AUSTIN, Texas — An embattled Biden administration official who will face impeachment proceedings later this week traveled to the southern border Monday to praise federal law enforcement’s response to historically high illegal immigration numbers.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas traveled to Eagle Pass, Texas, where he told reporters his main goal was to celebrate DHS agents and officers who encountered a record-high 300,000 non-U.S. citizens who tried to enter the United States without permission in December.
“The main reason I came to Eagle Pass today was to meet with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection workforce,” Mayorkas told reporters. “These public servants are heroes. … They are incredibly talented, dedicated, courageous, and selfless.”
Mayorkas said he spent the day with Eagle Pass officials and with DHS personnel one on one.
“They rescued migrants in distress, and they overcame unfortunate obstacles along the way,” Mayorkas said. “They are to be recognized and commended, and that is why I am here today.”
Mayorkas, who was confirmed by the Senate in January 2021, said last month’s immigration surge at the southern border was due to a lapse in funding for Mexico’s immigration agency and the holiday season.
Border Patrol agents have not been happy to receive Mayorkas during his past visits and have questioned his decision-making in handling the border crisis.
The Monday visit follows a major congressional delegation’s trip to the same town last week. Nearly a third of all House Republicans traveled to the epicenter of the border crisis last Wednesday.
In less than 48 hours, the House Homeland Security Committee on Capitol Hill will begin to decide Mayorkas’s fate as a Cabinet official. The panel will hold a hearing Wednesday to determine if he is derelict of duty in responding to the border, which could result in his being effectively fired by the House.
Mayorkas has not indicated whether he would resign if impeached by the House, but he is not likely to be forced out by Congress as a whole. The Democratic-controlled Senate is not expected to take the issue to trial.
Mayorkas was confronted by at least one Border Patrol agent during his visit to El Paso, Texas, in December 2022 about his response to the millions of illegal immigration attempts at the U.S.-Mexico border since President Joe Biden took office, according to three government officials.
