'Look, the border is secure,' Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Matorkas insisted during remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on Tuesday.
But he added that the administration is still 'working to make the border more secure.'
'That has been a historic challenge,' Mayorkas said, adding that there is a difference between the words 'safe' and 'secure.'
But insistence that the border is secure comes amid a prevailing rise in crossings as well as complaints from New York City and Washington, D.C. that the crisis is finally hitting home after Arizona and Texas starting busing migrants to the city hubs to deal with them.