James Comer will hold the first hearing into the Biden administration’s abuse of the southern border – and has urged Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to turn over anything related to the migrant crisis.
The new chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee vowed to hold Biden and Mayorkas “accountable” and invited four border patrol officers to attend one of the first hearings of the 118th Congress the week of February 6.
In a letter to Mayorkas demanding materials and documents, Comer accused President Joe Biden and his DHS secretary of “willful acts” that contributed to a surge in drug cartel operations, people smuggling and illegal immigration.
“The American people deserve answers about the role of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in undermining the efforts of Customs and Border Protection officials to secure the southern border,” Comer wrote in his Thursday letter to Mayorkas.
House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer will hold the first hearing in the week of February 6 as part of the inquiry into the Biden administration’s handling of the southern border crisis
The Republican congressman from Kentucky invited chief patrol agents Jason Owens, Gregory Bovino and Gloria Chavez to appear before the committee — as well as acting chief patrol agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel.
He said career officials could better share how the government is handling the migration crisis — and how the Biden administration’s actions have impacted its mission to secure the border.
Republicans have long called for Mayorkas’ resignation and have threatened to impeach him if they gain control of Congress. While the Senate is still majority blue, the GOP has been able to regain control of the House of Representatives.
Since Biden took office in January 2021, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has encountered about 4 million migrants at the southern border. This figure does not include the so-called “runaways” who crossed the border illegally and evaded the authorities.
CBP didn’t release any new numbers for December, which will likely increase the total by a massive number considering at least a few thousand crossed over El Paso, Texas in the last month alone.
Comer sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday, urging him to turn over documents and materials that could shed light on how the government is handling the crisis
The Republicans have threatened impeachment proceedings against Mayorkas – and could now fulfill this promise with their new majority in the House of Representatives
Several border communities have been thrown into chaos in recent years, with some towns overrun by illegal immigrants and migrants seeking asylum.
“The United States immigration system should be ‘safe, orderly and humane.'” It is not,” Comer wrote to Mayorkas.
“The committee is requesting documents and information to understand the policies of DHS, the cost of the emergency response needed to respond to the deepening crisis, and the national security risks posed by those policies,” he added.
“The American people and their elected officials need to understand DHS’s role in the humanitarian and national security crisis along the US southern border.”
Biden earlier this month announced new plans for immigration, including maintaining a pandemic-era deportation policy known as Title 42, which allows for the immediate deportation of migrants and asylum-seekers from certain countries during a public health emergency.
Joe Biden made his first-ever trip to the southern border this month with a one-hour stop in El Paso, Texas en route to the Three Amigos Summit in Mexico. Comer pointed out that the president waited until the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives to travel
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) hit 233,740 in November. It’s the slight month-over-month increase and the third-highest month of encounters in recent history, all under President Joe Biden. Since Biden took office, CBP has encountered about 4 million migrants
Twice, in May and December, Biden tried to exit Title 42, but lawsuits successfully stopped those efforts.
The president also unveiled a new program this month that will allow 30,000 migrants from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to come to the United States by plane or through legal ports of entry if they first apply for asylum through an online application.
A few days after the new policy was announced, Biden made his first trip to the southern border as president, stopping for a few hours in El Paso, Texas, en route to the Three Amigos Summit in Mexico.
Acting Chief Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel posted this image to Twitter early Thursday with the caption, “It’s a dirty job but someone’s gotta do it!”
Comer noted that Biden waited until Republicans took control of the House to make his first-ever trip to the southern border, which came nearly two years after he took office.
“President Biden’s radical open borders agenda has unleashed the worst border crisis in American history,” Comer said in a statement accompanying the new investigation.
“The Biden administration’s premeditated actions encourage people smuggling, spur drug cartel operations, allow deadly drugs like fentanyl to enter American communities, and encourage illegal immigrants to violate U.S. immigration laws,” he added.
“Republicans will hold the Biden administration responsible for this ongoing humanitarian, national security and public health crisis that has turned every city into a frontier city.