During the House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday on the “Oversight of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,” U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL-01) slammed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on his failure to secure the Southern Border and the Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) app digitizing illegal immigration.
“Two million counters and releases under your watch. So not including the title 42 expulsion. Not including violent criminals. Of those 2 million plus that you have encountered and released, how many have you told to go home?” asked Gaetz.
Mayorkas replied, “Individuals who are released are placed in the immigration enforcement proceedings under the law where they can make their claim for release. If their claim for release is not satisfied, they are subject to removal from the United States.”
“Very different than actually remove. I’m not interested in the process; I’m not interested in what people are subject to. Two million people encountered and released. Not the expulsions under title 42, not the criminals,” said Gaetz.
Gaetz asked Mayorkas to disclose the number of illegal immigrants he’s deported that have crossed during his tenure, emphasizing limits the DHS secretary placed on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Mayorkas limited ICE arrests and deportations solely to those who pose threats to national security, public safety, and border security in September 2021.
“I disagree with everything that you have said,” said Mayorkas.
“You can disagree all you want, but what you won’t provide as any number. When you sit there and just kind of ostensibly disagree without any facts, it shows people what the real gig is. 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,” said Gaetz.
FULL ROUGH TRANSCRIPT
Rep. Gaetz: Two million counters and releases under your watch. So not including the title 42 expulsion. Not including violent criminals. Of those 2 million plus that you have encountered and released, how many have you told to go home?
DHS Secretary Mayorkas: Individuals who are released placed in the immigration enforcement proceedings under the law where they can make their claim for release. If their claim for release is not satisfied, they are subject to removal from the United States.
Rep. Gaetz: Very different than actually remove. I’m not interested in the process, I’m not interested in what people are subject to. 2 million people encountered and released. Not the expulsions under title 42, not the criminals. How many of those people have you deported?
DHS Secretary Mayorkas: a few points.
Rep. Gaetz: I just want to know how many? The number.
DHS Secretary Mayorkas: With a completely broken immigration –
Rep. Gaetz: I’m not gonna let you bring my five minutes. Do you know the answer. You know the number of people out of that 2 million that you have removed that are not criminals?
DHS Secretary Mayorkas: Removed more aggravated felons –
Rep. Gaetz: But that away. Because here’s what I’m sort of guessing, and what you’re not responses demonstrating. The Mayorkas Doctrine is this. If you show up at the border and get released into the country. If you don’t commit a specific aggravated felony, which by the way does not include a lot of assault and battery, it does not include a lot of us domestic violence, but if you’re not one of the people who commits those crimes, you have to stay forever. It’s that a fair characteristic of your doctrine? And tell me how many are at home.
DHS Secretary Mayorkas: No that is false.
Rep. Gaetz: How many that you’ve sent home. Here’s another number. 1.2 million people today have been through your entire process, right, they’ve been through would you call a removal proceeding and that is just a amnesty dam. After the 1.2 million people get an order from the judge saying that they don’t have a basis to be here, you still do not remove them. So what is your plan to remove those people?
DHS Secretary Mayorkas: False
Rep. Gaetz: How many of them then. Give me the number.
DHS Secretary Mayorkas: In this country there are between 11 and 12 million –
Rep. Gaetz: Subset that you won’t sent home. And the reason you’re smirking about and the reason you won’t answer my question is because everybody gets the joke, and the sad thing is that it’s not just appear to the cartels to get the joke too. And so now what you have done to execute this Mayorkas Doctrine, or so long as you don’t tip to commit a crime you can broaden our hospitals, right in our schools, burden our social services. You have sent the message to the cartels and then you have taken this app and digitized illegal immigration and you have scaled it to the moon. Like this app that you have everybody downloading is like the Disney fast pass in the country never to be subject to actual removal, just removal proceedings as you call them. That app does not do any search of a criminal history in their home country, doesn’t
DHS Secretary Mayorkas: I disagree with everything you have said.
Rep. Gaetz: Answer the question. Does the app that you’re out there promoting, do any sort of the criminal history in their home country
DHS Secretary Mayorkas: Protection screens events individuals whom they’ve encountered.
Rep. Gaetz: Functionality to test their criminal history in a home country or doesn’t. By the way, if it, did you have told me. It doesn’t. And the other epic failure that has empowered the cartels is that in these processing centers that you’ve set up in other countries such as we have them all in a rapid pace, you have had to shut them down and nuevo laredo because the cartels were standing outside extorting people. Is that? Right
DHS Secretary Mayorkas: False.
Rep. Gaetz: The facility nuevo laredo.
DHS Secretary Mayorkas: Lawful pathways is to reduce the number of encounters at our southwest border.
Rep. Gaetz: You’ve just shifted those encounters because right now for the first time in modern history more people are showing up at the ports of entry then running through some bush in yuma, Arizona. The reason that they are showing this at the ports of entry is because you have the turnstile open. So long as they have gone and download this app, we have brought it in. I have one question for you. Is Mexico an ally in this fight against illegal immigration?
DHS Secretary Mayorkas: Yes it is
Rep. Gaetz: Troubling that you say that. Because it’s like, I’m looking at the El Chapo trial where president – took 100 million dollar bribe with the sinaloa cartel. Do you think that the subsequent presidents were not offered a bribe by the cartel or didn’t take the bribe.
DHS Secretary Mayorkas: I disagree with everything that you have said.
Rep. Gaetz: You can disagree all you want, but what you won’t provide as any number. When you sit there and just kind of ostensibly disagree without any facts, it shows people what the real gig is. 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.
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