DHS Says Mexican Border “More Secure now than it has Been in Many, Many Years”

by Judicial Watch: Islamic terrorists and droves of illegal immigrants-mainly youths-have slipped into the United States through Mexico recently, but the deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) insists the "the border is more secure now than it has been in many, many years." This delusional assessment brings to mind when President Obama's first DHS secretary, Janet Napolitano, repeatedly proclaimed the border is as secure as it's ever been amid escalating drug-cartel violence that spilled into the U.S. and a crisis of narcotics and human smuggling in the region.

Though the situation has only worsened, the administration continues to repeat the same lies even though a number of reports have confirmed that Islamic terrorists have entered the U.S. through the famously porous southern border and tens of thousands of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) keep crossing in without ever encountering federal agents before touching American soil. If anything the southern border has become a national security threat of epic proportions, illustrated by Judicial Watch's reporting in the last few years. More on that after touching on the latest DHS distortion delivered a few days ago at a global travel and tourism summit in Dallas, Texas. Keep in mind that the event is a forum for business leaders in the travel and tourism industry and the goal is promoting travel. In fact, the forum's motto was "travel beyond boundaries."

Attending the event was Obama's deputy secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas. In a local newspaper report Mayorkas defended government efforts to stem the flow of illegal immigration, which is laughable considering a record number of illegal aliens have entered the U.S. in the last year. Then he said the United States is a "welcoming, embracing nation that does not operate in isolation." This appeared to be an effort to justify the tens of thousands of illegal aliens that have crossed into the U.S. lately through Mexico, a huge chunk of them entering through Texas where the forum was held. Then came the kicker, that "the border is more secure not than it has been in many, many years." It was not clear in the news article if Mayorkas delivered the line with a straight face, but he proceeded to pile it on by adding that apprehensions have dropped significantly and that the U.S. works "very closely with our partners [in Mexico] to address illegal migration." One last comment before we delve into the deputy secretary's background. He said that the Obama administration has a "wonderful partnership with leaders in the Mexican government that are focused on security."

Mayorkas initially served as director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for the Obama administration and came under fire for reportedly abusing his power to obtain visas for shady Chinese investors in a company run by Hillary Clinton's brother. The scandal broke after Obama picked him to be second-in-command at DHS and the media obtained documents confirming that Mayorkas was named by the DHS Inspector General's Office as a target in a probe involving the foreign investor program, known as EB-5, run by USCIS. One of the visas sought by Hillary's brother (Anthony Rodham) was for the vice president of a Chinese telecommunications firm that's been investigated by Congress for its ties to China's intelligence agencies. Nevertheless, Mayorkas got his promotion even though he has a few other skeletons in his closet.

As Bill Clinton's U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Mayorkas resigned in shame after orchestrating the pardon of a major league drug trafficker. Mayorkas was largely responsible for freeing the drug dealer serving a 15-year prison sentence for operating sophisticated cocaine rings that stretched from California to Minnesota. The convicted drug dealer, Carlos Vignali, is the son of a wealthy political donor (Horacio Vignali) who convinced influential community leaders-mostly recipients of his generous contributions-to advocate for his son's pardon. Mayorkas' intervention was the most crucial and by far carried the most weight, Clinton officials later revealed. It also outraged federal prosecutors in Minneapolis, where Vignali was convicted for trying to sell 800 pounds of cocaine. After receiving numerous inquiries from Mayorkas about the case, the Minneapolis federal prosecutors wrote the Justice Department strongly opposing Vignali's commutation but they were ignored.

This is relevant because it illustrates that Mayorkas is hardly a credible source. His recent assurances on Mexican border safety are insulting. In the last two years Judicial Watch has published a number of reports that prove the southern border is a dangerous region that has created a monstrous national security threat. In 2014 Homeland Security sources confirmed to Judicial Watch that four Islamic terrorists were apprehended in 36 hours in McAllen and Pharr, Texas. Last summer, as an ongoing series on the porous southern border, Judicial Watch reported that Mexican drug cartels are smuggling terrorists into the U.S. through a small Texas rural town near El Paso. The information came from sources on both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border. Also last year JW reported that five young Middle Eastern men were apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol in an Arizona town situated about 30 miles from the border. Two of the men were carrying stainless steel cylinders in backpacks, according to JW's law enforcement sources. JW also broke a story about a sophisticated narco-terror ring with connections running from El Paso to Chicago to New York City.

Earlier this year JW obtained State Department documents that show the U.S. government has known for more than a decade that "Arab extremists" are entering the country through Mexico with the assistance of smuggling network "cells." Among them was a top Al Qaeda operative wanted by the FBI, according to the records that also reveal some Mexican smuggling networks actually specialize in providing logistical support for Arab individuals attempting to enter the United States.
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Judicial Watch, Inc., is a conservative, non-partisan educational foundation, promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law.

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