FIRST ON FOX: A top House committee is doubling down on its efforts to get documents from the Biden administration about Vice President Kamala Harris’ role in what lawmakers call “the worst border crisis in American history.”
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., wrote to acting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Troy Miller following up on a request last month for documents and communications between Harris’ office and CBP.
“It is important the Committee and the American people understand Vice President Harris’s role as the border czar in the ongoing border crisis,” Comer said in the letter obtained by Fox News Digital.
TOP HOUSE COMMITTEE DEMANDS INTERNAL DOCS ON HARRIS’ ROLE IN BORDER CRISIS: ‘ABJECT FAILURE’
Rep. James Comer speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center on April 30, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“The mass illegal entry and release of illegal aliens into the United States under the Biden-Harris Administration has contributed to murders, sexual assaults, and serious bodily injuries committed against numerous Americans at the hands of illegal aliens. These crimes should have never happened.”
The letter notes a number of crimes more recently committed allegedly by illegal immigrants, including one by an MS-13 gang member and a rape in New York City, allegedly by two migrants.
Comer says the committee set an Aug 20., deadline, reiterating the request on Aug. 20 and Sept. 6. It now sets a deadline of Oct. 1 and Comer threatens additional action if the request is not met.
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“If CBP continues to withhold documents and communications on this matter, the Committee will consider alternative measures to obtain this information, including through the compulsory process,” he says.
The fight over the documents comes amid an ongoing debate about who is responsible for the border crisis and which presidential candidate is best suited to fix it. Republicans have blamed the crisis on the policies of the Biden-Harris administration, saying that the historic three-year crisis came as a direct result of the rolling back of Trump-era policies and the implementation of what they say are “open borders” policies by the administration.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundations Phoenix Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
They have focused on Harris due to her role tackling “root causes” of migration, which she was given in 2021. It led to her being dubbed the “border czar,” but it’s a title the White House rejected.
The Biden administration has argued it is dealing with a historic hemisphere-wide crisis that needs more funding and immigration reform from Congress to fix a “broken” system. It has pointed to a sharp decrease in numbers since Biden signed an executive order limiting arrivals in June.
Officials say there has been a more than 50% decrease in encounters since then, including August encounters that were 68% lower than August 2023.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS
Harris, meanwhile, has been critical of former President Trump for not supporting bipartisan legislation introduced earlier this year that conservatives said would regularize high numbers, but supporters said would increase funding to the border and limit entries into the U.S.
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“Last year, Joe and I brought together Democrats and conservative Republicans to write the strongest border bill in decades. The Border Patrol endorsed it. But Donald Trump believes a border deal would hurt his campaign, so he ordered his allies in Congress to kill the deal. Well, I refuse to play politics with our security, and here is my pledge to you: As president, I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that he killed, and I will sign it into law,” she said at the Democratic National Convention last month.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the vice president said Republicans “continue to block a bipartisan border security bill supported by the Biden-Harris Administration and a bipartisan group of Senators.”
“This Administration has delivered record border security funding, and continues to fight to ensure the border is properly resourced, including by deploying cutting-edge fentanyl-detection machines. The Administration’s executive actions have brought unauthorized crossings to a lower level than when Trump left office,” spokesperson Ernesto Apreza told Fox News Digital. “President Biden and Vice President Harris are leading on border security solutions while congressional Republicans continue to exploit the issue to score political points.”