Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’s feud with congressional Republicans reached the absurd Wednesday as he battled lawmakers over whether or not or not he was “smiling” whereas evading their questions.
With the shadow of a looming impeachment continuing hanging over him, Mr. Mayorkas appeared earlier than the House Judiciary Committee to attempt to rehabilitate his job efficiency and clarify previous remarks that Republicans mentioned constituted perjury to Congress.
But as he batted apart GOP questions with solutions that stalled, dodged or demurred, annoyed Republicans lashed out.
Some fumed that he couldn’t reply questions on what occurred to 140 terrorism suspects brokers have detected on the southern border this fiscal 12 months, nor how most of the 2.1 million unlawful immigrants caught and launched beneath President Biden have since been deported.
One lawmaker known as Mr. Mayorkas the “most dishonest” witness he’d seen.
When Rep. Victoria Spartz, Indiana Republican, chastised him for “looking at us with a very smiley face” through the stonewalling, he’d had sufficient.
“Let me allow the record to reflect — I’m not smiling, nor have I smiled,” the secretary insisted.
The House is laying the groundwork for impeachment, with the Homeland Security Committee releasing a report earlier this month accusing Mr. Mayorkas of “dereliction of duty.”
That report cited a number of “lies” to Congress and nonetheless extra legal guidelines and court docket orders flouted by the secretary as proof of malfeasance.
“My constituents consider you a traitor,” mentioned Rep. Ken Buck, Colorado Republican, citing unfathomable fentanyl dying figures.
Mr. Mayorkas sought to unfold the blame, saying the lethal artificial opioid has been an issue for years. Republicans countered that the dying price has risen sharply within the final two years.
A key piece of the GOP’s doubtless impeachment case towards Mr. Mayorkas is testimony he delivered final 12 months claiming his division had “operational control” over the border beneath the definition written into the Secure Fence Act of 2006.
“Yes, we do,” the secretary testified final 12 months.
Under prodding Wednesday, Mr. Mayorkas mentioned he wasn’t given an opportunity to totally clarify himself within the earlier reply and mentioned his level was that beneath the definition written into regulation, no administration has achieved operational management.
He says utilizing his personal definition — which seems not at outcomes however at effort — he does consider there’s operational management.
He mentioned anticipating his division to take care of the 11 million to 12 million unlawful immigrants already within the U.S. is an excessive amount of, given the constraints of a damaged immigration system. As for newcomers, he mentioned Congress hasn’t given him sufficient cash to detain them whereas their circumstances are pending in immigration court docket — generally for six years or extra.
Mr. Mayorkas defended his coverage of utilizing “parole” powers to permit unauthorized migrants to schedule appointments to be welcomed in regardless of having no authorized visa.
He mentioned the method reduces the variety of folks making an attempt to sneak previous the Border Patrol, cuts smugglers out of the equation and permits authorities to display screen folks earlier than they present up.
“It is of tremendous utility and its results have proven productive,” he mentioned.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, New York Democrat, known as the GOP complaints about Mr. Mayorkas “evidence-free.”
“Republicans have not established any legitimate grounds to impeach Mr. Mayorkas,” he mentioned.
Republicans complained that Mr. Mayorkas gave Democrats actual solutions to their questions whereas taking part in video games with GOP questioners.
Rep. Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican and Judiciary Committee chairman, despatched the secretary residence with a listing of inquiries to which he owed the panel solutions, together with how his parole powers are getting used and what occurred to the 140 folks on the phobia watchlist that had been detected sneaking throughout the border from Mexico.
Verbal fencing between Mr. Mayorkas and congressional committees has develop into so commonplace that either side appeared to method Wednesday’s installment with little expectation of a constructive dialog.
Those Republicans who did search solutions to particular questions had been disillusioned.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, Florida Republican, was miffed when Mr. Mayorkas couldn’t say how most of the caught-and-released migrants have been deported, because the secretary has promised will occur to those who don’t win their circumstances.
“The reason you’re smirking about it, and the reason you won’t answer my question, is because everybody gets the joke,” Mr. Gaetz mentioned.
Republicans had warned Mr. Mayorkas in a letter forward of time to return ready with solutions to that query particularly, and his failure to take action didn’t sit effectively.
Later within the listening to, Mr. Mayorkas did say that at the very least a thousand of the two.1 million catch-and-release migrants had been deported. But he wouldn’t transcend that characterization, saying he would ship higher knowledge later.
Mr. Mayorkas additionally wouldn’t reply when a lawmaker, looking for to attract a comparability to the border, requested him if he locked his doorways at night time, saying solely, “I take care of the safety of my family.”
GOP criticism went past immigration, with a number of lawmakers questioning the division’s function in policing social media postings the federal government deemed “disinformation” or “misinformation.”
“You are the walking, talking epitome of the very tyrant that our forefathers recognized would gravitate toward government service,” mentioned Rep. Harriet Hageman, Wyoming Republican.
Mr. Mayorkas replied: “Your accusations are false.”
Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com