The reason Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said there are fewer problems now at the U.S.-Mexico border is because his department is letting illegal immigrants "flow through the port of entry," said Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J.
"Let's understand something. Illegal is illegal, and this is illegal. You have to go through a process to integrate into the United States of America and these folks — they're just letting them in. So they're saying it's better; it's not better. It's actually worse than ever," Van Drew told Newsmax's "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE" Wednesday after Mayorkas testified before the House Judiciary Committee.
Van Drew also said Mayorkas had "no answer" to questions about the 140 or 150 known terrorists who have entered the country illegally.
Asked by several Republican lawmakers about the status of terrorists who have entered the U.S. illegally, Mayorkas mostly hedged, telling Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., he "would be pleased to provide you with that information with respect to the individuals encountered at the southwest border."
"We only know of the terrorists that have been caught. We don't know the ones that have snuck through," Van Drew said.
"They're throughout all of our country. And I don't want folks to think because they live in another state — they don't live in Texas, or they don't live in Arizona — that's it not affecting them, because it is.
"It is affecting the whole country, and it's going to be problematic for the whole country. Cartels have moved into the United States of America. They're operating businesses; they're extorting; they're doing all that they've done in Mexico."
Mayorkas' appearance before the House Judiciary Committee came as the Biden administration's immigration policies face legal attacks from across the political spectrum, despite a steep drop last month in the number of border crossings.
The secretary said illegal border crossings have been falling since the peak that came before Title 42, a public health law allowing curbs on migration in the name of protecting public health. The policy was instituted under former President Donald Trump in March 2020 as part of an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Biden administration ended Title 42 in May.
Republicans zeroed in on the influx of fentanyl into the country, blaming Mayorkas for the number of overdoses that have happened across American communities in the past several years.
"The fentanyl killing thousands of Americans every year is a direct result of your dereliction," said Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo. "When people die of fentanyl poisoning, it is your fault."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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