(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told Congress in April 2022 that his department has full operational control over the country’s southern border.
Mayorkas’s statement was demonstrably false. More than 1.5 million illegal immigrants have entered the country since the start of the Biden administration, while the Secure Fence Act of 2006 defines operational control of the border as “the prevention of all unlawful entries into the United States.”
But despite the clear language of the statute, Mayorkas doubled down on his claim that DHS has operational control over the southern border Wednesday during a House Judiciary Committee hearing. Mayorkas admitted that he does not follow the legal definition of “operational control,” but instead uses a standard that he created.
Mayorkas’s admission was in response to questions from Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, who asked whether the DHS has “operational control, or a form of presence that they’re aware of what’s going on at the border?”
“As we define that term, congresswoman, we do,” Mayorkas answered.
The DHS secretary’s response only served to inflame angry congressional Republicans, who’ve been mounting an effort to impeach Mayorkas.
Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., called Mayorkas the most dishonest public official he’s dealt with in his seven years as a congressman. Johnson received criticism from Democrats who said he was besmirching the character of a witness, but the GOP representative declined to withdraw his statement.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., had perhaps even harsher words, accusing Mayorkas of “doing the bidding of the cartels” after the secretary couldn’t tell him how many of the 2 million migrants apprehended during the Biden administration have actually been deported.
“You won’t provide us any number. When you sit there and just kind of ostensibly disagree without any facts, it shows people what the real gig is,” Gaetz said.
“The Mexican government is captive to the cartels. They are doing the bidding of the cartels and based on your response today, so are you.”
Rep. Ken Buck, R-Co., meanwhile, told Mayorkas that “my constituents consider you a traitor.”
Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., called on Mayorkas to resign. When Mayorkas declined to do so, Van Drew promised that he and the other committee members will ensure that he’s impeached.
“If you will not resign, that leaves us with no other option: You should be impeached,” he said.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
