Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey calls for Biden's DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to RESIGN over leaked audio of him saying the border crisis is 'unsustainable' and 'we're going to lose' with crossings at a 21-year high

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey is calling on Biden DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to step down after leaked audio revealed Mayorkas saying the border crisis is 'unsustainable' and 'we're going to lose' with illegal crossings at a 21-year high. 

Mayorkas privately admitted to Border Patrol agents in Texas that Joe Biden's government is struggling under the influx of migrants and admitted he knew the infrastructure in place to deal with it was near 'breaking.'

'If our borders are the first line of defense, we're going to lose, and this is unsustainable,' he said in audio obtained by Fox News.

'We can't continue like this, our people in the field can't continue and our system isn't built for it.' 

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey called for Mayorkas' resignation just hours after the leaked audio became public.

In a statement he accused Mayorkas of having 'confirmed our worst fears.' 

Mayorkas announced on Thursday that Customs and Border Protection encountered more than 212,000 migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border in July – a record 21-year high. 

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey called on Mayorkas to resign in the wake of leaked audio where he can be heard telling Border Patrol agents that 'if our borders are the first line of defense, we're going to lose'

Arizona's governor called for Mayorkas' resignation hours after the audio became public

Ducey said 'the safety of Arizona and our entire nation' hinges on the Biden Cabinet secretary stepping down.

'We can't have a defeatist fighting for our nation's border security. It's time for Sec. Mayorkas to resign, and he needs to be replaced with someone who will tell the truth publicly & stand up to the radical activists inside the Biden-Harris administration,' Ducey wrote on Twitter.  

He told the border agents at the leaked meeting 'these numbers cannot continue.'

'We cannot get to a point where we were a couple of weeks ago, and we're gonna make sure that doesn't happen,' the DHS head continued, apparently referencing July's historic numbers.

He privately disclosed that the US 'system isn't built'  to handle the number of people coming to the border (pictured: Asylum-seeking migrant families disembark from an inflatable raft after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico on August 12th)

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas revealed Thursday that CBP encountered 212,672 migrants in July – a 13 per cent increase from June and 21-year month high

He said the department would be looking into new policies.  

Trump slammed the Biden administration's handling of the border crisis in a Friday morning statement.

'Tragic mess in Afghanistan, a completely open and broken Border, Crime at record levels, oil prices through the roof, inflation rising, and taken advantage of by the entire world—DO YOU MISS ME YET?' the ex-president wrote. 

The new figures are a record for encounters and nears Biden toward the 1 million mark as the encounter count hits 934,257 when counting the data between February and July.

In June, CBP reported it encountered 188,829 illegal immigrants at the border, which was the previous decade-long high before this month's figures were released.

Mayorkas, who heads Biden's Department of Homeland Security, visited the border on Thursday as images emerged overnight of a new batch of hundreds of illegal immigrants lining up to turn themselves into border patrol agents.

Mayorkas said that Homeland Security would look into new policies after the unprecedented July surge (pictured: Asylum-seeking migrant families arriving in the US on August 12th)

Biden DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the border crisis in leaked audio:

¿This is unsustainable. These numbers cannot continue.¿ pic.twitter.com/60sQDuApWl

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 13, 2021

Biden DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the border crisis in leaked audio:

¿This is unsustainable. These numbers cannot continue.¿ pic.twitter.com/60sQDuApWl

Donald Trump's former acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan said Thursday that border agents were directed to create the appearance of a lessened crisis ahead of Mayorkas' visit.

During a briefing hosted by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, Morgan claimed his sources revealed they were instructed to clear out overcrowded facilities and temporarily holding camps, as well as coordinate with the Mexican government to increase security and quell illegal crossings during the trip.

'Those pictures that we showed you under the bridge, you know, a couple thousands migrants, those facilities that we showed you of illegal aliens basically, you know, stacked on top of each other, laying on top of each other, crowded and dangerously overcrowded positions. I'm actually having sources report to me right now that they have been directed to clear out the illegal aliens under that bridge and start transporting illegal aliens out of those overcrowded facilities,' Morgan said.

'And why?' Morgan posed. 'In anticipation of Secretary Mayorkas' visit down there.'

'I've got to tell you – I'm having sources report that to me, and I've got to tell you, that is simply – if that is, in fact, true, it is outrageous and it is disgusting, and I hope somebody on this call does a little bit more investigative work to find out exactly what's happened,' he said.

The former CBP acting commissioner added: 'I'm also hearing that they reached out to their Mexican counterparts to try and get them to increase their patrols right now as Secretary Mayorkas is going to visit there. And every time that happens, of course, the flow goes down in that area.'

A fresh batch of asylum-seeking migrants lined up to be processed by Border Patrol after crossing the Rio Grande Valley into Roma, Texas in the early morning hours of Thursday

'That's what I'm being told and I wanted to mention that to the folks on this call.'  

Theresa Cardinal Brown, managing director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, said: 'This report is sounding the alarm at the border. It’s not only a record number of interactions, but one that is both counter-cyclical and whose composition includes a significant number from countries outside of Central America or Mexico. We are witnessing a global phenomenon in migration.  

'This is an urgent situation and requires the direct attention of the Biden administration and Congress working together—not pointing fingers—on constructive solutions to prevent a humanitarian disaster.' 

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham added: 'So much for the idea that there would be a ‘seasonal downturn’ in illegal immigrant crossings at our southern border!

'Between the crisis at the border and the debacle in Afghanistan, one could argue that President Biden is the most incompetent national security president in modern history.

