Mallorca was trying to fight back against critics who blamed the government’s allegedly lax border policies for the tragedy. “We have said this repeatedly and we continue to warn people not to make the dangerous journey,” Mayorkas told CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” “We saw so tragically in San Antonio, Texas, one of the potentially tragic outcomes of this dangerous journey, and so many people don’t even make it that far into the hands of exploitative smugglers.” He said migrants traveling from Central and South America to the US-Mexico border are given false information by trafficking cartels before they begin the journey. , “They put their lives, their economies, in the hands of these exploitative organizations, these criminal organizations that do not care about their lives and only pursue profit,” Mayorkas said. , On Monday, a battered 18-wheeler was found abandoned on the side of a remote road in San Antonio — and the bodies of dozens of dead immigrants were found piled inside, with several bodies also discovered on the ground nearby. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas blamed the victims in last week’s migrant truck horror that left 53 people dead.AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) The truck had no working air conditioning despite temperatures reaching 103 degrees. The driver and an associate have been charged. Texas Governor Greg Abbott was among the first to blame the Biden administration after the tragedy. Mayorkas was trying to fight off critics who blamed the administration’s allegedly lax border policies for the tragedy.Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images “These deaths are for Biden,” Abbott tweeted late Monday. “It is a result of his deadly open border policies. “They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law,” the Republican governor added. Authorities said the truck crossed the border into Laredo, about 150 miles south of where it was found, after it had been “cloned” to look like a legitimate vehicle belonging to a local trucking company. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas (left) listens to U.S. Patrol Deputy Agent in Charge Anthony Crane. Joel Martinez/The Monitor via AP PoolPeople visit and pay tribute as they leave flowers, candles and water where dozens of dead migrants were found in a truck in San Antonio, Texas, United States on June 29, 2022. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Asked by CBS’s Margaret Brennan how the truck was able to cross into the U.S., Mayorkas said smugglers have become more sophisticated in recent decades. “They have evolved over the last 30 years. … Now, they are very sophisticated in their use of technology and are highly organized transnational criminal enterprises. And we are much more sophisticated using technology and staff 24 hours a day,” he said. He acknowledged that smugglers can use “advanced means” to get a truck across the border, but that the U.S. is simultaneously stepping up its efforts using technology and manpower to thwart such attempts. “But I have to say that we have interdicted more drugs at ports of entry than ever before. We have rescued more migrants. We see a challenge that is truly regional, hemispheric in scope, and we are dealing with it accordingly,” Mayorkas said. ,
