First appeared on FOX: A sweeping report released Wednesday by the Republican majority on the House Homeland Security Committee accused the Biden-Harris administration of launching an “assault on the rule of law” in its response to the crisis at the southern border and warned of repercussions for years to come.
“Simply put, [President] Biden, [Vice President Kamala] Harris, and [Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro] “The Mayorkas have attacked the rule of law and, in doing so, undermined the sovereignty, national security, and long-term well-being of the country they claim to serve,” said the report, “Planned Crisis: The Biden-Harris Administration's Comprehensive Review of the Unprecedented Border Crisis.”
“Biden, Harris and Mayorkas were entrusted with the responsibility of securing our border, enforcing our laws and keeping the American people safe. They not only betrayed that trust, but they willfully abandoned their sacred duty to the American people.”
Top House committee steps up pressure to obtain 'critical' documents about Harris' role in border crisis
Report The book outlines at length the Republican argument that the historic three-year crisis at the southern border and related chaos across the country caused by illegal immigration is a direct result of the Trump administration's reversal of policies and implementation of what Republicans call an open border policy.
The report points out that excluding undetected “escapades,” more than 11.6 million encounters will occur nationwide by the end of the Biden administration.
Members of the Texas National Guard monitor more than 1,000 migrants who crossed the Rio Grande River from Mexico overnight, Dec. 18, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)
“The influx of unauthorized aliens across America's sovereign border is objectively unprecedented,” they said.
It points to comments made by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green.”[E]Even if not a single unauthorized alien crosses the border during the remainder of Biden and Harris's term, the damage caused by the millions they have already allowed into the country will take decades to repair.”
The report accused the administration of “deliberately and systematically refusing to comply with the law” and alleged that there was a plan to flood ports of entry with unauthorized aliens through mass parole via the CBP One app at ports of entry and by allowing 30,000 nationals from four countries each month through a separate program.
The costs of the border crisis include the importation of fentanyl, increased crime, and costs to cities like New York City, Denver and other parts of the country, including law enforcement, transportation and social services. The crisis has also been found to empower criminal organizations and gangs that control the border and exploit migrants.
“Multiple factors enabled the cartels to exert unprecedented control over the southwest border, all of which can be traced back to the Biden-Harris administration's open border policies,” the report said.
The report takes aim at Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whom the House impeached earlier this year but the Senate never took up the trial. Republicans in the report criticized not only Secretary Mayorkas, but also Biden and Vice President Harris, saying the latter was a “total failure” in her role as “secretary for border affairs.” Vice President Harris was tasked with addressing the root causes of migration in 2021, a term the White House has rejected.
Migrants traveling north toward the U.S. border walk along a highway through Suchiate, Chiapas, southern Mexico, on Sunday, July 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Edgar H. Clemente)
“It is time for the Biden-Harris Administration to follow the law and end this crisis or step down,” the report said.
President Trump announces new pledge on Haitian refugee issue: “I will save our cities”
The White House and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The report was released ahead of a hearing on the subject later Wednesday morning. Immigration has become a top issue for voters ahead of the November election. Republicans have blamed the Biden administration for the crisis, while the administration and Democrats blame Congress for failing to pass broader immigration reform to fix a “broken” system and provide additional funding.
The country also secured additional funding for technology at ports of entry to more effectively crack down on fentanyl, and noted the success of aggressive measures against smugglers.
For more coverage on the border security crisis, click here
The administration is focusing on a bipartisan Senate bill that would provide more funding and place some limits on the admission of asylum seekers into the U.S. Republicans have said the bill would codify high levels of illegal immigration and point instead to a border bill passed by the House last year.
Click here to get the FOX News app
The delays prompted President Biden to sign an order in June restricting entry into the US, and the administration says encounters at the border have plummeted by more than 50% since then.
“For months, the Biden-Harris Administration worked with a bipartisan group of senators to craft a historic, bipartisan border security agreement that would add thousands of frontline agents to the border, but Republicans voted against the agreement twice, proving that Republicans are more interested in cynical politicking than they are in border security,” the White House said last month. “The Biden-Harris Administration has taken effective action while Republicans have done nothing.”
