Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, on Thursday, became the first senator to call for President Biden's Homeland Security secretary to resign for his handling of the southern border as tens of thousands of people are apprehended trying to come into the United States illegally each week.
“It is clear to me the Biden Administration has lost control of the border. Under its current leadership, it doesn’t have either the will or capability to fix the problem," Graham, a South Carolinian who supported former President Donald Trump, said in a statement issued late Thursday morning. “It is time for DHS Secretary Mayorkas to change course or change jobs. The situation is bad and only going to get worse. Unless there is immediate and drastic change, the worst is yet to come — by far.”
SMUGGLERS PUSH TRIPLE-DIGIT GROUPS OF FAMILIES AND CHILDREN ACROSS BORDER, THREATENING BIDEN AGENDA
Mayorkas testified before Congress Wednesday about the crisis and defended the Biden administration's decision not to turn away children who arrive without parents.
Republicans called for Mayorkas to use the term "crisis," while others criticized the language he used on March 1 when he said during a White House briefing that "we are not saying don't come, we're saying don't come now."
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Several Republicans inquired about the number of migrants who have been released from federal custody into the U.S., where they will wait several years before resolving immigration claims. Mayorkas said he did not know how many had been released since Jan. 20 or how many have tested positive for COVID-19. Customs and Border Protection, the agency that oversees Border Patrol, will begin testing migrants in its custody but has not yet done so.
