Homeland Security chief says U.S.-Mexico border not open

FILE PHOTO: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas looks up during a Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on the department's budget request on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 26, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -U.S. Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas said on Tuesday the U.S. southern border is not open to irregular migration, adding the Biden administration is developing "lawful pathways" aimed at slowing the flow of people at the border.

The Homeland Security secretary's remarks during a visit to Mexico City come amid months of high migration that has become an early policy challenge for U.S. President Joe Biden, as hundreds of thousands of people flee violence and poverty in Central America and parts of Mexico.