Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kevin McAleenan confirmed to Congress this week that his agency is merely acting as a checkpoint for adults crossing the United States-Mexico border with children, as “100 percent” are being released into the interior of the country.

During a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, McAleenan said DHS is releasing “100 percent” of adult border crossers into the interior of the country who arrive with children at the southern border, including those who are not even asking for asylum.

Then, within four to six weeks, McAleenan said the adult border crossers who have been released into the U.S. are given work permits allowing them to take American jobs while they await their court hearings, oftentimes two years down the road.

McAleenan confirmed the mass catch and release effort in an exchange with Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH):

PORTMAN: So, what percent of those families who come up to the border and, again, approach your officer, ask for asylum, are being released into the community within days? MCALEENAN: 100 percent. PORTMAN: 100 percent? MCALEENAN: Yeah, and they’re not necessarily asking for asylum. They–they don’t–they don’t have to. They can go into an immigration proceeding and not have to present that case for potentially years. PORTMAN: And when they go into the community, you say can take a while. It’s over two years in Ohio, you should know, before we can have a court hearing. So, it’s over a two-year period. What’s the average around the country, do you know? MCALEENAN: The average is around two years, and in some jurisdictions even longer. … PORTMAN: And during that time period, can those individuals work? MCALEENAN: Yes, by and large, although we’re–we’re looking at–at tightening the–the rules so that there is not an opportunity to take advantage of the system. PORTMAN: So, they have a work permit. My understanding is they don’t get the work permit immediately but after a certain period of time. Is it six weeks? MCALEENAN: It’s in … the 30 to 90 days range, that’s correct. PORTMAN: And those individuals then … are going to work. So, if you are a trafficker, what you’re telling people is, one, if you come to the border … and seek asylum, or even if you’re coming to the border … and seeking an immigration hearing, you’ll be released into the community for a couple of years at least before your hearing, and you’ll have the ability to work. And with the wage differential of, you know, being able to make 10 times as much or sometimes as much as 20 times as much in the United States…

Breitbart News has chronicled for months DHS’s mass release of border crossers and illegal aliens into the interior of the country. Since December 2018, about 185,500 border crossers and illegal aliens have been released into the U.S. with only the promise that they will return for their court hearings years later.

In the last week, alone, DHS has released nearly 8,000 border crossers and illegal aliens into the interior of the country. At current rates, more than 445,000 border crossers and illegal aliens will be released into American communities by the end of the year.

The catch and release process often entails federal immigration officials busing border crossers into nearby border cities and dropping them off with the hope that they show up for their immigration and asylum hearings. The overwhelming majority of border crossers and illegal aliens are never deported from the country once they are released into the U.S.

Today, there are anywhere between 11 and 22 million illegal aliens living across the country — the majority of which are concentrated in states like California, New York, Florida, Texas, and Illinois.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.