Mayorkas suggests that the mysterious drones are aircraft flying at night, as lawmakers from both parties call for increased resources and technology

The top Homeland Security official, Alexander Mayorkas, sought to put to rest citizens' fears over the sighting of mysterious drones over several cities such as New Jersey and New York by assuring that they are manned aircraft flying at night thanks to a change in FAA regulations authorizing night flights. However, his explanation does not appear to convince even fellow Democrats, with prominent leaders such as Chuck Schumer demanding greater action from the administration.

Mayorkas appeared on ABC News' This Week to reassure the public, urging them not to worry. According to the latest statement from the Homeland Security Secretary, while some of the reported objects are confirmed to be drones, many are likely manned aircraft.

Mayorkas, forced to acknowledge that many of the sighted objects are drones

According to Mayorkas, the cause of the unusual number of flying objects spotted at night is due to the September 2023 FAA rule change, which allows night flights. "That may be one of the reasons people are seeing more drones now than before, especially from dawn to dusk. I want to assure the American public that we're on it," he said.

Nevertheless, and despite his attempt to defend his new theory - similar to the one put forward by Democratic Senator Andy Kim hours earlier - Mayorkas was forced to acknowledge that many of the objects sighted are indeed drones and that the administration is taking the situation seriously.

"There's no question that people are seeing drones. And I want to assure the American public that we in the federal government have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology, to help the New Jersey State Police deal with drone sightings. Some of those drone sightings are, in fact, drones. Others are manned aircraft that are often mistaken for drones. And we see duplicate reports."

As usual for him, Mayorkas again tried to put the ball on the court of both houses of Capitol Hill to change existing legislation: "We are working in close coordination with state and local authorities. It is critical, as we have all said for several years, that we need additional authorities from Congress to address the drone situation." Specifically, the DHS secretary called for more power for state and local officials to "counter drone activity under federal oversight."

Mayorkas' intervention fails to convince leaders of both parties

Something that doesn't seem to convince even his party colleagues. Still leader of the still Democratic majority in the Senate, Chuck Schumer demanded the Administration, along with several colleagues, "deploy special drone detection technology in New York and New Jersey." In addition, he announced that he will try to "pass a bill in the Senate that would equip local law enforcement with more drone detection tools."

Chris Christie was also not entirely satisfied with Mayorkas' explanations. The former New Jersey governor and former Republican presidential candidate responded on the same program after Mayorkas' televised statement, saying that in all his years living in The Garden State, "this is the first time I've seen drones over my house."

Conspiracy theories grow after lack of explanations from the Administration

Several theories have emerged, ranging from suggesting that an Iranian "mothership" is behind the drones, to a warning -amplified by Joe Rogan on his podcast- from John Ferguson, CEO of a Kansas-based remote aircraft systems company. Ferguson claimed that these drones seem to be "sensing" a gas leak, "radioactive material," or something else on the ground. "The only reason you would fly an unmanned aircraft at night is if you're looking for something," Ferguson said in the clip, adding that he does not believe the drones are malicious.

Two arrested in Boston for flying drone near airport

In addition, two men were arrested for flying drones "too close" to the Boston airport, police said. An officer detected unusual and dangerous activity, and used advanced UAS tracking technology to identify the drone's location. After studying its flight history, he found the position of its operators on Boston Harbor Island, known as Long Island, where the city's Police Harbor Patrol unit was dispatched.

Officers found three individuals inside the locked Long Island Health Campus who attempted to flee on foot. However, two were caught with a drone inside the backpack of one of them. The third person managed to elude officers and Police believe he fled in a small boat, so the search continues.