Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois praised Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday for his “historic” performance, despite a massive influx of illegal immigrants flooding over the southern border.
Mayorkas testified at a hearing of the House Appropriations Committee’s Homeland Security Subcommittee titled “Budget Hearing – Fiscal Year 2025 Request for the Department of Homeland Security.” Underwood cited fentanyl seizures and the safety of travelers, while ignoring the border, as she praised Mayorkas. (RELATED: A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security)
“Secretary Mayorkas, your tenure at the Department of Homeland Security has been historic in so many ways,” Underwood said. “You face so many challenges in a really complicated threat environment and, at the same time, during your tenure DHS has seized over 43,000 pounds of fentanyl last year alone, ensured the safety and security of nearly 850 million travelers in 2023, which has a record setting year in air travel.”
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“You’ve exceeded your goal of new hires for women in law enforcement, you work to keep our kids safe by identifying or rescuing over 11,000 child victims on online sexual exploitation and abuse, and yet you faced unprecedented vicious and personal campaign against you and your staff at the Department of Homeland Security from my colleagues on the right and even a baseless impeachment effort,” Underwood continued.
The House impeached Mayorkas by a 214-213 vote on Feb. 13.
Mayorkas has claimed that the border is secure on multiple occasions. Border Patrol encountered 2.2 million migrants in fiscal year 2022 and 2 million in fiscal year 2023, according to Customs and Border Protection data.
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