Savannah Guthrie Presses Mayorkas on Border Crisis: ‘That Sounds Like the Border Is Open for Some’

NBC’s Savannah Guthrie challenged Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on his claim that the southern border is not open during an interview Friday morning.

“You say the border is not open, but there is a subset of people who are being released into this country with no court date and no way to track them. I mean, that sounds like the border is open for some,” said Guthrie on NBC’s Today.

Mayorkas responded by assuring the reporter that most migrants would not enjoy such an experience.

“Oh, Savannah, the vast majority are being removed,” asserted Mayorkas. “If one asked any one of the 1.4 million people who were expelled, removed, or returned last year, I don’t think that they would tell you that the border is open.”

The lifting of Title 42 protocol, a pandemic-era public health order that allowed authorities to quickly expel migrants from the country, including asylum seekers, has coincided with the massing of migrants at the border. On Tuesday, over 11,000 migrants were apprehended while trying to cross into the country. That outstripped DHS projections for after Title 42’s expiration, according to NBC.

On Ana Cabrera Reports on MSNBC, reporter Julia Ainsley noted that a federal judge in Florida blocked the administration’s plan — mentioned by Guthrie — to release some migrants into the country with no court date or way to track them.

That program was originally reported on by NBC News. It was designed to avoid dangerous overcrowding conditions in detention facilities. Department of Homeland Security officials have defended it by explaining that “Each parole will be considered on an individualized case-by-case basis, and individuals who are released will be required to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and undergo removal proceedings in immigration court.”

“The targeted use of parole will allow Border Patrol to focus its resources most effectively to quickly process and remove individuals who do not have a legal basis to remain in the country,” added a Department spokesman.

Watch above via MSNBC.