Video doesn’t show the Homeland Security secretary crying, despite social media claims

In April 2022, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas appeared before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing. 

A nearly 11-minute clip of the meeting posted to Facebook on March 31 had garnered more than 30,000 views a few days later, perhaps because of its enticing description: “‘DO YOU HAVE THE NUMBER’ Mayorkas CRIES LIKE KIDS after Trump’s aide BRUTAL ‘removal’ question.” 

Not quite grammatically correct, but we get the gist. Only this video doesn’t show anything like that, and this post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook.)

There are no aides of former President Donald Trump in the video, which instead shows two Republican representatives sharply questioning Mayorkas about his immigration policy record. 

The lawmakers featured in the clip are Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., and Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., though others spoke during the hearing. But no one, including these two, said something like, “Do you have the number?” 

And Mayorkas didn’t cry.  

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