Border Patrol Chiefs To Testify Before House Committee After First Being Blocked By Mayorkas

Bethany Blankley (The Center Square).

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability will hear testimony from U.S. Border Patrol chiefs Tuesday, after being initially blocked by Alejandro Mayorkas (Department of Homeland Security Secretary).

Last month, Rep. James Comer from Kentucky, was elected Chairman of the Committee. Letter Mayorkas said that the committee would be investigating. “Biden Administration’s creation of and failure to resolve the worst border crisis in American history. … The American people deserve answers about [DHS’] role in undermining Customs and Border Protection agents’ efforts to secure the southern border.”

The four Border Patrol agents responsible for overseeing the southern border sections were called to testify by Gloria Chavez and Chief Jason Owens. Initially, two were cleared to testify by Mayorkas and two weren’t.

Comer threatened then to use the “compulsory process” They were required to testify. Mayorkas and Comer had each agreed to testify by Jan. 31. Letter To him, “The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initially sought to prevent Congress from hearing invaluable testimony from Chief Patrol Agents, believing that DHS’s internal protocols superseded Congressional oversight prerogatives. I am pleased that the DHS is no longer taking such a position, and will make available as witnesses” all four agents.

Comer stated last week to reporters at the National Press Club, that the committee had asked him to testify. “the worst offenses with respect to illegal border crossings are occurring, just to come before the committee. … We need to hear from people on the front lines” To get their opinion and to learn more about how Congress can assist them,

Comer’s initial Jan. 19 letter to Mayorkas requested documents and copies of internal communications from DHS including data on border crossers released by DHS into the U.S. and DHS’ plan to terminate the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), otherwise known as “Remain in Mexico,” Texas sued. A federal court halted the administration’s plan to terminate it although Texas maintains the administration isn’t following the court order.

Mayorkas is also required to respond. “the effect of historic numbers of illegal border crossings on retention rates, staffing, recruitment and morale among” Agents with the Border Patrol. Their union, the National Border Patrol Council, has claimed that more agents are retiring under this administration and that recruitment and morale have fallen to an all-time low.

Also, Comer requested all documents and information regarding an Memorandum ICE Mayorkas were issued in September 2021. This drastically changed enforcement policies. Louisiana and Texas sued to stop it. Supported by 19 other states, A brief was filed The Supreme Court.

“President [Joe] Biden’s radical open borders agenda has ignited the worst border crisis in American history,” Comer made the statement in a statement last week when he announced his hearing. “The Biden Administration’s deliberate actions are fueling human smuggling, stimulating drug cartel operations, enabling deadly drugs such as fentanyl to flow into American communities, and encouraging illegal immigrants to flout U.S. immigration laws. … Republicans will hold the Biden Administration accountable for this ongoing humanitarian, national security, and public health crisis that has turned every town into a border town.”

Biden stated that on his first day as president, he had submitted to Congress a comprehensive bill to reform immigration. This bill would have the effect of granting amnesty to many people living illegally in the U.S. He also announced DHS’ new mobile app that allows foreign nationals to file asylum claims remotely from anywhere in the world as well as expanding the parole process and creating a new visa process. Multiple states sued over the parole- and visas-related policies.

The hearing comes after Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz testified in a case brought by Florida that Biden policies led to increased illegal crossings and one of his emails revealed the administration’s plan to release people en masse into the U.S. once Title 42 was lifted.

Since Biden’s been in office, over 5 million people from over 150 countries have illegally entered the U.S. while Mayorkas has consistently maintained the southern border is closed. According to Border Patrol data, nearly 1.8million people in Texas were reported as evading capture or being apprehended in fiscal 2022.

Several House Republicans have called for Mayorkas’ impeachment; two Republicans from Texas and Arizona each filed separate articles of impeachment. Mayorkas says he isn’t resigning and has blamed the previous administration for the problems he says he’s inherited.

The NBPC disagrees, tweeting on Monday: “Two years ago we ceased to have any semblance of a functioning border. It’s just an out-of-control free-for-all … a disaster zone of massive human misery, death and lawlessness. Can this country absorb millions more illegal aliens?

“Everyday thousands more illegal aliens enter our country by crashing our border between ports of entry. Has Biden thought about how many millions he’s going to shuttle in? Is he even aware enough to realize that many of these people can’t be ID’d and no way to check records?”

Syndicated with permission by The Center Square