On Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing to get firsthand information from chief patrol officers who deal with the crisis on a daily basis regarding the situation at the southern border.
Republicans, who control the committee and are holding the hearing, are putting more pressure on Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security, with some even calling for his impeachment.
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., a committee member, tweeted on Monday morning, “We’ll be bringing in Chief Patrol Agents to further grasp how Mayorkas has left them behind,” adding that the secretary “must be impeached.”
Biggs indicated last week that he would submit an article of impeachment against Mayorkas, alleging that the secretary’s failure to finish building a border wall and a lack of manpower are to blame for the large-scale fentanyl importation.
NEW IMPEACHMENT ARTICLE FILED AGAINST DHS SECRETARY MAYORKAS FOR “RECKLESS ABANDONMENT” OF BORDER SECURITY
Rep. Juan Ciscomani claims that the Biden administration continues to “fail” to secure our border.
Video
Chief Patrol Agents Gloria Chavez and John Modlin of the Tuscon Sector and the Rio Grande Valley Sector, respectively, will give testimony at the hearing on Tuesday. Chavez and Chief Patrol Agents Jason Owens, Gregory Bovino, and Patricia McGurk-Daniel were first called by the committee, but DHS initially attempted to prevent them from testifying.
Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, the chairman of the oversight committee, wrote to Mayorkas last week and expressed his satisfaction that the DHS was no longer adopting such a stance.
We cannot wait another two years, said Rep. Andy Biggs in response to calls to remove Secretary Mayorkas.
Video
As the crisis worsens, BORDER PATROL UNIONS SAYS AGENTS COULD SUPPORT MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT.
The hearing takes place as a record-breaking number of migrants continue to arrive at the border. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol figures show that 251,487 southwest land border interactions occurred in December 2022, up from 179,253 in December 2021, 73,994 in December 2020, and 40,565 in December 2019.
Democrats in Congress visit the border in El Paso, Texas.
Mayorkas has thus far resisted calls for him to resign or face impeachment, telling ABC News last month that he still had a lot of work to do.