House GOP lawmakers on Tuesday emerged from a closed-door meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visibly frustrated, asserting they believe the administration needs to alter its course on United States-Mexico border policy.
Republican lawmakers in the Border Security Caucus laid out their concerns about the uptick in illegal immigrants crossing the border and the Biden administration’s decision to end Title 42, a Trump-era policy that allowed for migrants to be expelled quickly from the country during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After the rare briefing between the Cabinet official and House members from the minority party, lawmakers said they appreciated Mayorkas’s willingness to take their questions. But they asserted there is still a divide on how best to address the spike in border crossing numbers.
“The border is on fire, and the Biden administration isn’t going to do anything about it,” one GOP lawmaker who requested anonymity told the Washington Examiner.
Another member noted that DHS expects up to 18,000 migrants per day to enter the country illegally in the wake of Title 42 being revoked, which has been a cause for worry among Republicans.
“My takeaway is like, look, we’re having a conversation and we’re not yelling, it’s not in a hearing — just be honest about what’s going on. Other people took a slightly different approach, and that’s fine, but just tell me what the plan is,” the lawmaker said.
Rep. John Joyce described the meeting as a “lively discussion,” adding he believes the current approach doesn’t do enough to stop the surge of illicit drugs being smuggled through the southern border.
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“I respect the secretary for coming and presenting himself so that we could air our concerns that every state is a border state [and] that we have seen the rapid rise of drugs coming into our country,” said Joyce, a Pennsylvania Republican.
Rep. Kat Cammack, a Florida Republican, said that while she could not divulge details from the off-the-record meeting, she requested additional information and another meeting with the secretary.
“It was frustrating, mind-numbingly frustrating,” said Cammack. “There were several requests made. We’ll find out if the secretary’s honest.”
Rep. Darrell Issa said that while he disagrees with the administration’s handling of the border, dialogue between Republicans and Mayorkas was a positive step.
“The secretary was prepared, he was gracious, he came into a situation in which he knew he had no friends or supporters,” said Issa, a California Republican. “He came, with answers to our questions, if not answers to our request for policy changes.”
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Mayorkas is expected to testify before Congress publicly later this month, two sources confirmed.
