AUSTIN—Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas criticized Texas’s attempts to stop illegal immigration while praising Vice President Kamala Harris’s role in addressing the “root causes” of the border crisis.
Mayorkas spoke Sept. 6 at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin.
The annual festival hosts a slate of political speakers, newsmakers, and journalists who discuss current events.
“This is the first time that in my 20 to 22 years of government service that I have seen a state act in direct contravention of national interests,” Mayorkas said.
Some 10 million illegal immigrants have entered the United States after President Joe Biden took office in January 2021. In March 2021, he put Harris in charge of dealing with illegal immigration. Harris, now the Democratic Party nominee for president, faces criticism for the border crisis as the 2024 election draws near….