ICYMI: Former DHS Officials Outline Secretary Mayorkas’ Dereliction of Duty for Homeland Republicans

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the House Committee on Homeland Security, led by Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN), heard firsthand testimony from former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials on Secretary Mayorkas’ dereliction of duty at the Southwest border. The hearing followed the release of the Committee’s preliminary report highlighting why a Congressional investigation is necessary to conduct crucial oversight.

From the witness testimony provided by the former Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf, the former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott, and the former Acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Joe Edlow, it is clear that Secretary Mayorkas created our nation’s historic border crisis by implementing intentionally reckless policies, violating the laws passed by Congress, and ignoring the advice, recommendations, and warnings of experienced law enforcement. These decisions include the unlawful use of mass parole to release illegal aliens into the country, particularly through the CBP One app, rescinding the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, opposing new border wall construction, using taxpayer money to help facilitate illegal immigration, and endangering migrants and Americans alike by empowering the drug cartels that now control our Southwest border. Read and watch highlights of the hearing below.

In his opening line of questioning, Chairman Green received confirmation from witnesses that Secretary Mayorkas is using the CBP One app to mislead the American people concerning the crisis at the border: 

“I don’t know any of the witnesses that can confirm this, but we’re not counting the CBP One app appointments as I understand it, is that correct?”

Mr. Wolf answered:

“That is correct. So the numbers that are being cited by the Department are Border Patrol numbers, those are encounters between ports of entry. So they talk about, I believe a 70% decrease—what they’re not telling you [is] that they’re actually capturing the number but what they’re not including in their press release is the number from OFO, which is the Office of Field Operations there at a port of entry.” 

Chairman Green continued:

“It’s a shell game, basically, they’re taking the numbers out of these and not reporting them over here. […] Mr. Edlow, is that in congruence with the law? Is that a lawful entry just because you fill out an app online?”

Mr. Edlow answered:

“No, no, it’s not. […] If somebody comes to the port of entry [and] has no documentation to get in, there is a lawful mechanism for them to claim credible fear and to move through that process. But to just allow them to come in, to parole them, not on a case by case basis but as a group, is not within the confines of the law.”

Chairman Green continued:

“The interim final rule that came out, Mr. Edlow, can you discuss a little bit about how this basically upends the entire intent of the laws of Congress from the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)?

Mr. Edlow concluded:

“When the Homeland Security Act was signed and enacted in 2002, 2003, most powers that had been exercised by the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) were moved over to the new DHS, specifically with asylum to USCIS, where asylum officers were conducting interviews. However, after a credible fear interview, the way it always had worked was that the alien would then go before the immigration judge. Those powers were never transferred as part of the Homeland Security Act. This rule does transfer, does shift that authority from the DOJ to DHS having a second bite at the apple. […] The fact that they do not require a new asylum application really does limit the ability for anyone to assess whether there’s a valid claim or not.”

Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) received confirmation from a witness that Secretary Mayorkas has knowingly ignored recommendations from those who work for him on the frontlines of this crisis, even at the expense of the American people:

“Was Secretary Mayorkas briefed on policy failures? Were there recommendations that were made to Secretary Mayorkas and President Biden from Border Patrol, from ICE from Customs [and Border Protection] from any of our DHS leaders?”

Mr. Scott answered:

“I personally participated in numerous conference calls. The Secretary insulated himself a lot, but he had representatives on those calls, and occasionally he was in those calls himself. […] The administration made it very clear deterrence was no longer our mission and we weren’t even allowed to talk about it. The minute you talked about trying to slow down the flow, or putting any kind of a deterrent mechanism in place, we were immediately stymied.”

Mr. Pfluger concluded:

“So, this is a willful and complicit decision to turn away from the policies from 2017 to 2020 and go a different direction, which has resulted in the numbers that I previously said.”

Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement Chairman Clay Higgins (R-LA) received confirmation from a witness that Secretary Mayorkas’ use of the CBP One app is unauthorized and contributes to the Biden administration’s mass parole scheme:

“We’re going to expose what has happened to our country over the last two years. Mr. Scott, would you explain to the Committee and America how Secretary Mayorkas has intentionally shifted migrant numbers to the CBP One app to promote the appearance of a decrease in illegal crossings?”

