Chris Lange, FISM News
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GOP lawmakers repeatedly called on Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to resign over the unmitigated border crisis in Tuesday’s explosive Senate Judiciary hearing.
Mayorkas faced intense questioning on the flood of millions of illegal migrants into the U.S., fentanyl deaths, and the abuse and exploitation of migrant children during his first hearing before Congress this session.
Republicans on the committee accused the Homeland Security chief of evading questions about whether he believes that his department has “operational control” over the southern border. A 2006 law defines “operational control” as “the prevention of all unlawful entries into the United States.”
Unwilling to provide a “yes” or “no” response to the question as requested, Mayorkas replied instead that the U.S. is “intensely focused on securing the border.”
In 2022, Mayorkas told Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) that “we do” have operational control at the border. The statement was refuted by U.S. Border Chief Raul Oritz this month.
CRUZ TO MAYORKAS: ‘YOUR REFUSAL TO DO YOUR JOB IS REVOLTING’
One of the most heated exchanges occurred when Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) confronted Mayorkas with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data on record-shattering migrant encounters under his watch and the exploitation of migrant women and children by Mexican cartels.
“We now have over 5.5 million people who have entered this country illegally under [President] Joe Biden. How many murderers have you released into America?” Cruz demanded of Mayorkas.
At one point during his 11-minute interrogation, the Texas senator produced an enlarged image of migrants wearing color-coded wristbands and asked Mayorkas if he understood their significance.
When Mayorkas replied that he did not, Cruz evinced incredulity.
“You don’t know what they are? Mr. Secretary, you just testified to the American people you’re incompetent at your job,” Cruz declared. The senator explained that the varied colors of the wristbands signify how many thousands of dollars migrants owe to the cartels smuggling them across the border.
It was astonishing to see that Alejandro Mayorkas did not know what these wristbands are.
These are the modern day leg irons of children being sold into slavery.
When you go to the border, you see thousands of these wristbands.pic.twitter.com/kEN3hQLyL7
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 29, 2023
“You have turned these cartels into multibillion-dollar criminal organizations,” Cruz continued, calling Mayorkas “disgraceful.”
“[T]he children assaulted, the children raped, they are at your feet and if you had integrity, you would resign,” he added, referring to reports of migrant children being sold into sex slavery.
When Mayorkas was given the opportunity to respond, he called Cruz’s accusations “revolting,” adding, “I’m not going to address it.”
“Your refusal to do your job is revolting,” Cruz shot back.
MAYORKAS GIVES HIMSELF AN ‘A’ AS DHS CHIEF
Another Lone Star state senator, John Cornyn (R-Texas), pressed Mayorkas on the flood of deadly fentanyl across the southern border.
Mayorkas began to parrot Democrats’ recent claims that all but a small fraction of fentanyl is seized at ports of entry and checkpoints, as opposed to being smuggled into the U.S. between ports, before Cornyn abruptly cut him off.
“That’s a totally made-up number, Mr. Secretary, and you know it,” he argued.
Cornyn also asked Mayorkas if he wanted to apologize to parents whose children died of fentanyl poisoning.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) asked Mayorkas at one point what grade he would give himself on his handling of border security.
“I’m a tough grader on myself,” Mayorkas said. “And I give myself an ‘A’ for effort, investment in mission, and support of our workforce.”
DHS SPOX DEFENDS MAYORKAS, BLAMES CONGRESS FOR ‘BROKEN’ IMMIGRATION SYSTEM
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security defended Mayorkas against Republican attacks, saying that Mayorkas “is proud to advance the noble mission of this Department, support its extraordinary workforce, and serve the American people” in a statement provided to Newsweek.
“Instead of pointing fingers, Congress should work with the Department and pass legislation to fix our broken immigration system, which has not been updated in over 40 years,” the spokesperson said.
Republicans filed articles of impeachment against Mayorkas in January, though no cabinet member has ever been removed in such a manner. They picked up an unlikely ally in a Democratic colleague earlier this month. California Democratic Rep. Juan Vargas said that he may vote in favor of impeachment, though not over the millions of illegal immigrants pouring into the country. Vargas’s gripe with Mayorkas centers around the California congressman’s objection to the construction of two 30-foot walls at his state’s border with Mexico.
For his part, Mayorkas has responded to reporters’ questions about impeachment efforts with impunity and has repeatedly said he has no intention of resigning.
This article was partially informed by Roll Call, The New York Post, NPR, and Spectrum News reports.