DHS secretary now admits Biden administration fell short on illegal immigration

Former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Tuesday that the Biden administration could've done more to curb illegal immigration during Joe Biden's lone term as president, and said that "there were areas of disagreement" with Biden on how to approach illegal immigration.

Some estimates suggest more than 20 million illegal immigrants surged into the U.S. during Biden's four years as president. Caravans of illegals were routinely seen unlawfully crossing the southern border throughout the Biden presidency, until midway through his final year in office when public opinion polls showed illegal immigration was one of the top concerns of the American electorate. Trump had been addressing that concern since he launched his first campaign for president in 2015.

But all the while during the Biden presidency, Mayorkas repeatedly told the American public there was no crisis at the border, despite the parade of videos on social media that contradicted those claims. Mayorkas was interviewed Tuesday at the Politico Summit in Washington, D.C., and admitted that he didn't always see eye-to-eye with the president on illegal immigration policy. 

"There were areas of disagreement within immigration policy, but I voiced my views," Mayorkas told Politico editor Alex Burns in response to a question about whether he felt he had the support from Biden to succeed as DHS secretary. Mayorkas said he felt a responsibility to carry out orders from the White House even if he disagreed with the policies they supported, and suggested that the White House acted too late to address the crisis. 

"I was very pleased that in June of 2024 we took executive action that I thought made reforms that were sensible," Mayorkas said, referring to the Biden administration's last-minute attempt to get its arms around the illegal immigration crisis as Biden's poll numbers began to falter and as Biden himself began to falter as a candidate.

Burns then asked Mayorkas if he thinks Trump would not have won the 2024 election had the Biden administration had acted on illegal immigration sooner. Mayorkas dodged the question. Fox News reached out to Biden's office for a comment from the ex-president, but didn't receive a response.

Mayorkas at one point complained about having had to "take punches" from a frustrated American public over the failures of illegal immigration policies of the time, but still managed to pat himself on the back for the job he did. "I found myself to be quite resilient," Mayorkas said.

The nation of course has suffered countless negative effects due to the unchecked illegal immigration of the Biden era, from the senseless killing of college student Laken Riley in early 2024 to the recent killing of college freshman Sheridan Gorman in March of 2026.

Below, watch a clip from the interview.