Exclusive: House GOP Judiciary Committee Demands DHS Secretary Mayorkas Testify on Border Crisis

by ASHLEY OLIVER 1 Jul 2021

House Judiciary Committee Republicans are calling on President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to testify before the committee amid a surge in illegal immigration during Biden’s first five months in office, according to a letter first obtained by Breitbart News.

In the letter, Judiciary Committee ranking member Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee ranking member Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) criticized Democrats’ lack of response to Republicans’ border concerns and demanded Mayorkas appear before the Judiciary Committee, as is customary for the DHS secretary to do at least once per year or more upon request.

“Because Democrats refuse to address the Biden border crisis, we write to you directly to request that you make yourself available to testify at the Committee about the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis at the border,” Jordan and McClintock wrote.

Read a copy of the letter below:

Letter at link.

The letter comes as illegal migration numbers have skyrocketed during the last several months. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported border officials have encountered more than 100,000 migrants crossing the border illegally every month since February, representing staggering monthly increases over last year. The most recent data shows May saw 180,034 encounters, compared with 23,237 in May 2020, a 675 percent increase.

The influx in illegal migration coincides with several new or modified immigration policies of the Biden administration, including the dismantling of asylum agreements with Northern Triangle countries, terminating Remain in Mexico, and slowly scaling back the Title 42 public health policy that allows border agents to quickly expel illegal migrants.

“The Biden-Harris Administration repealed Trump Administration programs and policies that helped to stem the rising tide of illegal immigration. Instead, the Biden-Harris Administration instituted open-border policies and rhetoric that incentivized aliens to illegally enter the U.S.,” Jordan and McClintock wrote.

The letter notes threats the border crisis poses to Americans’ “safety and security” but does not mention the impact the it has on Americans’ jobs and the economy. As Breitbart News’s Neil Munro has reported extensively, Mayorkas has sought to use his position to widen “many side doors for poor, government-dependent migrants to enter the southern border.”

The Republican congressmen requested a prompt response from Mayorkas indicating his willingness to appear at a hearing before the Judiciary Committee.

For Mayorkas to testify, committee chair Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) must schedule the hearing. Nadler’s office did not reply to a request for comment from Breitbart News on if he intends to do so.

https://www.breitbart.com/immigratio...border-crisis/