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(CNN) -
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told lawmakers Wednesday that the US-Mexico border is secure, repeating that it is "not open," while the government deals with a steady influx of migrants.
His appearance before the House of Representatives Committee on National Security comes as the Biden administration struggles to accommodate the growing number of minors crossing the US-Mexico border alone in the context of a resource-depleting pandemic. in particular the space for shelters.
LOOK: Biden tells the migrants not to go to the United States: "Don't leave your city"
Mayorkas, who testified on Capitol Hill for the first time since his confirmation, declined to call the situation a crisis.
“I will share with you how I define a crisis.
A crisis is when a nation is willing to tear a 9-year-old child from the hands of its parents and separate that family to deter future migration.
That for me is a humanitarian crisis, ”Mayorkas said.
As of Tuesday, more than 300 unaccompanied migrant minors had been in Border Patrol custody for more than 10 days, CNN learned.
More than 4,200 minors were detained, with an average time of 120 hours.
Mayorkas said in a statement Tuesday that the United States is on track to find more people at the border than it has in the past 20 years.
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The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has not had the capacity to accommodate the number of unaccompanied minors found at the border.
Federal law requires unaccompanied children to be released within 72 hours to HHS, which oversees a network of shelters designed to house minors.
In February, more than 9,400 unaccompanied minors, of varying ages, crossed the border between the United States and Mexico, according to the most recent data available from Customs and Border Protection.
That figure is higher than January and is expected to continue with an upward trend.
MORE: Why So Many Minors Cross the US Border Alone
Asked by Representative Emanuel Cleaver about the age of the youngest minor who has been detained, Mayorkas said: “There are children, Congressman, who are infants up to five years old, who arrive at the border.
I faced a situation of three young brothers, under 10 years old.
The youngest was 2 years old and his mother did not make it.
Mayorkas declined to say whether he was surprised by the increase in arrests at the southern border of the United States.
“I don't know if I had any particular expectations one way or another.
I only knew what we had to do when faced with a situation, and in fact we are doing it, "he said.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden discouraged would-be immigrants from coming to the United States, telling ABC: "I can say it quite clearly: don't come."
Biden to Migrants: Don't Come 2:36
The president added: “We are preparing.
Do not leave your town, city or community.
Mayorkas continued with that topic on Wednesday, commenting: "The border is secure and the border is not open."
“We expelled with the public health mandate (from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in light of the pandemic.
Single individuals arriving at the border.
We expelled families under the same public health figure, limited only by Mexico's capacity to receive them, "he added.
Mayorkas said the U.S. Border Patrol (CBP) builds capacity for migrants to be screened for COVID-19, noting that the administration has worked with local entities and community organizations to assess and quarantine migrants released from custody.
“The US Customs and Border Protection did not have the capacity to conduct tests at their facilities, and now there is a contract with a vendor to start doing that and we will expand it as needed so that we can run tests on the sites. CBP facilities, when the other mechanisms I have talked about are not available, ”Mayorkas said.
House Homeland Security Speaker Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, called Wednesday's hearing a notable aspect of the "future" of the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of "four years of mismanagement and misuse. of the Department by the Trump administration.
"For years, President Trump left DHS without a confirmed and legally appointed secretary and kept critical positions vacant in order to exploit the Department for political gain," Thompson said Wednesday.
Thompson said he expects "competent and confirmed leadership by the Senate" now that Mayorkas has been sworn in.
New York Rep. John Katko, the commission's top Republican, said the situation at the border, which he just visited, continues to "worsen every day with inappropriate action or even proper recognition of the seriousness of the situation." .
"I can tell you without hesitation that it is in fact a crisis that continues to deepen every day," he said.
Republicans questioned Mayorkas about the government's handling of the influx.
Representative Clay Higgins called the hearing "nauseating."
Last month, Thompson called on Mayorkas to testify about the distribution of the covid-19 vaccine, the recent intrusion into SolarWinds, immigration and the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.The commission also asked Mayorkas to provide information on how to ensure DHS front-line employees have access to vaccines.
Alejandro Mayorkas