DHS Secretary Mayorkas on border crisis and the murder of Laken Riley
WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday about the southern border.
In the interview, Mayorkas said that "a bipartisan group of senators have put forth a real solution that would provide the Department of Homeland security and other departments and agencies involved in the immigration system with resources we need as well as policy changes that will fix this system."
"We, as an administration, have taken executive actions. Those executive actions are being litigated. We do need Congress to act for more than three decades. Our system has been broken...We need Congress to act. That is the enduring solution," Mayorkas spoke.
During the interview, Brennan and Mayorkas talked about the murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley, a University of Georgia (UGA) student who was killed Thursday, February 22, as she jogged near an on-campus lake.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, faces charges of malice and felony murder, aggravated battery, kidnapping, concealing the death of another, and several other charges in connection to the death of Riley. Investigators say Ibarra, who lived in Athens but was not a U.S. citizen, did not know the victim.
"First and foremost, an absolute tragedy and our hearts break for, and our prayers are with the family. Number one, number two, and importantly, as a prosecutor, having prosecuted violent crime and other crimes for 12 years, one individual is responsible for the murder and that is the murderer. And we work very closely with state and local law enforcement to ensure that individuals who pose a threat to public safety are indeed our highest priority for detention and removal."
Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security
To watch more of Brennan's interview with Mayorkas, click here.
