After months of requests from Republicans, the Senate Judiciary Committee finally held an oversight hearing with Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas regarding the current crisis on the U.S.-Mexico Border.
FINALLY after months & multiple requests to Chair Durbin we are getting a Dept of homeland security oversight hrg 2day Each day we see thousands of ppl wading across the Rio Grande coming to America which is ILLEGAL This wouldn’t be happening if Pres Biden was enforcing our laws
— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) November 16, 2021
With Biden's Border Crisis, the United States is seeing the highest rate of illegal immigration in over six decades.
Under Joe Biden, we’ve seen the highest rate of illegal immigration in 61 years.
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) November 16, 2021
Our immigration system is broken and Joe Biden and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas broke it. pic.twitter.com/mEHQ31MEYO
The hearing covered a myriad of topics, but Mayorkas made it abundantly clear that he is fully on board with the Biden Administration's agenda to keep as many illegal immigrants in the country as possible. Currently, there are 1.2 million individuals who have final removal orders, but Mayorkas isn't in favor of deporting very many of those:
When asked if any of the 1.2 million people should be deported, Mayorkas said those "who pose a public safety threat, who pose a national security threat, who pose a border security threat," should be deported from the U.S.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., defended DHS’s use of "prosecutorial discretion" in deciding which deportation cases to pursue. Coons claimed that "an approach that effectively makes any undocumented immigrant a priority is actually making no one a priority
Mayorkas agreed, arguing that discretion is warranted both because DHS has "limited resources," and also because it is "a matter of justice" not to prioritize those who have become "contributing members of our society."
President Biden’s Secretary of Homeland Security doesn’t believe securing the border is more important than amnesty.
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) November 16, 2021
This is why we have a crisis. pic.twitter.com/jAuDwcs9Un
Otherwise, Mayorkas failed repeatedly to provide clear answers to the questions asked by Republican members of the committee.
.@SecMayorkas would rather not comment on embarrassing immigration details.#immigration @DHSgov pic.twitter.com/B6p60nsujS
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) November 16, 2021
It’s outrageous to offer massive, taxpayer funded financial payments to illegal immigrants who broke our laws.
— Sen. Grassley Press (@GrassleyPress) November 16, 2021
We’re in the midst of a record shattering border crisis that the Biden administration has created. #BidenBorderCrisis pic.twitter.com/rKvNjOx5Xb
This opens the floodgates to more fraudulent asylum claims as migrants realize they will be released into the United States after making their claims, rather than having to sit in Mexico for their hearing.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) November 16, 2021
A big mistake.
Biden is using taxpayer dollars to put a wall around his beach house instead of the southern border. pic.twitter.com/8H7uP3krvt
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) November 16, 2021
Secretary Mayorkas doesn’t know how many COVID positive illegal immigrants have been released into the United States.
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) November 16, 2021
#BidenBorderCrisis pic.twitter.com/LwF6FcZ2A2
Today's hearing also touched on the Biden Administration's failure to properly vet refugees who came to the United States in the wake of the Administration's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan earlier this year.
DHS Secretary Mayorkas tells Sen. Josh Hawley that the U.S. is "not conducting in-person, full refugee interviews of 100 percent" of Afghan evacuees, and he does not have data for many went through full interviews pic.twitter.com/MIFdPCggR9
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 16, 2021
The Biden Administration should be held accountable for its disastrous immigration policies that have undermined the stability on the U.S.-Mexico border and put everyday Americans at risk.