>> homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas held a news conference today a a day befoe pandemic era border restrictions expire. it i love border patrol to turn away migrants seeking asylum at the border. >> good morning and thank you for joining us this morning. to my left is the acting commissioner of u.s. customs and border protection when miller. to my right from the united

states department of state. as you know, on thursday may 11 at 11:59 p.m. eastern time the title 42 public health order will terminate. at that point we want to get him process at our southern border using our immigration enforcement authorities under title eight of the united states code. our overall approach is to build lawful pathways for people to come to the united states and to impose tougher consequences on those who choose not to use those pathways. we are taking this approach within the constraints of a broken immigration system that congress has not fixed for more than two decades. without the resources we need, personnel, facilities, transportation and others, that we requested of congress and that we were not given. we have seen the effectiveness of our approach. more than 100,000 people from

cuba, haiti, nicaragua and venezuela have arrived lawfully through the pathway we have made available to them and we reduce border encounters from these groups by 90% between december of last year and march of this year. our president has led the largest expansion of lawful pathways ever. at the same time we are clear eyed about the challenges we're likely to face in the days and weeks ahead, which have the potential to be very difficult. even after nearly two years of preparation we expect to see large numbers of encounters at our southern border in the days and weeks after may 11 11 wee already seeing high numbers of encounters in certain sectors. this places an incredible strain on our personnel, our facilities and our communities with whom we partner closely. our plan will deliver results but it will take time for those

results to be fully realized. and it is essential that we all take this into account. i cannot over emphasize our current situation is the outcome of congress leaving a broken outdated immigration system in place for over two decades, despite unanimous agreement that we desperately need legislative reform. it is also the result of congress' decision not to provide us with the resources we need, and that we requested. our efforts within the constraints of our broken immigration system are focused on ensuring that the process is safe, orderly, and humane, all while protecting our dedicated workforce and our communities. let me be clear, the lifting of the title 42 public health order does not mean our border is open. in fact, it is the contrary.

our use of our immigration enforcement authorities under title eight of the united states code means tougher consequences for people who cross the border illegally. unlike under title 42, and individual that was removed under title eight is subject to at least a five-year bar on reentry into the united states and can face criminal prosecution if they attempt to cross again. smugglers have long been hard at work spreading false information that the border will be open after may 11. it will not be. they are lying. to people who are thinking of making the journey to our southern border, know this. the smugglers care only about profit, not people. they do not care about you or your well-being. do not believe their lies. do not risk your life and your

life savings only to be removed from the united states if, if and when you arrive here. today we are beginning and a digital advertising campaign that is central and south america to counter the lies of the smugglers with accurate information about u.s. immigration laws. this campaign adds to our extensive ongoing communications efforts in the region. as you can see by the images before us, of removal flights and encounters with our border patrol agents, we are making it very clear that our border is not open, backcrossing irregularly is against the law, and that those who are not eligible for release will be quickly returned. do not listen to the lies of the smugglers. this is what will happen to you. you will be returned.

today, alongside the department of justice we are finalizing a new rule to encourage individuals to use available, lawful, safe and orderly pathways to enter the united states. the rule presumes that those who do not use lawful pathways to enter the united states are ineligible for asylum. it allows the united states, it allows us to remove individuals who do not establish a reasonable fear of persecution in the country of removal. noncitizens can rebut this presumption only in very limited circumstances. for example, if they had used our lawful pathways or sought asylum for protection in another country through which they have traveled and were denied. this rule goes into effect once the title 42 public health order

terminates tomorrow. on thursday at 11:59 p.m. eastern time. what i have just described are only a few elements of an expansive effort that began in 2021 to prepare for this transition from the title 42 public health authority to our tougher immigration enforcement authorities. in addition to updating the first increase in border patrol agent hiring in over a decade, the first in over a decade, we are in the process of surging personnel to the border, including more than 1400 dhs personnel, 1000 processing coordinators, and an additional 1500 department of defense personnel. ..

during the first half of this fiscal year. we are conducting dozens of removable flights per weekend and increase our removal flight capability. we are increasing our efficiency and reducing processing times over. we watched the cdp one app which in its first four months helps 83,000 individuals original and appointment at the port of entry and are taking steps to schedule available appointments. we bolster the capacity of local governments and ngo's is $332 million to support communities along the southern border and in the interior of our country. we are leading an unprecedented law enforcement

disruption campaign has led to the arrest of 10,000 smugglers who profit from vulnerable immigrants. knowing this is a regional challenge requires our regional solution we continue to work with countries throughout the americas to deter irregular migration. this includes a coordinated campaign with columbia and panama preventing people from following ruthless smugglers and we are working with our partners in mexico regularly on a range of issues. we are a nation of immigrants . we are also a nation of laws. but our immigration laws today are outdated. the solution we are implementing are the best available within our current legal authority but they are short-term solutions to a decades-old problem.

