Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas claimed that the U.S. Southern Border was secure and that the department would be working to ensure its security, describing it as a “historic challenge.”

So historic, in fact, that it’s simply not true. “Mayorkas then blamed lawmakers who stated they would not commit to broad immigration legislation until they confronted the issue” writes the Foreign News Desk.

Mayorkas’ comments faced pushback and outrage from numerous Border Patrol agents and groups who are actually present and monitoring the border. They argue hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants crossing every month is not indicative of any sort of security at the border.

Foreign Desk News writes:

Some agents have told reporters that the Mayorkas and the White House are telling lies to the American people, using issues like crime, poverty, and others as reasons for asylum, which does not meet the legal standard of immigration law.

Groups like the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) disputed Mayorkas’ claim arguing that lethal drugs like fentanyl and unaccompanied migrants have come into the U.S. since President Biden and his team reversed policies from the former Trump administration. High-level officials in the DHS and Border Patrol told reporters that there were around 440,000 cases where individuals snuck past agents since October 2021, with over 50,000 in May.

Many agents in the DHS and Border Patrol stated that the U.S. southern border is the least secure in history, using evidence from the several million known instances of individuals coming successfully into America and the several thousands of overdose deaths from narcotic drugs.

The Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), reports that deaths from drug overdoses rose to an all-time high of more than 107,000 in 2021. “This report indicated a 15 percent increase from 2021, following the previous year when fentanyl drug overdose deaths jumped to 30 percent.”