Utah Gov. Spencer Cox received guarantees from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday that the Biden administration would give governors more details about migrants seeking asylum in the country.
Mayorkas, who leads the federal agency responsible for securing the nation’s borders, communicated this policy change to Cox in a 10-minute phone call on Tuesday morning, according to the governor’s office.
Cox had previously spoken with Pres. Joe Biden about the immigration crisis affecting all 50 states during his visit to Washington, D.C., in February as chairman of the National Governors Association.
“During his time with fellow governors at the White House, Gov. Cox had expressed frustration to the president over the lack of information being shared by the Department of Homeland Security with the states regarding asylum seekers traveling to each state,” the governor’s office told the Deseret News in a written statement. “Secretary Mayorkas called to inform (Cox) that the administration has agreed to improve information sharing with governors, including better details about asylum seekers.”
The governor’s office did not provide more details about the call.
In September, Cox joined the nation’s other 24 Republican governors in sending a letter to Biden, asking his administration to provide accurate and detailed information on migrants entering the country.
“As governors, we call on you to provide honest, accurate, detailed information on where the migrants admitted at the southern border are being relocated in the United States, in addition to comprehensive data on asylum claim timelines and qualification rates, and successful deportations,” the letter read. “Without such information, we cannot fulfill our fundamental duties to protect our citizens while providing our communities with appropriate services.”
Cox stands out in national conversation over immigration
Cox has made immigration a central focus in recent months. He joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and 14 other Republican governors, in Eagle Pass, Texas at the beginning of February to reaffirm his support of the Texas governor’s mobilization of state law enforcement to implement border security measures, including the placement of razor-wire fencing along the Rio Grande.
Cox, and his fellow governors, were briefed on the national security threats posed by high levels of immigration and an ineffective processing system, and were given a tour of sections of the Rio Grande river which divides the United States of America and Mexico.
Days after his trip to the southwest border, Cox announced he would send five Utah National Guardsmen and five troopers from Utah Highway Patrol’s Criminal Interdiction Team to help with border enforcement needs, at the request of the Texas governor. According to the governor’s office, their monthlong deployment will cost the state $150,000.
“Open borders threaten our national security and if the president and Congress won’t solve the influx of people and drugs, states have to step up,” Cox said in a press release. “Right now, Texas needs our help.”
How many people cross the southern border illegally?
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol recorded 302,000 encounters between migrants and agents along the country’s southwest border in the month of December, the most in American history, with the majority crossing into Texas.
While the volume of migrants attempting to enter the U.S. illegally dropped in the first few weeks of the year, December’s highpoint came after fiscal year 2022 and 2023 saw the greatest number of migrant apprehensions since the country began keeping track, with totals coming in at 2.8 million and 3.2 million respectively, according to CBP data.
These statistics exclude the number of “gotaways” who successfully evaded Border Patrol agents. During a congressional hearing last year, Mayorkas told lawmakers that the number of migrants who entered the country without encountering border patrol was estimated to be more than 600,000 in FY 2023.
In February, all four of Utah’s Republican representatives voted in favor of impeaching Mayorkas. The measure barely passed the House by one vote and has not been considered yet in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
Why have immigration numbers gone up so much?
The Biden administration has argued the problem is not enforcement of the law — an executive duty — but rather, the law itself.
The country’s asylum process has not been updated for nearly 45 years. Designed for limited numbers of people who faced state-sponsored violence upon returning to their home country, the Refugee Act of 1980 allows anyone who claims to have a “well-founded fear” of persecution based on their identity characteristics or opinions to enter a path to become eligible to work in the U.S. and apply for citizenship.
But under Biden administration policy, and amid a massive shortage of asylum judges and officers, migrants who have entered the country have told reporters they don’t fear deportation; they believe if they claim asylum they will almost certainly be allowed to stay in the country, even if they miss an asylum hearing scheduled years into the future.
Last month, Congress came closer to reforming the asylum system than they had in decades. But a bipartisan border security package was torpedoed by some Senate Republicans who said the deal included too many loopholes and would normalize high levels of immigration.
In a message posted to X on Saturday, Cox said during his visit to the White House he “debate(d)” with Biden about whether the president had the authority to take executive action on immigration, something former President Donald Trump had done to establish the “Remain in Mexico” policy which required asylum seekers to wait out immigration proceedings on the other side of the border.
Biden reportedly told Cox that his attorneys said he lacks such authority. However, according to multiple media reports in February, Biden is considering using executive action to turn back asylum claimants who cross the border illegally.