Reps. Gaetz, Jordan grill Sec. Mayorkas over chaos at southern border

On Thursday, the House panel on the southern border continued its grilling of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Mayorkas faced fiery criticism from Reps. Matt Gaetz and Jim Jordan over his inability to control the chaos at the southern border.

"It's intentional," Rep. Jordan said. "It has to be. The chaos on our southern border is not an accident. It's deliberate, it's on purpose, it's by design."

"Americans want legal immigration," he continued. "President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas want illegal immigration. They want illegal migrants to come, stay, and never go home."

He then tore into Mayorkas for refusing to admit that an overwhelming number of illegal migrants are entering the United States.

"In the fifteen months Joe Biden has been president, 2,498,224 illegal migrants have been apprehended at our border; hundreds of thousands of others that we didn't catch, the 'gotaways,' have also entered our country, and the secretary says, 'the border is secure'."

Rep. Jordan pointed out that when it comes to illegal crossings, every month appears to be the worst on record until the next month comes and eclipses it.

He accused Sec. Mayorkas of "intentionally, deliberately, in a premeditated fashion" executing a plan that stresses not only the United States, but those making the journey north as well.

Rep. Gaetz echoed many of the points made by his fellow Republican, but focused in on the fact that many illegal migrants who have been ordered deported by the courts remain in the United States. Mayorkas responded by saying new legislation needs to be passed to "fix a broken immigration system."

"I think it's telling that you've got plans for pronouns, and you've got plans for misinformation," Rep. Gaetz said, referencing the recently created Disinformation Governance Board, "but when it comes to the plan to remove the people that have had due process you don't have one at all."

"You have the lowest deportation rate in the history of the department," Rep. Gaetz continued. "Everybody knows, that even if they come here, even if they go through the removal procedures, even if a judge issues a final order, you still think there might be more due process, and you have no plan to remove them."

"I don't buy the theory that you don't know how to do this," Rep. Gaetz told Sec. Mayorkas. "I think you're actually a highly competent dude. But the reality is, your plan is to bring these people in, and to send the message to the smugglers and the criminals, that they will never have to leave."