that kind of migration we continue to see today acquires more resources resources we have requested and have not received clearer authority and modernized processes that only congress can deliver. you now i think we will take some questions. >> thank you mister secretary. we've seen images from texas showing texas national guard and dhs blocking migrants from climbing up the river banksand accessing us soil . does the department believe that a legal enforcement posture by the state of texas ? >> i'm going to leave it to the department of justice to the lawfulness or lack thereof of those actions. i will tell you this. that our border patrol agents

and officers work closely with the department of public safety in texas on the ground when it is a coordinated and collaborative effort. it is essential that law enforcement work as one team to address the challenge of the southernborder . >> thank you mister secretary . how many credible screening interviews do you expect to conduct on a daily basis and are you confident that will keep up with the number of apprehensions youare seeing ? >> we are the department of homeland security with one of our agencies us citizenship and immigration is indeed surging asylum officers to the border patrol facilities as well as the immigration and customs enforcement detention facilities to conduct an unprecedented

number of credible screenings under the asylum rule is going to be implemented beginning upon the end of title 42. we are searching approximately 1000 or more asylum officers for that purpose. it is important to note the asylum rule will take effect if individuals do not access their lawful pathways that we have made available to them. they will face a rebuttable presumption but a presumption of ineligibility. they will have to meet up higher bar. this president, our president has led the expansion of lawful pathways more than any other one else in our history . >> we have read the administration has assumed really migrants are being carefully vetted and we just as of the past year. >> afterwards we will release

for the countries wondering how that process has been done and how secure you are of those betting. >> us customs and border protection greens and that's individuals who we encounter. individuals, the vast majority of individuals we'll will be returned. those who do not qualify from order control stations or immigration and customs enforcement detention facilities. we often as has every administration released individuals into immigration enforcement proceedings those individuals if they do not qualify will be removed. we screen and that's individuals who we encounter. >> is there any plan for america ...

>> thank you mister secretary. to follow up on the credible theory question, can you give us a a question of how many migrants will be receiving those screenings? can you also the agreement with mexico you guys have specifically taken people back from the nationalities. is there a possibility they would take back any other nationalities as well ? >> michelle, let me break it down a little bit. we are giving the option to individuals who are in our custody the option of voluntarily returning to the country from which they came. because of the consequence of a removal, people have to understand that under title eight of the united states code when one is removed one

faces at least a five-year bar to reentry so we will give people an opportunity to avoid that consequence by voluntarily returning. if they do not take that option, and they do not claim here they will be removed immediately . if they do claim here they will encounter a higher threshold under our asylum rule unless they have access our lawful pathways or sought relief in another country and been denied. we are surging as i mentioned michelle asylum officers to ensure that screening process is done fairly, with access to counsel but expeditiously. >> how do americans gain. nobody ever asks the question do americans gain from all

the immigrants you're bringing into countries, >> sir, we are a nation of immigrants and we are a nation of laws. individuals who qualify for relief under our laws of basis to remain in the united states. the contributions of immigrants to this countryis quite clear . >> you guys were requesting supplemental funding from congress but there have been requests made if you do what type of criteria would be surmised. >> in december this past year we sought more than $4 billion in funding to address our resource needs. because we are operating within an entirely broken immigration system that is something about which there is unanimity. we did not receive the funding we requested.

we received approximately half of what we requested half of what we needed which is why we are encountering some of thechallenges . we have sought a programming and we have communicated to congress that that reprogramming is a fraction of what we ultimately need. >> you mentioned some of the immigration proceedings will, are you to start releasing migrants into the us without court date and a way to track them toreduce overcrowding . >> like other administrations when we release individuals, we release them on conditions . and there are compliance with those conditions is absolutely necessary and if they fail to comply we will see to apprehend them and remove them. they are ultimately in

immigration enforcement proceedings but what you are inquiring of is a minor, a fraction of the people that we encounter. in fact the vast majority will be addressed in our border patrol facilities and are nice detention facilities . >> is the border open to illegal migrants? >> you nasa 1.4 million people who were expelled, returned and removed from the united states this past year. >>. [overlapping conversation] >> let me just answer marcia's question if i may. withrespect to regional processing centers . they are a powerful example of what i expressed earlier which is our president has led the expansion of lawful

pathways more than anyone preceding him. the regional processing centers are an extraordinary example of that leadership. these are places where we feel a humanitarian as well as security imperative to meet people where they are. to cut the smugglers out and to provide them with easy and worldly way to arrive in the united states if they qualify for relief. we are surging our personnel in this partnership with the department of state, in close partnership with countries in the region. we require a regional response to what is a reasonable challenge we will in these regional processing centers screen individuals to determine whether they are eligible for refugee status in the united states. whether they apply for what we are expanding in our

family reunification program. on individualized basis on a case-by-case basis as the law requires whether they are eligible for other humanitarian releases. that is what we are doing. we phenomenon of migration is different than it was 10, 12 years ago. we are seeing an unprecedented level of migration throughout the hemisphere. i believe there are approximately 20 million displaced people in our atmosphere . in addition, the smugglers control the migratory paths. we will cut the smugglers out . we will reach qualifying individuals where they are and provide them with a safe and orderly halfway they arrive at our southern border, they will need to meet consequences. we urge migrants once again not to believe the smugglers

who are lying to them solely to make a profit. we are building lawful pathways for you to come to the united states. do not place your life in the hands of ruthless organizations. thank you so much.