DHS chief says border closed, won't give timeline for facilities capable of handling surge of unaccompanied children

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas declined Sunday to provide a timeline for when the Biden administration will open new facilities capable of handling the surge of unaccompanied children at the southern border.

"We established three new facilities last week. ... We are working on the system from beginning to end. We are working around the clock 24/7," Mayorkas told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union" when pressed on the administration's timeline for having new processing facilities up and running. "We have dealt with surges in the past and the men and women of Department of Homeland Security will succeed." The comments from Mayorkas, who insisted the southern border is currently closed to migrants, come as the situation there worsens amid a surge in unaccompanied children in US custody. The Biden administration has resisted calling the situation a crisis, even as Democratic and Republican lawmakers do so as they pressure officials to rectify the growing issue.