CRUZ: You testified several times that our immigration system is ‘fundamentally broken.’ True or false, under President Trump we saw the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years.
MAYORKAS: I don’t know if it’s within 45 years, but we certainly saw in 2020 a low level. 2019 was very high --
CRUZ: True or false, Secretary Mayorkas, this year under Joe Biden, we’ve seen the highest rate of illegal immigration in 61 years.
MAYORKAS: Again, I don’t know the number of years, but it’s certainly a historic high.
CRUZ: So you’re right it’s broken, but you broke it. Let me ask you in the calendar year 2021, how many illegal immigrants do you expect to have crossed illegally into the United States?
MAYORKAS: I believe the total number of encounters has been referenced in this hearing earlier is approximate---just under 1.7 million.
CRUZ: But there’s two months remaining. Is it correct that you project just over 2 million illegal immigrants in calendar year 2021?
MAYORKAS: I believe that is correct, Senator...