WATCH: DHS secretary admits border crisis is ‘worse now’ than in ‘20 years, if not ever’

Mayorkas was in Laredo Texas, a border town, speaking to a group of agents of the Customs and Border Patrol (CPB) agency , which is one of the agencies in his purview, when he made the comments. The audio below was leaked from that meeting:

"We should have enough personnel to take care of the southern border," Mayorkas started in. "That's the solution."

"And that hasn't been the case," admitted Mayorkas, further admitting just how bad the situation is. "Look, it's worse now than it, frankly, has been in at least 20 years, if not ever."

According to the Daily Wire, Mayorkas then continued in his speech.

"The job has not gotten any easier over the last few months and it was very, very difficult throughout 2021," he iterated, going on to illustrate his point.

"I know apprehending families and kids is not what you signed up to do. And now we got a composition that is changing even more with Cubans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, and the like, it just gets more difficult," mentioned Mayorkas, without going into what potential solutions could be.

At this point, Mayorkas simply referred to the "reality" of the situation as something to be passively accepted.

"I know the policies of this administration are not particularly popular with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, but that’s the reality and let’s see what we can do within that framework."

At another point during the meeting, according to Fox News, Raul Ortiz, the head of the CBP, wound up getting into a verbal altercation with some of his agents. One of them challenged Ortiz, saying "you keep releasing criminal aliens into the country." Others concurred.

"You’re getting bogged down in the policies and the politics," countered Ortiz.

Yet another agent poignantly stated, "For evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. That’s exactly what’s happening here. Good men are doing nothing." The agent then re-iterated, "You’re allowing illegal aliens to be dropped off in communities."