Biden administration admits border isn't secure after claiming for years immigration was not a crisis

Members of the Biden administration, including White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Vice President Kamala Harris, have repeatedly claimed that the U.S. border is secure over the past three years.

However, last week President Biden admitted that he does not believe the border is secure when reporters pressed him on the push by House Republicans to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

"No, it's not," Biden said when asked if the border is secure. "I haven't believed it for the last ten years. And I've said it for the last ten years…give me the money."

The White House would later double down on Biden's comments and dodged a question regarding Mayorkas' past statements affirming the border's security.

BIDEN CLAIMS 'I'VE DONE ALL I CAN DO' TO SECURE THE BORDER

President Joe Biden speaks at South Carolina's First in the Nation dinner at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia, S.C., on Jan. 27.  (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)

"On Friday, President Biden said that he does not believe the border is secure, which is different from what Secretary Mayorkas has testified multiple times on the Hill. Why do they have two different views of the security of the border?" a reporter asked.

"The president has been really clear that we need to move on the border," Jean-Pierre responded. "Him saying that we need to deal with border security, as we, as Mayorkas, as we all have here been doing at the White House, I think shows that we have an issue at the border, and we need to deal with it, and we have to act now. There's an urgent need."

Sources with U.S. Customs and Border Protection told Fox News Digital that migrant encounters hit a staggering 300,000 incidents in December 2023, reaching a level thought unimaginable just years ago. It is the highest total for a single month ever recorded and also the first time migrant encounters have exceeded 300,000.

House Republicans unveiled articles of impeachment against Mayorkas on Sunday, accusing him of "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" and a "breach of public trust."

"Alejandro N. Mayorkas knowingly made false statements to Congress that the border is 'secure,' that the border is 'no less secure than it was previously,' that the border is 'closed,' and that DHS has 'operational control' of the border," Republicans noted in the second article.

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U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas holds a press conference at a U.S. Border Patrol station on January 08, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas.  (John Moore/Getty Images)

During a House Judiciary hearing on Oversight of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last July, Rep. Andy Biggs-R-Ariz., asked Mayorkas whether Biden had instructed him to open the border.

"The border is not open, congressman," Mayorkas replied.

He made similar comments two months earlier at a White House press briefing when he said, "I want to be very clear. Our borders are not open. People who cross our border unlawfully and without a legal basis to remain will be promptly processed and removed."

Mayorkas was also asked about border security and steps taken by the administration to stem the flow of migrants during an April 2023 congressional hearing.

"It is testimony that the border is secure, and we are working every day, day and night, to increase its security," Mayorkas said.

He also made similar declarations about the border on a variety of network appearances.

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A split image of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris  (Getty Images)

"The message is quite clear—do not come," Mayorkas said on ABC News in early 2021. "The border is closed; the border is secure."

While visiting Texas in early September 2022, Harris sat down with NBC News "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd, where she spoke about border security.

"We're going to have two million people cross this border for the first time ever. You're confident this border's secure?" Todd asked.

"We have a secure border in that, that is a priority for any nation, including ours and our administration. But there are still a lot of problems that we are trying to fix given the deterioration that happened over the last four years," Harris replied.

She would also later tell Todd that "the border is secure" but noted the administration is facing challenges related to a "broken immigration system" handed over by the Trump administration.

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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre gives remarks at the press briefing on January 24. (Andrew Thomas/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Following Harris' comments, Jean-Pierre said the White House concurred with Harris's assessment.

"We agree with her. She is saying that there's a lot of work to do. Right? She also said that in that very statement. We agree that the border is secure, but there is still more work to be done," Jean-Pierre said.

Later that evening, Biden spoke at the 45th Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Gala, where he stressed that he and Mayorkas are "committed to fixing the immigration system" and that there is a "process in place to manage migrants at the border."

He said earlier that summer that "unlawful migration is not acceptable" and "we'll secure our borders."

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Comments on the administration's handling of the border date back to just after Biden's inauguration, when former White House press secretary Jen Psaki claimed in February 2021 there is "certainly not an open border."

The White House did not return Fox News Digital's request for comment. 

Fox News' David Rutz contributed to this report.