Sen. Ted Cruz peppered Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas with repeated questions Tuesday about children the lawmaker said were being held in “Biden cages” at the US border with Mexico.
“How many children have been in the Biden cages in calendar year 2021?” Cruz (R-Texas) asked Mayorkas during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
“Senator, I respectfully disagree with your use of the term ‘cages,’” Mayorkas responded.
“Fine, you can disagree with it,” Cruz rejoined. “How many children have been in the Biden cages? I’ve been to the Biden cages, I’ve seen the Biden cages. How many children have you detained at the Donna [Texas] tent facility in the cages you built to hold kids? How many children have been in those cages?”
“I, respectfully, am not familiar with the term ‘cages’ and to what you are referring,” Mayorkas said.
“Enclosures in which they are locked in, in which I took photographs and put them out because you blocked the press and didn’t want people to see the Biden cages,” said Cruz.
“I will have to circle back with you with a precise number,” Mayorkas eventually admitted.
–
Cruz then launched into a series of rapid-fire questions.
“How many women have been sexually assaulted or been trafficked into this country in 2021?” he asked.
An apparently stunned Mayorkas responded: “Senator, I have no ability to determine how many women have been sexually assaulted in Mexico along the migratory path.”
“All right, how about this?” Cruz asked. “How many children have been sexually assaulted by traffickers or other people when they were coming in illegally?”
“I do not have that data,” admitted Mayorkas, who gave similar answers to questions from Cruz about the number of illegal immigrants who were released while positive for COVID-19 or were released with criminal convictions on their record.
“How many murderers have you released?” Cruz asked. “How many rapists have you released? How many child molesters have you released?”
To each question, Mayorkas said he was “not aware” of any such releases.