(UPI) — Republican senators grilled Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas during a Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, criticizing the department’s handling of migrants at the southern border and Afghan evacuees.
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the lead Republican on the committee, started off the criticism by telling Mayorkas that he has been running the Department of Homeland Security like a “fan club” to abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and, therefore, “shouldn’t be surprised when you have an immigration crisis on your hands.”
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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, followed up by displaying a poster-size photo of an immigration facility in Donna, Texas, demanding that Mayorkas tell the committee how many children are in the “Biden cages” in that facility.
“Has any Democratic member of this committee given a damn enough to see the children being locked up by [President] Joe Biden and [Vice President] Kamala Harris because of your failed immigration policies?” Cruz asked.
Mayorkas rejected the use of the word “cages.” Throughout the hearing, he was peppered with questions about specific numbers of different categories of migrants and Afghan evacuees, but generally didn’t answer and struggled to get a word in as senators hammered him with questions.
Committee Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Mayorkas inherited a department “riddled in chaos” from the Trump administration. According to Customs and Border Protection, an estimated 1.7 million undocumented immigrants attempted to enter the United States this year, the most in 61 years.
Durbin said Mayorkas’ responsibilities to oversee the operation to resettle Afghan evacuees while managing migration are daunting.
A focus for Republican lawmakers’ questions was that the Biden administration’s stance on immigration is too lenient.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., accused President Joe Biden of having open borders, while Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, asked Mayorkas whether DHS’s “non-enforcement policy” is encouraging greater numbers of migrants to come to the United States.
In response, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey defended Mayorkas and the Biden administration. He said the dramatic increase in crossings at the southern border began in 2019 during Donald Trump’s administration and can be attributed to external pressures like the pandemic.
Other GOP lawmakers focused on Afghanistan. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., repeatedly asked Mayorkas what percentage of Afghan evacuees were vetted before they were flown to the United States in the wake of U.S. troop withdrawal. Mayorkas, initially answering 100%, dropped his answer down to 99% after Graham reminded him that he was under oath.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., asked the secretary how many Afghans were given in-person interviews before coming to the United States, reminding Mayorkas that the 9/11 Commission has recommended in-person interviews since 2001.
“Are you not tracking it? You run the department, why do you not know?” Hawley said.
Mayorkas responded that DHS conducted in-person interviews for those whose biometric information — including fingerprints and photographs — set off red flags in law enforcement databases.
Multiple Democratic senators said only Congress can truly fix the U.S. immigration system. Durbin said he is working to pass immigration reform through the reconciliation bill.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., agreed, saying, “We in Congress must act. Simply grandstanding and fingerpointing isn’t going to solve a broken immigration system.”
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Interesting thing about Congressional investigations—when Dems are seeking answers from Republicans, everything has to be by the letter of the law and questions are expected to be answered. When it is Republicans questioning Dems, they seem to always have short memories, amnesia, want to plead the fifth, or they just don’t know.
AND If you refuse, yu can be charged with contempt. BUT WHEN LEFTISTS DO IT, they’re covered.
YET AGAIN a double standard.
IF i had the power, i’d IMMEDIATELY CALL FOR A vote to not just FIRE Mayorkas, but to HOLD HIM CRIMINALLY, for gross negligence..
Has ANY good EVER come out of a “congressional investigation”? Name just one thing. Anyone?
THe silence in responses, TELLS YOu all you need to know.
Cory Booker was right the mass ILLEGAL ALIENS started their over whelming march on our boarded in 2019… to put a fine point on it … November 4th, 2020…the first day …AFTER… all the election fraud was jammed up the American public’s keister and Quid Pro Joe **** your pants Biden, along with the government prostitute Harris was crowned the illegitimate winners. AND… it’s been escalating ever since. I don’t know whats more damning … the fact that these communist occupiers are letting …ANYONE… unchecked or vetted come into the country illegally …or… these sons of mother dogs really don’t know whats happening…. in any event… they ALL need to be arrested for treason.
THEY KNEW, because they were TOLD that the fix was in…
Dishonest, inept and evil.
He’s a democrat therefore he- does not have to answer, will not answer, is unable to answer, refuses to answer, is not intelligent enough to answer, but can sit there and look like the idiot he actually is.
AND any answer you MAY get from him, will be full of BULL.