Sara Carter: 'Absolutely incredible' DHS, Mayorkas put in charge of US threats from Ukraine conflict
The Fox News contributor discusses Alejandro Mayorkas’ ability to handle the border and Ukraine crisis as well as the media’s responsibility to defend democracy.
ORLANDO, Fla. – Fox News contributor Sara Carter said it's "absolutely incredible" that President Biden would put Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in charge of responding to threats to the U.S. stemming from the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Carter, who has extensively reported on the border and immigration, told Fox News Digital at CPAC that Mayorkas is the last person that should be shouldering such a responsibility.
The Department of Homeland Security has been designated the lead federal government agency for coordinating domestic preparedness and response efforts related to Russia’s war on Ukraine, the department announced Thursday.
"I think it's absolutely incredible that Alejandro Mayorkas would be put in charge of looking at the potential threats coming from Ukraine when the Biden administration has completely failed the American people on the national security of the U.S.-Mexico border. It is unacceptable," Carter said.
Carter, who was recently granted exclusive access to a Texas border facility holding $10 million in captured contraband, said agents there have not been given the proper guidance, resources or clearance to do their jobs.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. (Greg Nash/Pool via REUTERS)
Therefore, she said Mayorkas cannot effectively confront a second potential crisis, given the way he's left his agents unprepared and unable to do their jobs.
"I've been covering that border probably close to 20 years. And I have seen the evolution of what's happened at that border. And I can tell you that the national security threat is the U.S. southern border," she said.
"Why? Because first of all, our border patrol agents and our federal agents don't have the capability to harness their power in the right direction because they're so busy processing migrants. They can't even effectively guard the border. And they'll say that themselves. They feel like they're part of the humanitarian crisis that they are helping move people into this country illegally. That's a crazy thought."
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When asked about the media largely ignoring the crisis along the southern border, Carter responded that the situation doesn't fit the narrative for the Democratic Party.
MSNBC host Chris Hayes recently said that "immigration can mean a lot of things, but it's at extremely low levels right now."
A week later, the Center for Immigration Studies analyzed census data and found the number of both illegal and legal foreign-born immigrants in the U.S. in January was the largest number recorded as far back as 1850. The analysis showed that figure rose by 1.7 million from 2021.
Additionally, in the last fiscal year, deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) dropped sharply, coinciding with numerous Biden administration policies that restricted ICE agents from arresting illegal immigrants.
"That is a perfect example -- the Chris Hayes tweet [claiming] we're going to have the lowest numbers crossing the border than we've ever seen. And then all of a sudden, there is the actual facts that come out that show it's like more than double," she said. "They won't fact-check that – If you make a mistake, and everybody does … you fact-check yourself. You correct the record. But they're not correcting the record on the most important issues. Why? Because these are political narratives that suit a political party: the Democratic Party."
Carter said other mainstream outlets "visibly" support Democratic candidates and "lie to the American people without hesitation."
"It used to be, you make a mistake, you correct the record, you put a correction in the newspaper – I remember when it used to be ‘hold the presses’, and we would be worried about that."
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Razor wire sits atop a border fence as a building in the Mexican border city of Tijuana sits behind, as seen from San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Carter questioned whether the press is serving the American peoples' interest.
"I think that's why we're seeing their numbers plummet, why people don't trust, for the most part, the press – why people are concerned and worried because they don't know what the real information is," she said.
"[That] is why I feel blessed that I can go to the border and have a camera there and show the American people exactly what's happening."
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Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.