Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said Thursday that a “record number” of illegal immigrants have been deported from the U.S. under the Biden administration.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out just 142,580 deportations in fiscal year 2023, while Border Patrol recorded more than 2 million illegal southern border crossings, according to agency data. The House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing Jan. 10 titled “Havoc in the Heartland: How Secretary Mayorkas’ Failed Leadership Has Impacted the States.”
“We have returned or removed a record number of individuals,” Mayorkas told Fox News host Bret Baier Thursday. “We are enforcing the laws that Congress has passed.”
WATCH:
Almost 380,000 illegal immigrants have been encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border during fiscal year 2024, which started Oct. 1, according to data released by United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), following 2,045,838 encounters in fiscal year 2023, 2,206,436 in fiscal year 2022 and 1,659,206 in fiscal year 2021.
Of those deported by ICE in fiscal year 2023, 69,902 had charges or previous convictions for criminal activity, while another 139 were known or suspected terrorists, data shows.
“Since the end of Title 42, we have returned or removed more than 470,000 individuals and, in fact, we are enforcing the laws that Congress has passed,” Mayorkas claimed. “The one issue about which there is unanimous agreement is that our system is broken and in need of legislative reform. That is the one thing upon which everybody agrees.”
The Daily Caller News Foundation obtained an April 2023 email outlining how the Biden administration pared down the vetting process for illegal immigrants from the People’s Republic of China.
“We are asking for more tools and resources and we are asking Congress to fix a fundamentally broken system,” Mayorkas said. “Our dedication to this effort is tireless and unrelenting.”
Tensions have emerged between congressional Republicans and the White House over H.R. 2, the House GOP’s border security bill.
Republicans in Congress have insisted that H.R. 2’s language be included in legislation providing foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, but the Biden administration and congressional Democrats have balked. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, by a 219-213 vote on May 11.
Some Republican members of the House of Representatives have called for Mayorkas to be impeached. One resolution offered by Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia was voted down Nov. 13.
House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green will lead impeach proceedings against Mayorkas, beginning with the Jan. 10 hearing.
Harold Hutchison on January 4, 2024