'The only thing worse than being incompetent is being stubborn to the point that you can’t look at the facts and change your mind when necessary. When it comes to the border and situation in Afghanistan, the worst is yet to come.'

Migrants arrive each day along the U.S.-Mexico border. Here migrant families disembarks an inflatable raft after crossing the Rio Grande River overnight

Thousands of migrants are being held under the Anzalduas International Bridge in Mission, Texas in 100 degree-plus conditions as border facilities become overcrowded with the continued influx of border crossings

Trump's former CBP Acting Director Mark Morgan said Thursday border agents were told to clear the temporary camps and overcrowded facilities ahead of DHS Secretary Mayorkas' visit there Thursday

Thousands of migrants continue to arrive each day at America’s southern border. 

Morgan said the administration can stop the flow if they just impose consequences on illegal immigrants, and those who help them commit the crime.

'Look, it's all about consequences, right? If you apply consequences, the flow will stop,' Morgan said.

'I mean, all this 'root causes' in Central America, it's all spin, mirrors and misdirection,' he added. 'We've been working on that for decades.'

He is referring to Vice President Kamala Harris' role as 'border czar', which when she was criticized for not doing enough to address the crisis was rebranded to put her in charge of addressing the 'root causes' of migration in Northern Triangle countries.

Harris visited Guatemala and Mexico earlier this summer in a trip dubbed a failure by pundits and politicians on both sides of the political aisle.

'This is about what our policies are on our borders. And if you apply effective consequences, if you close the loopholes like ending catch and release,' Morgan said. 'And on the backend you're actually deporting people and applying those consequences and you're detaining individuals who break into our country against the rule of law instead of releasing them into the country, I promise you, the flow will go down.'

'You don't have to be a rocket scientist.'

Morgan also said agents were instructed to coordinate with Mexico for an increase in security on their side of the border to create the illusion of a decreased migration flow during Mayorkas' trip. Here a migrant mother carries her sleeping child as she prepares to enter the U.s. illegally after crossing the Rio Grande River on August 12

Mayorkas previewed on Wednesday his trip to the southern border in Texas 

After crossing the river, migrants turn themselves over to border agents to be transported to a processing and holding facility

These facility, however, have been flanked with migrants and continue to experience massive overcrowding. Here a facility for men shows the immigrants nearly on top of each other – many not wearing masks

Morgan was joined on the virtual briefing with Trump-era Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and Lora Ries, former acting DHS Deputy Chief of Staff, who are all fellows with The Heritage Foundation.

Wolf called the crisis 'manufactured' and Morgan called it one of the most substantial 'public health emergencies'.

All three also claimed that the Biden administration can easily thwart the flow of illegal immigration by holding migrants to the same COVID restrictions as imposed on Americans.

Biden has assured his administration is using Title 42, a provision that allows expulsions of individuals who have recently been in a country where a communicable disease was present, to deport migrants arriving in the U.S. by way of Mexico.

Bur Morgan said the administration 'continues to openly defy' their own COVID guidelines when it comes to dealing with the border crisis.

The neighbors to the south have seen a 90 per cent increase in COVID-19 cases this month, reaching the same numbers it was experiencing in January of this year.

Texas communities also claim that thousands of migrants being released into their communities under Biden's policies are not being tested for coronavirus and are causing a massive spike in cases among citizens.

Early Wednesday morning, the Senate adopted in a 88-11 vote to adopt an amendment to its $3.5 trillion budget resolution that requires migrants receive a negative coronavirus test before they are transported or released into American communities.

The Lone Star State has the second highest daily average of cases with 14,117. It falls behind Florida, the state with the largest surge, which saw 21,169 in its seven-day rolling average.

Migrants line up at a portion of the border where Trump's wall ends 

Migrants stand out in the hot Texas sun with little shade and line up to get water as they wait to be processed by border patrol

Areas across the U.S. are seeing case rates severely spike with the emergence of the Delta variant and the increase in breakthrough cases in vaccinated individuals.

Nearly all migrants arriving at the southern border are not vaccinated against COVID-19 and pictures of overcrowded facilities show it's impossible to socially distance – and some were seen not wearing masks.

Morgan said if Biden 'reinstitutes every policy under the Trump administration', he will be able to end the border crisis.

'Reinstitute every single effective tool, authority and policy that effectively worked under the Trump administration. Title 42, the ACAs, remain in Mexico program, and build the freaking wall system,' Morgan told DailyMail.com during the briefing when asked what can be done to end the crisis and stop overcrowding.

'We can start with that, and that would absolutely reduce the flow and address the crisis and help secure our border,' he added.

Wolf agreed, telling DailyMail.com 'this isn't a new phenomenon.'

'We saw overcrowding in 2018 and 2019,' he said. 'I mean, we have a playbook and, unfortunately, it was very difficult times then.'

'We did our homework and we put in place some programs and policies such as the migrant protection protocols, such as the ACAs and others that alleviate that crowding, specifically that crowding that you would see in border patrol facilities. Why? Because not only the cartels, but the migrants themselves understood that if they crossed illegally they would either wait in Mexico or they'd be returned back to their home country once they went through that due process. And the ability not to apply for asylum if they passed through a safe third country,' the former DHS acting head added.

'It's not that they have to come up with creative and unique ideas, we did that for them,' Wolf said. 'They can rename it, they can do whatever they want, they can call it something else. But the policy and the playbook is there, they just need to execute.'

He said cartels are making $1 million every day on smuggling people into the U.S. over the Mexican border – and without consequences, they feel emboldened to continue doing so.

'It's clear in my mind that the Biden administration doesn't have a strategy to effectively deal with this ,' Wolf said.

'A new strategy needs to be in place.'