, to terminate these
    international agreements based on your judgment about these
    other countries, without consultation with them apparently, and
    then we see this massive--would you say that the children who
    have come to the United States and have gone through the border
    crossing have had to pay who knows what for the cartel are more
    safe because of your actions? Do you think that you have put
    them in less danger because of the agreements that you
    terminated and the opportunities to seek asylum and then wait
    in a third country you have denied to them? Do you think that
    your actions have made the situation better?
        Chairman Peters. Senator, you have gone over your time,
    but----
        Senator Hawley. Could I get an answer to that question?
    Then I will stop.
        Chairman Peters. Yes, absolutely. Secretary, you may answer
    that question, but we have to be respectful of our three other
    Members that are waiting.
        Secretary Mayorkas. The Safe Third Country Agreements, in
    my opinion, put children in harm's way.
        Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Hawley.
        Senator Ossoff, you are recognized for your questions.

                  OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR OSSOFF

        Senator Ossoff. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks to you and
    the Ranking Member for holding this hearing, and thank you, Mr.
    Secretary, for joining us today and for your testimony.
        Mr. Secretary, on March 12th of this year, the Federal
    District Court for the District of Columbia blocked ICE from
    destroying records related to detainee sexual abuse and
    assault, records related to the death of detainees in ICE
    custody, records related to solitary confinement and other
    punitive measures imposed on ICE detainees, and other materials
    under a plan that has been approved by the National Archives
    and Records Administration (NARA).
        Last month, Members of Congress wrote a letter urging DHS
    to reconsider its document destruction plans and policies in
    light of that March district court decision, and the letter
    explained that, ``For Congress to effectively perform its
    oversight and legislative functions, it is essential that the
    government permanently retain records reflecting serious abuse,
    neglect, and misconduct.''
        In fact, the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on
    Investigations has attempted to collect exactly these types of
    records from ICE going back to October 2019, only to have the
    agency continually delay its production of those requested
    records and misrepresent the completeness of the response, and
    many documents responsive to the Permanent Subcommittee on
    Investigations' request are still outstanding today.
        Mr. Secretary, will you commit to a reappraisal of any DHS
    document destruction plans or policies that could impact the
    treatment of materials related to mistreatment of ICE
    detainees? And will you please commit now to ensure that ICE
    fully and immediately produces all records requested by the
    Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I do, Senator.
        Senator Ossoff. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I appreciate that
    commitment.
        I would like to ask you about the use of private companies
    in the immigration detention system, please. The Trump
    administration dramatically expanded the use of private
    companies in immigration detention. As of January of last year,
    ICE held 81 percent of detainees in its custody in privately
    owned or managed facilities. At the same time, detainees in
    these facilities have reported sexual abuse, unsanitary
    conditions, substandard medical treatment, and worse, including
    recent allegations in Irwin County, Georgia, of unnecessary and
    extreme medical procedures performed on female detainees.
        The President's criminal justice plan during his campaign
    stated that the Federal Government ``should not use private
    facilities for any detention, including detention of
    immigration detainees.''
        Mr. Secretary, as the administration moves to discontinue
    the use of privately run Federal prisons, what steps is your
    Department taking to end the use of privately run immigration
    detention facilities?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, let me share with you, if I
    may, what I have done and what I am doing. I have read
    extensively about the use of detention in civil immigration
    proceedings as well as the conditions of detention in civil
    immigration proceedings. I have read accountability reports by
    the Office of Inspector General (OIG), our own Office for Civil
    Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL). We now have a detention
    ombudsman, an Office of Detention Ombudsman, and I have read
    reports by nongovernmental organizations.
        I am very focused on the use of detention in civil
    immigration proceedings as well as the conditions in those
    facilities, and I intend to begin taking action very quickly.
        Senator Ossoff. Can you specify any steps that have been
    affirmatively taken to end the use of privately run immigration
    detention facilities?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I am going to be speaking with
    my workforce about my findings and my intentions. I have begun
    that dialog, and I would appreciate the opportunity to continue
    those discussions and take the actions that I think will be
    responsive to your concerns.
        Senator Ossoff. Thank you, and we will follow up on that in
    short order and hope to see some progress and some affirmative
    steps that you will have taken.
        I would like to ask you about surveillance footage at DHS
    and specifically ICE detention facilities. I had a conversation
    with the Director of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Director
    Carvajal, at a hearing last month, and the BOP shared with my
    staff, pursuant to some requests for information that I had
    made, that Federal prisons only retain surveillance footage for
    14 days before purging that footage to create space for new
    data. And recognizing that BOP administration is far outside of
    your purview, that appears to me to be a totally inadequate
    duration of retention of those records.
        Given the scope of alleged detainee abuse and, indeed,
    corroborated reports of detainee abuse and substandard
    conditions at ICE detention facilities, I have similar
    questions about the retention of surveillance footage at those
    facilities. In May 2018, for example, a detainee died at a
    hospital shortly after entering ICE custody in New Mexico, but
    the private contractor running the detention facility deleted
    surveillance footage which could have clarified the
    circumstances of that death.
        Mr. Secretary, my question for you is: Does ICE impose
    uniform surveillance footage retention policies on the private
    contractors who operate ICE detention facilities?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I do not know the answer to
    that question. I will have to follow up.
        Senator Ossoff. I would be grateful for that answer for the
    record.
        And on a related note, Mr. Secretary, an ICE internal
    document was reported in 2019 to call for ``an internal review
    of all facility inspection records for detention facilities
    after the death of a detainee in ICE custody.''
        Are you aware, Mr. Secretary, whether ICE procedures
    require a detention facility to immediately preserve and share
    up the chain of command all surveillance footage and records
    related to the death of a detainee in ICE custody?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I certainly hope they do, Senator, and
    I will follow up on that with alacrity.
        Senator Ossoff. Thank you so much, and if they do not, will
    you commit, presuming you have the legal authority to do so, to
    making that DHS policy?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Yes. Absent some compelling reason why
    I should not, of which I am unaware as I sit here today and
    testify, most certainly.
        Senator Ossoff. I am grateful for your testimony, your
    candor, and for your service to the country.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you, Senator.
        Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Ossoff.
        Senator Padilla, you are recognized for your questions.

