WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) released the following statement after reports that Custom and Border Protection (CBP) facilities are so overwhelmed that illegal aliens are simply being released into the streets en masse: 
 
“Secretary Mayorkas and his open-borders policies have put our Customs officers and Border Patrol agents in an impossible position. The flood of aliens across the Southwest border is keeping them from doing their jobs and enforcing the law.

“In just a 24-hour period, 9,100 aliens were encountered at and between ports of entry. That’s a backbreaking number of individuals for CBP to deal with. In San Diego, hundreds of illegal aliens are being released in local communities, with little to no oversight.
 
“Yesterday, our Committee heard from Mayra Cantu, the wife of a Border Patrol agent, who shared the emotional and physical toll these stressful conditions have on the men and women defending our borders. Her powerful testimony should have been a wakeup call to Secretary Mayorkas and President Biden—if only they cared to listen. With their hands tied behind their backs, how are these brave men and women supposed to do their jobs?
 
“This raging border crisis is exacting an immense cost from the men and women of this country. Many of those released into the country this week were single adult men, with no lawful basis for being in the country. Do we know how many of those crossing and being released into the country, with little to no vetting, have criminal histories? When we do find out, it will be too late. 

“As our witness stated yesterday, ‘Every agent can tell you exactly how to fix this problem, but nobody is listening.’ And that’s why the Homeland Security Committee is holding these hearings and investigating Secretary Mayorkas’ dereliction of duty. It’s why the House passed H.R. 2, the most robust border security bill of our lifetimes. We are listening. It’s time for the Biden administration, starting with Secretary Mayorkas, to do the same.”