House GOP Moves Quickly To Probe Biden Border Policies

Members of the U.S. National Guard stand at the U.S.-Mexico border Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in El Paso, Texas. Chief Justice John Roberts has temporarily blocked an end to pandemic-era border restrictions as the US Supreme Court reviews them. Republican state officials are waging a legal battle to protect the rules.

© Bloomberg Members of the U.S. National Guard at the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, U.S., Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. Chief Justice John Roberts has temporarily blocked the timeline for an early end to the pandemic at the US Supreme Court. period boundary constraints. The courts are considering proposals by Republican state officials to maintain order in the trial.

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- With a new majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans rushed to hold hearings in February to obtain documents on what they call the U.S. border crisis and President Joe Biden's policies. and his secretary of homeland security. Alejandro Mallorcas

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Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer said Thursday that the Feb. 6 public hearing will "hold the Biden administration accountable for the ongoing humanitarian, national and public health crises affecting every city that transforms the border city."

Four U.S. Border Patrol agents will testify in court, according to Comer, R-Kentucky.

"The US immigration system is designed to be 'safe, orderly and humane'. It is not," Comer said in a letter to Mallorca on Thursday.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the document.

The government has responded to criticism by saying it is trying to address the root causes of migration to the United States and that it will take time to implement policies that combine tougher enforcement with new opportunities for some immigrants to enter the country legally.

More hearings await as Republican lawmakers highlight one of the government's biggest weaknesses. The Department of Homeland Security has struggled to cope with record numbers of immigrants at the southern border since Biden took office, and some Republicans have even threatened to fire the mayor.

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The Judiciary Committee plans to hold a hearing on border security in late January or early February. Mark Green of Tennessee, recently elected chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said last week that he expected Mallorcas to head his desk soon. Green added that he plans to hire border agents to brief lawmakers on the situation there.

On Thursday, Comer urged the mayor to develop strategies to disrupt illegal border crossings, reduce the risk of terrorists entering the country and speed up the seizure of fentanyl and other drugs.

"The committee requests documents and information to help us understand DHS policies, the cost of the crisis-escalating emergency response, and the national security risks these policies pose," Comer ordered Mayorkas to provide the documents by February. 2.

(Update with letter comments in fourth paragraph. Name of committee that edited earlier version of story in second paragraph)