Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas declined a request from the House Homeland Security Committee to appear Thursday to answer questions about his response to the migrant crisis along the Southwest border. A statement from Committee Chairman Mark E. Green, M.D. (R-Tenn.) said Mr. Mayorkas balked at recent requests to appear before the committee, citing an appointment to meet with a Mexican Cabinet delegation next week. It rang.
The committee issued a statement criticizing the secretary's rejection of this request and previous invitations, and provided Mayorkas with multiple dates to appear before lawmakers in historic impeachment hearings.Latest invitation A statement from Chairman Green was issued on January 5, 2024, requesting Mayorkas' court appearance on January 18, 2024.
The invitation cited Mr. Mayorkas' past refusals to appear in court, stating, “I decline to appear for testimony before the Committee on Homeland Security (Committee) on August 16, 2023 and 2023. I have received your responses to my letter dated September 18, 2019.” We focus solely on the unprecedented border security crisis. I am writing to you again to reiterate my request. ”
The letter goes on to clarify the purpose of the request, stating, “Also, as you are aware, your articles of impeachment were introduced in the House of Representatives and referred to committees in November. We are therefore beginning impeachment proceedings. , your testimony will be part of it.”
Written response to the committee's invitation examination According to Breitbart Texas, the director did not offer an alternative time for testimony as the committee proceeds to hear from other witnesses.
“Consistent with the Secretary's commitment to cooperate with Congressional committees, the Secretary intends to appear in person to testify before the committees,” the DHS letter (attached below) states. The commissioner did not say when that would be. He “looks forward to working through the details with committee staff and agreeing on the date and structure of the hearing,” the letter continued.
An impeachment hearing is scheduled for the week of January 15th.
In a statement regarding Mr. Mayorkas' refusal to attend, Chairman Green said:
It is deeply concerning that Secretary Mayorkas has refused the Committee's repeated requests to appear before a comparable government department. We have worked with his office for months to testify before the committee so that Americans can get the transparency they desperately need about the causes, costs, and consequences of this unprecedented border crisis. efforts have been made to ensure that.
It is certain that one of Secretary Mayorkas' main excuses for not attending next week is that he must host a delegation of Mexican officials. Once again, this Secretary is putting Mexico's interests above those of the American people. Apparently, Congress needs to be reminded that it is a co-equal branch of government and that our committee, not Mexico's, oversees his department.
In a letter to the committee declining the invitation, Mayorkas touted his many trips to the border, citing Monday's visit to Eagle Pass, Texas, as an example. This small town on the Texas border has always been the epicenter of border crises, experiencing the same devastating effects experienced by other cities across the border in the Southwest as migrants surge.
In December, DHS closed the border city's import rail line and one of the two official ports of entry connecting the city to Piedras Negras, Mexico. Texas' second-busiest railroad for import shipments has been closed for more than a week due to border congestion, with more than 22,000 migrants apprehended in the third week of December alone.
Although the port has since reopened, city officials say the closure has cost merchants on both sides of the border vital funds on cross-border purchases. The city relies heavily on tolls collected from both international bridges leading to Mexico, which cover more than 50 percent of the city's annual budget.
Recently, Committee Chairman Dr. Mark E. Green (R-Tenn.) joined House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and more than 60 other House Republicans on a border tour of Eagle Pass. I attended and saw firsthand the aftermath of the surge. The number of migrants who have crossed the Rio Grande in recent weeks.
“The greatest domestic threat to national security and the safety of the American people is Secretary Alejandra Mayorkas,” Green said at a press conference after the border tour. Through his own policies, he has defied and overturned laws passed by the United States Congress. He has defied multiple court orders. He lied to the U.S. Congress multiple times. He said things under his oath that were blatantly and obviously false. ”
Under Mayorkas, Border Patrol agents along Mexico's southwest border have apprehended more than 7.3 million migrants, according to Customs and Border Protection. Mayorkas acknowledged in a recent news interview that as many as 70% of people have been released seeking asylum in the United States. More than 1.7 million known escapes were recorded during Mr. Mayorkas' time at the helm of DHS, according to an unofficial report reviewed by Breitbart Texas.
randy clark He is a 32-year veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as Division Chief of Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol stations within the Del Rio, Texas area. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.
