WASHINGTON, D.C. – Republicans are taking aim at America’s top law enforcement official. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified before the House Judiciary Committee, facing tough questions over his handling of the southern border and the U.S. fentanyl crisis.
“Our approach to managing the border securely and humanely, even within our fundamentally broken immigration system is working,” Sec. Mayorkas told lawmakers.
The data does show a lull after years of increased numbers at the border, but Republicans maintain the Biden administration’s border policies have been a disaster.
“From fiscal year 2014 to the beginning of the Biden administration there were only four months with an apprehension number higher than 100,000 but under the Biden administration there have now been 29 straight months,” said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
Lawmakers pointed to the U.S. fentanyl crisis as one of many serious consequences resulting from what they call an “open border.”
“According to the CDC, over 150 people die every day because of synthetic opioids like fentanyl… Sec. Mayorkas, it is your responsibility to secure our border against fentanyl trafficking. The fentanyl killing thousands of Americans every year is a direct result of your dereliction,” said Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO).
Mayorkas agreed fentanyl is a serious problem, but pointed out that it’s not a new challenge, saying it has been escalating for more than five years.
“This is a scourge that all of us have to work together to combat and we in the Department of Homeland Security with our federal partners are taking it to the traffickers to an unprecedented degree through innovative operations targeting criminals,” he told lawmakers.
Democrats brushed off Republicans’ claims of failed policies and chaos at the border, calling it “political theatre” from the conservative “outrage machine.”
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), the committee’s ranking member, accused Republicans of using the hearing as a basis to impeach Sec. Mayorkas.
“Republicans have not established legit grounds to impeach Mayorkas… they have policy disagreements with the Secretary, and so do we, but policy disagreements and personal grudges are not the basis for impeachment,” Nadler said.
Democrats claimed the rhetoric coming from their Republican colleagues is dangerous.
“When elected officials repeat replacement rhetoric, including the language of invasion, are they putting a target on the back of immigrants and people of color,” questioned Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA).
“It certainly fuels the threat landscape,” Mayorkas responded.
Today’s hearing comes just after a federal court ruled against a new Biden asylum policy, one the administration has called crucial to its efforts to keep the numbers down at the border. The Justice Dept. has already promised to appeal.
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