Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

$
Facebook posts
Facebook posts
stated on March 31, 2023 a Facebook post:

Video shows Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas crying after a question from an aide to former President Donald Trump.

Pants on Fire!
By Ciara O'Rourke
April 5, 2023

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

If your time is short

  • This video doesn’t show that.
 
See the sources for this fact-check

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.  

We rate this post Pants on Fire!

 
Our Sources

Facebook post, March 31, 2023

C-SPAN, Department of Homeland Security oversight hearing, April 28, 2022

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Ciara O'Rourke
Viral image
stated on April 2, 2025 a Facebook post:
“White hats to investigate Wisconsin Supreme Court election.”
False
Facebook posts
stated on March 28, 2025 a Facebook post:
Photo shows a missing police officer in “extreme danger.”
Pants on Fire!
Facebook posts
stated on March 28, 2025 a Facebook post:
Images show damage from an “earthquake in Thailand.”
False

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





Donald Trump
stated on May 4, 2026 a White House event:








Donald Trump
stated on April 23, 2026 remarks at the White House:







Chris Wright
stated on April 19, 2026 an interview on CNN's "State of the Union":