Mr. Scott answered:

“As we discussed earlier, the numbers that are being reported publicly are selective, they’ve been focusing on the Southwest border only, and we need to focus on total encounters or what or what OFO calls ‘inadmisibles.’”

Mr. Higgins continued:

“Is it true that there are virtually no parameters disqualifying an applicant from applying for parole through the CBP One app.”

Mr. Scott answered:

“That’s my understanding.” 

Mr. Higgins continued:

“Mr. Wolf, in your opinion, is the increased use of the CBP One app for parole applications consistent with the app’s original purpose?”

Mr. Wolf answered:

“No, not the original purpose. It was for industry, to facilitate that trade across the border.”

WATCH: Rep. Gimenez Slams Secretary Mayorkas’ Catch and Release Agenda

Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security Chairman Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) detailed the successful policies that the Biden administration has revoked, including Remain in Mexico, and received confirmation from witnesses that this is being used to expedite their catch-and-release agenda:

“In the first days of the Biden administration, a bunch of policies that the Trump administration put in place in order to secure the border were overturned and then things started to go south in a really big way. Do you know firsthand if Border Patrol agents actually advised Mr. Mayorkas that, ‘Hey, you need to reverse these policies to stop this tidal wave that’s coming into the United States?’”

Mr. Scott answered: 

“Everything fundamentally changed. When I worked for Secretary Wolf, we had team meetings, we were asked for our input. We were told over your career, what works and what doesn’t work. On January 20, 2021, that all got shut off. […] They did not want to know what we had to say. They made it very clear: expedite processing and find new ways to let migrants into the U.S.”

Rep. Gimenez continued, asking Mr. Wolf:

“When you had the Remain in Mexico policy and people were told to remain in Mexico [until] they had their asylum hearings, what percentage of those that were seeking asylum were actually granted asylum?”

Mr. Wolf answered:

“The number that are granted asylum has been holding for years now, about 80%-85% do not qualify, and about 10%-15% do qualify and we saw that again under MPP as well.”

Rep. Gimenez continued:

“The law says that if you’re seeking your asylum, you’re supposed to be detained until your hearing. That’s not happening right now.”

Mr. Wolf concluded:

“It is not.”

House Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman and Homeland Security Committee Chairman Emeritus Michael McCaul (R-TX) received confirmation from witnesses that Secretary Mayorkas’ decision to rescind the successful ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy has contributed to the crisis at our Southwest border by incentivizing illegal crossings:

“Political asylum has always [been] a magnet, and it has been abused by the cartels for many years. 85% of these claims are not legit, only 15% are. It’s very simple. When they’re allowed to enter the United States, because we don’t have detention space, they are released into our society. They’re given a notice to appear (NTA), and they disappear. […] The Trump administration, through Secretary Wolf [and] Mr. Edlow, implemented what I thought was a very effective plan called the Migrant Protection Protocols, Remain in Mexico. […] If it was legitimate, they were allowed in. If not, they were not allowed into the country. It brought the numbers down dramatically. So, what happened when the Biden administration gets into power? Nearly on day one, Secretary Mayorkas rescinds the order. […] And what has happened since then? Nearly 100,000 young people died in this country due to fentanyl. […] Five million encounters, nearly 100 on the terror watch list, which used to frighten me as chairman of this committee. […] There was a court order to force the administration to reimplement MPP—that court order, in my view, has not been fully complied with by this administration. To make things worse, they took the vetting process away from sponsors of these aliens. What does that turn into? Children going to houses, 20-30 of them under one sponsor, not vetted. [It] turns into human trafficking. My question is, do you believe, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Scott, Mr. Edlow, that Secretary Mayorkas is responsible for the consequences that followed the rescission of MPP. And do you believe he is complicit with the consequences of what has happened to this country?”
Mr. Wolf answered:

