The head of the House Homeland Security Committee says Republican efforts to secure the southern border are “certainly not going to stop now” despite the ongoing chaos in the GOP caucus over the removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker.
Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., in a statement to Fox News Digital, noted the passage of the Secure the Border Act – known as H.R. 2 – earlier this year as well as the escalating crisis at the border.
“The fight to secure our border didn’t stop when the House passed H.R. 2, and it’s certainly not going to stop now,” Green wrote. “Things have only gotten worse at the Southwest border, as monthly encounters have continued to rise since June – and they’re only going to continue to spiral, given the host of mass-parole and other catch-and-release programs Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas has put in place.”
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Migrants move into Eagle Pass, Texas, on Sept. 20, 2023. (Fox News)
McCarthy was removed from his speakership by a narrow vote on Tuesday, with eight Republicans joining all Democrats in voting in favor of the motion to vacate that was introduced late Monday by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.
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The ouster of McCarthy has led to speculation that the chaos could hurt the Republican agenda in the chamber as lawmakers prepare to elect a new speaker. In the Senate, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., warned that the chaos makes it “harder to talk about the failed Biden presidency and address our broken southern border.” Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., accused the Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy of hurting efforts to secure the southern border.
Rep. Mark Green, a Republican from Tennessee, speaks during a news conference at the Capitol on April 27, 2023. (Ting Shen / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Green, however, noted the DHS appropriations bill that was passed last week, which he said “injects accountability into DHS, and rejects Secretary Mayorkas’ request for funding that would actually make the crisis worse by further funding CBP’s mass process-and-release operation.”
He also reaffirmed the committee’s commitment to investigating Mayorkas for what it has called a “dereliction of duty.” The committee launched an investigation into Mayorkas’ handling of the crisis and recently released a report that accused him of having ceded control of the border to Mexican cartels.
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“The House Committee on Homeland Security will continue to expose Secretary Mayorkas’ dereliction of duty, and work to hold him accountable for his failed policies and misrepresentations to Congress,” Green said. “House Republicans have the right solutions on border security, and we’re going to see them through.”
Republicans have hammered the administration on the ongoing crisis at the southern border, blaming the historic numbers on the Biden administration’s policies – including its rolling back of Trump-era policies.
The administration has said that Congress needs to provide more funding and pass legislation to fix the “broken” system within which it says it is working. It has also said that the situation has been improved by its policies to expand lawful migration pathways while implementing “consequences” for illegal entry since the ending of the Title 42 public health order in May.
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But the crisis only appears to be escalating in recent months. Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox News last week that there were more than 260,000 encounters in September, which would be the highest monthly total on record.