Mayorkas urges 'pragmatism' in remarks at migration policy conference

WASHINGTON (OSV News) -- U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas advocated for a pragmatic and orderly approach to immigration policy in a Sept. 30 conference on migration co-hosted by Catholic organizations.

"Pragmatism is an extraordinarily important element of advocacy and policymaking, and we have to understand the fact that the American public does want, does expect and does demand the delivery of order," Mayorkas said.

He made the remarks at the annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference, organized by the Migration Policy Institute, Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. and the Georgetown University Law Center. Groups working on migration policy met at the conference to discuss trends in their field, as well as the current politics of the issue.

Polls show a growing share of Americans are critical of not just illegal immigration but immigration in general: A July Gallup poll found the share of U.S. adults who would like to see immigration to the U.S. decreased grew to 55%, up from 41% in response to the same question the previous year. The 2024 poll marked the first time since 2005 that Gallup found a majority of Americans have wanted there to be less immigration, after a record high of 65% was recorded in 1993 and 1995.

The conference came amid an election cycle in which former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, who is Catholic, have campaigned on mass deportations and spread baseless claims about Haitian immigrants eating the pets of residents in Springfield, Ohio.

Catholic leaders have been critical of calls for mass deportations which run contrary to the Second Vatican Council's teaching in “Gaudium et Spes” condemning “deportation” among other actions, such as abortion, that “poison human society,” a teaching St. John Paul II affirmed in two encyclicals on moral truth and the life issues.

But Catholic leaders have also had mixed reactions to the Biden administration's immigration policy, criticizing some of its efforts to raise the threshold for applying for asylum.

In his comments, Mayorkas acknowledged, "I would respectfully submit that at least at particular times over the past three years, we haven't had order. I do not consider the situation in Del Rio to have been at times, orderly."

Officials in that area have observed a slower pace of border crossings after a previous surge.

The same day as the conference, President Joe Biden expanded previous restrictions on asylum that officials cite as behind a dramatic drop in illegal crossings at the southern border.

Mayorkas acknowledged a shift in his own views on the subject, saying, "I think that what we have experienced has caused me to question what changes to the asylum system are necessary, legislatively and administratively, to address the realities of migration that exist in the world now."

An Migration Policy Institute analysis published just prior to the conference argued the perception of chaos both at the U.S.-Mexico border and in cities where asylum-seekers and other migrants live has shifted public opinion on migration and led to shifted positions not just from Republicans, but from Democratic officials.

But advocates at the conference advocated for just migration policies -- not only in the U.S., but around the globe, as some estimates suggest record highs of global migrants -- some as high as 3.5% of the global population -- amid factors including conflict, violence and climate change.