“The answer to that is a resounding yes. Obviously, the Secretary ended MPP, the Migrant Protection Protocols, so he’s responsible for the actions that follow that. I would just say, at the end of the day, it’s okay to claim asylum. What’s not okay is to simply be released into the country. [….] [The Biden administration] simply puts blinders on and says, ‘we’re okay with that amount of fraud.’ It’s not okay for the American people.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) received confirmation from a witness that not only has the Biden administration lost track of 85,000 Unaccompanied Migrant Children (UACs) in the U.S., but they are ending familial DNA testing at the border along with proper vetting of adults who sponsor UACs in the country:

“We Republicans here are committed to searching for answers as to why this administration continues to inflict catastrophic damage to our country. I just want to remind you of a few things that are very important to understand. […] We’re missing 85,000 children. 85,000 children, and while Democrats across the aisle on this committee want to talk about families being separated under the Trump administration, I’d like to introduce for the record a letter from Customs and Border Protection, saying that the Biden administration is ending familial DNA testing, as of the end of May, May 31, 2023. So when you talk about separating children, we have the Biden administration not even testing who these adults and these children are. […] 85,000 children missing migrant children, missing in the United States, is the same thing as 85,000 Amber Alerts. Unbelievable. Mr. Wolf, many of the children are brought to the United States by coyotes and human smugglers. In your view, how is Secretary Mayorkas responsible for exacerbating the unaccompanied children humanitarian crisis?”

Mr. Wolf answered:

“Well, it’s not just one action. It’s obviously a combination of a variety of different incentives. It’s an incentive structure that has been created over the past 27 months that allows individuals to come into the country and remain into the country. When you exempt UACs from Title 42, that sends a signal to the cartels and to everyone else to smuggle as many children across that border as humanly possible. […] When you make these categorical pronouncements, the cartels are watching, and they are paying attention. And just to key off on your last point, not only is the DNA testing about to end, the vetting of sponsors also ended at HHS under this administration, no more detailed, in-depth vetting of sponsors. So the idea that somehow they’re protecting children because they needed to facilitate the flow out of HHS facilities quicker and quicker is a misnomer.”

Rep. Dale Strong (R-AL) received confirmation from a witness that the Biden administration ignored the advice of Border Patrol and ended construction of the border wall for political purposes:

“Secretary Mayorkas has had more than two years to observe the failure of his policies and either change course or resign. […] He has done the opposite, doubling down on those policies and implementing new unlawful programs. Does this strike you as someone helplessly responding to a crisis or someone intent on policies that caused the crisis? […] Why would the Department of Homeland Security Secretary oppose the construction of more border wall systems, especially when Border Patrol agents routinely say it’s an important part of the toolkit?”

Mr. Scott answered:

“Because the President campaigned on no more border wall.”

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) received confirmation from a witness that communities in New York and across the country are paying the cost of Secretary Mayorkas’ dereliction of duty:

“I represent the first Congressional District of New York, and the western edge of my district is about an hour or so east of New York City. Over the past several weeks my constituents have heard that New York City sanctuary city policies, coupled, of course, with our country’s non-secure and wide-open Southwest border, have overwhelmed New York City’s resources previously meant for the homeless for folks suffering from substance abuse and veterans in need. Given the influx of migrants who are attracted to New York City because of those sanctuary city policies, the city can no longer handle the influx of those migrants. In response, New York City Mayor Adams is now attempting to send those same migrants who were attracted by those sanctuary city policies to suburban counties throughout the state who had expressly rejected those sanctuary city policies. That leads me to my first question, sir, can you please explain what sort of costs, such as monetary, personnel and public safety, are imposed on states, cities, and counties in dealing with the current crisis at the Southwest border?”

Mr. Wolf answered:

“All of the children that we’ve talked about go into public education systems, [and] English is usually not their first language. That’s going to strain public education systems and every community that they go into, certainly the ones that they go to in a large amount. Health systems and public safety systems: you now have public safety officers and law enforcement officers having to deal with additional crimes and additional incidents and are overwhelmed because of what’s going on. And then we talk about the money that DHS is sending to NGOs. Millions of dollars being sent to NGOs for a crisis that they created, that they’re now using taxpayer dollars to send to try to solve the crisis. So, there’s a lot of different costs that American taxpayers bear.”