                  OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR PADILLA

        Senator Padilla. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Mr.
    Secretary, for participating today and for your service.
        A couple quick questions, quick yes-no questions, just to
    sort of calibrate the conversation, because as I entered the
    hearing midstream--I was coming from the Senate Judiciary
    Committee. I heard a whole lot of rhetoric.
        So, first, is it lawful for someone to seek asylum in the
    United States? Yes or no.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
        Senator Padilla. Are there processes and procedures in
    place to consider requests for asylum? Yes or no.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
        Senator Padilla. As these requests for asylum are processed
    by the appropriate agencies, determination is some combination
    of approvals and denials? Yes or no.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
        Senator Padilla. OK. I just think it important for those
    watching at home to kind of put the conversation and issues
    raised in this hearing in the proper context.
        I did want to follow up on something that Senator Hawley
    raised, a question about safe third countries. It is my
    understanding that during the Trump administration they never
    sent anyone back to El Salvador or to Honduras, and, indeed,
    less than 1,000 migrants were sent to Guatemala. So it does not
    seem like these so-called Safe Third Country Agreements were
    really used by the Trump administration. Agree or disagree? Or
    maybe you can verify the numbers.
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I would have to get back to
    you with respect to the data, which I do not have before me
    this morning.
        Senator Padilla. OK. That would be helpful. I appreciate
    that.
        Now, I did want to raise a question about collaboration
    between the Department and nongovernmental organizations. I am
    hearing from a lot of advocates and service providers in
    California that more communication and coordination would be
    helpful between DHS and the NGO's that are efficiently and
    safely providing service for immigrant families. Oftentimes,
    migrants are sent to areas of the country where shelters are
    already at capacity, though, and the Department is not
    sufficiently drawing upon resources in other regions of the
    country where providers have more capacity to continue to meet
    their needs.
        Can you discuss any DHS efforts to improve communication
    and coordination with NGO service providers and how the
    Department takes NGO feedback into consideration when making
    operational decisions?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you, Senator. So we work very
    closely with nongovernmental organizations to address the
    asylees, the individuals who make asylum claims under United
    States law, to ensure that they are sheltered appropriately and
    that the COVID-19 health and safety protocols are administered
    in partnership with us and pursuant to an architecture of
    reimbursement that we work with the State and local officials
    on.
        Early on, we heard the very same concerns that you
    reference this morning, that there were challenges with respect
    to the lines of communication, and so we addressed those, and
    we think we have made tremendous strides with the
    nongovernmental organizations in improving the lines of
    communication. That is not to say that everything works
    perfectly. The process is difficult. But when we learn of a
    shortcoming, we address it not only with respect to that
    particular relationship, but we take a look at whether there is
    any system improvements that we can institute. And so we are
    very proactive as well as reactive in improving and
    strengthening the communication lines with the nongovernmental
    organizations. They are critical partners in this.
        Senator Padilla. I look forward to following up with you on
    this as well, because as a proud representative of California,
    I know there are a number of local governments in addition to
    NGO's, particularly in Southern California, that have stepped
    up to try to be partners during this very unique time period
    and, some of the goodwill and well-intentioned gestures have
    meant facilities are near or at, maybe slightly beyond
    capacity, given, traditional occupancy limits, COVID protocols,
    et cetera. In other parts of the country, NGO's with capacity
    and experience, separate and apart from the funding question,
    are willing to be more helpful than I think DHS has taken them
    up on. So why not follow up with your team to share that
    information?
        Secretary Mayorkas. I look forward to that because we do
    work, of course, in close partnership with the Department of
    Health and Human Services. We look at the landscape of
    nongovernmental organizations across the country in the border
    area, I should say, and seek to place the families, the
    children, in the shelter where the capacity is greatest. It is
    a multifaceted analysis.
        Senator Padilla. I know there are multiple factors that are
    considered.
        I do want to touch on what I think is an encouraging trend.
    I was glad to hear this week that the Department has decreased
    the amount of time that children spend in Border Patrol
    custody. As you recall, in March there were more than 5,000
    children who were in Border Patrol custody specifically, each
    spending an average of 115 hours in Border Patrol facilities.
    But as of last Tuesday, I understand there are 455 children in
    Border Patrol custody, each spending an average of 28 hours in
    those facilities. That is a dramatic decrease in both the
    number of children in custody and the time spent in Border
    Patrol custody. Decreasing the time that migrants are in Border
    Patrol custody should be a top priority, especially for migrant
    children who are better cared for by far by HHS.
        Can you discuss some of the steps that the Department and
    Border Patrol specifically have taken to decrease the time
    unaccompanied children are spending in Border Patrol custody
    and how we anticipate the time further going down going
    forward?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you very much, Senator. I must
    really emphasize the extraordinary work of the United States
    Border Patrol, the men and women of the Border Patrol. Many of
    them are fathers and mothers who understand the plight of the
    children in whose care--the children were in the care of these
    heroic law enforcement officers.
        First, we have deployed FEMA to assist HHS in increasing
    the number of shelters and intake facilities that it had so
    that we had places to move the children. Then we started
    delivering operational efficiencies, reducing the time that it
    took to actually place the child in those facilities. And now
    we are very focused on reducing the time not at the expense of
    quality, reducing the time between the HHS facility and the
    placement of the child with a relative or legal guardian here
    in the United States.
        So it is shelter capacity, care capacity, process
    efficiency, three critical components of what we have delivered
    to achieve the dramatic results that you have noted.
        Senator Padilla. Thank you.
        Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Padilla.
        The Chair now recognizes Senator Sinema for your questions.

