During his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Alejandro Mayorkas, would not commit to not tearing down existing border wall built by President Trump’s administration.
Mayorkas, when questioned by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), said he had not yet “looked at” the specific issue when asked whether he would take a sledgehammer to “physical barriers along our southern border.”
Citing the former Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Mayorkas suggested that a wall across the entire United States-Mexico border was not necessary, to which Lankford agreed. Biden has vowed to stop all construction of border wall.
The exchange went as follows:
LANKFORD: Would you recommend any of the physical barriers along our southern border be dismantled or removed? [Emphasis added]
MAYORKAS: Senator, I haven’t looked at that specific question, I will share with you the fact that I agree with the approach that Sen. McCain, an American hero … took to the border which is it’s not a monolithic challenge, the border. The border is varied depending on the geography and depending on the specific venue and depending on the conduct of individuals around it. Read more…
