Arizona Sen. Sinema agrees with Mayorkas, says it’s on Congress to reform border, immigration laws

PHOENIX — U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona on Thursday agreed with comments made earlier this week by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on who is responsible for reforming border and immigration laws.

Mayorkas, at the U.S.-Mexico border with Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on Tuesday, said it was on Congress to “address what is fundamentally a broken immigration system.”

“The reality is that the Biden administration could be doing more to ensure security on our southern border and that is just a categorical fact,” Sinema told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show.

“However, with that being said, I think Secretary Mayorkas is right when he says that Congress needs to take action to reform our laws.”

Sinema has been strong in her criticism of Congress’ lack of action, expressing her disappointment in December that it didn’t pass any long-term solutions in the last session.

The independent senator said she will do her part to help.

Sinema recently led a congressional delegation that included Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) for a meeting with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Sinema described it as a “very productive conversation” that she intends to use in the future on discussions about cartels, asylum, fentanyl and more.

“We spent five hours directly with President López Obrador and his cabinet,” Sinema said.

“During those five hours, we, as American members of Congress in the Senate, talked to him about prioritizing cooperation for safety, for security and economic prosperity.”

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