                  OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR SINEMA

        Senator Sinema. Thank you, Chairman. I appreciate you for
    holding this hearing today. I am glad that Secretary Mayorkas
    has joined us to talk about the crisis at the Southwest Border.
    Secretary, I appreciate your commitment to responding to
    Arizona's needs during these challenges time.
        As Chair of this Committee Border Management Subcommittee,
    I will continue to work to ensure that Congress and the
    administration take meaningful steps to secure the border,
    support our border communities and NGO's, prevent the spread of
    COVID-19, and treat all migrants and unaccompanied children
    fairly and humanely. That is why I recently introduced the
    bipartisan Border Solutions Act with Senator Cornyn. Our bill
    does not solve all the challenges of the border, but it does
    take meaningful steps to respond to the ongoing crisis by
    creating regional processing centers, improving the asylum
    process by ensuring that migrants get better legal assistance,
    and improving communication and coordination with local
    communities and nongovernmental organizations that are impacted
    by the crisis.
        Secretary Mayorkas, that effort to improve communication
    and coordination is where I want to start today. I am pleased
    that Arizona ICE has responded to my concerns that our office
    raised regarding the release of single adult migrants at bus
    stops, and they have recently changed their policy. Bringing
    these individuals directly to nongovernmental organizations
    makes migrants and our communities safer, and I appreciate
    that. But under your leadership, ICE and DHS are working
    collaboratively with Arizona communities and NGO's to solve
    challenges. However, Arizona communities still worry about
    unannounced dropoffs of family units.
        Which DHS rules and policies prevent your agency from
    providing notice before any migrants are going to be released
    in a community? how are you working to further solve this
    challenge?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you very much, Senator. You did
    indeed bring your concerns to our attention, and those concerns
    were valid, and we took swift action. It is our commitment to
    ensure appropriate coordination and communication between
    Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Border
    Patrol, and the local community officials. If, in fact, there
    is a breakdown, then that is our responsibility to ensure that
    it does not happen again. This is something that we are very
    focused on. Local officials do deserve to know of our actions
    that could impact their resources and their facilities, and we
    are very focused on continuing to strengthen that relationship,
    those relationships, and that dynamic.
        Senator Sinema. Thank you. I know we will continue working
    together to resolve this challenge.
        My office has also received confirmation from local NGO and
    ICE officials that some COVID-positive migrants have been
    released into communities without sufficient resources or
    direct access to quarantine shelters. What are the Department's
    policies for releasing COVID-positive migrants? What steps can
    DHS take to improve these policies to keep both migrants and
    our communities safe?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, under the tremendous
    leadership of our Chief Medical Officer, we have built an
    architecture of working with local officials and
    nongovernmental organizations to transport family members to
    local facilities through the nongovernmental organizations that
    have the capacity to test, isolate, and quarantine as necessary
    family members. This is an architecture that we have built in
    Texas, in Arizona, in California, and it is really a remarkable
    achievement.
        We are continuing to look at that architecture to see how
    it can be strengthened and improved. We are committed to
    ensuring that individuals are indeed tested, isolated, and
    quarantined in the service of the public health imperative.
        Senator Sinema. Thank you. DHS recently finalized a
    contract with a private company to house migrants in Arizona
    and Texas hotels in order to improve processing capacity. What
    oversight is DHS conducting to ensure that these facilities
    meet the standards we expect of them, including sufficient
    access to legal and to casework assistance?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, there are really two ways to
    proceed in this regard. One is through licensed facilities, and
    the other, to ensure appropriate capacity and efficient and
    effective processes on licensed facilities. But we are
    committed to adhering to the very same standards across that
    landscape. So the fact that a facility is unlicensed does not
    mean that it should not have the very same standards for the
    care and custody and shelter of the individuals in its
