Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray were grilled by Representative Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) on the southern border during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing, and needless to say, he did not mince words, accusing Wray specifically of dereliction of duty.
Rep. Gimenez began by asking Sec. Mayorkas if he agreed with President Biden reversing former President Donald Trump's border policies, to which Mayorkas answered yes. From here, the next question was what specific dynamic Mayorkas and Biden have when changing and implementing border policy.
"Have you relayed that to the President, and has he said that he is in agreement with your recommendations, or has he made recommendations to you? Or are you actually given your orders and say, 'No, I want to do this?' Do you agree with everything, all the policies that have been implemented since you have been the Secretary of Homeland Security?" asked Rep. Gimenez.
Mayorkas said he would "not get into the specifics of [his] conversations," so Gimenez pivoted to Director Wray and how funding at the border has not changed since Fiscal Year 2020. Yet the number of migrant encounters increased by 400% in a single year, from 458,000 in 2020 to 1.7 million in 2021 and 2.378 million in 2022.
"There was really no significant change in funding," Gimenez highlighted, "So this whole narrative that somehow funding is the issue on things is not the issue. The issue is policy," he continued, making a familiar statement.
Including the number of gotaways, we have massive numbers of people in the country who "We haven't the faintest idea who they are, we do not know where they came from, we do not know where they are, and we do not know why they are here. And so again, Director Wray, does that pose a threat to the security of the United States?" Gimenez asked.
Wray answered that the population is "a serious concern for us," yet did not elaborate further.
As a result, Gimenez pointed out that the Mexican drug cartels just over the border have killed over 100,000 Americans every year selling fentanyl, "and we do nothing about it."
"They are right there, we know who they are, we know where they are operating, and we do nothing about it. That is a dereliction of duty," the Florida Congressman concluded.