    residence. And we are committed to and dedicated to adhering to
    those very same standards.
        Senator Sinema. Thank you. As you know, Secretary, I am
    extremely interested in the administration's efforts to improve
    the asylum process, including providing better access to legal
    counsel and legal orientation as a way to make the system more
    efficient. That is a key reason why I recently introduced
    bipartisan legislation with Senator Cornyn to make the asylum
    process more efficient and also making it fairer.
        What steps is the administration taking right now to
    improve legal orientation and legal access, including allowing
    migrants to easily make and receive phone calls at all DHS
    facilities?
        Secretary Mayorkas. Senator, I am very well aware of and
    appreciative of your efforts to improve the asylum process.
    That is an effort that we, too, are very dedicated to, and that
    process is underway.
        We have learned of challenges to access to counsel by
    reason of inadequate telephone services, and we have installed
    additional telephone services in facilities. Access to counsel
    is a core principle in the administration of justice, and we
    are dedicated to achieving that across our enterprise. If there
    are any obstacles of which you are aware in individuals'
    ability to access counsel, please do continue to bring them to
    our attention so that we can solve them immediately.
        Senator Sinema. Thank you, Secretary. We will definitely
    follow up.
        Mr. Chairman, I have a couple other questions, but I see
    that my time is expiring, so I will submit them for the record
    to the Secretary.\1\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ The questions submitted by Senator Sinema appears in the
    Appendix on page 97.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        I want to thank you again for holding this hearing and
    thank the Secretary for joining us today.
        Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Sinema.
        Mr. Secretary, thank you again for being here. You have
    been generous with your time. But we have a couple just brief
    closing comments. I know Ranking Member Portman wanted to make
    a comment. Then I will close out the hearing.
        Senator Portman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To the Secretary,
    thank you for coming today. I think it was very important. We
    will have a lot of follow-up questions, as you saw.
        I did want to say to Senator Sinema we appreciate her
    legislation on regional processing centers. It is consistent
    with what I talked about in my opening statement. I hope we can
    talk more about that maybe next time, about policy going
    forward, which would be more rapid processing of asylum claims.
        I wanted to correct the record on the Central American
    Minors Program. You had pointed to that as one reason there has
    been an increase, because it was stopped in the Trump
    administration. I told you I supported the program. I said
    there were about 5,000 people that had gone through it in three
    years, and that was not very many compared to the problem we
    have. I was wrong. It is 3,500 went through it in three years,
    which is roughly the number of unaccompanied minors coming
    every week now.
        So we look forward to talking about some of those policy
    questions going forward so that we can resolve the issues that
    I know you agree need to be addressed.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Peters. Thank you, Ranking Member Portman.
        Mr. Secretary, we have had a very thorough discussion today
    about the challenges that we face at the Southern Border and
    what the Department needs to address those challenges. Although
    I do not agree with the characterization of the situation by my
    Republican colleagues, I think it is very clear to me that we
    need to work in a bipartisan fashion to solutions on a
    multitude of challenges that we face. While there are issues
    where we will disagree here in this Committee, I think there
    are some areas of agreement. DHS certainly needs adequate
    resources. CBP officers and agents need support. And
    unaccompanied children need to be protected from violence and
    the transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) that seek them
    harm. I look forward to working with my colleagues and the
    Department on some common-sense solutions.
        Secretary Mayorkas, thank you again for your attendance
    today and for your commitment to work with this Committee and
    to be available for our questions. We appreciate that.
        The hearing record will remain open for 15 days, until May
    28th at 5 p.m., for submissions of statements and questions for
    the record. With that, the hearing is now adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 12:28 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

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