Senators Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham teamed up to send a letter to DHS Secretary Mayorkas putting him on notice that he is failing miserably at doing his job. The letter concludes with a warning that when the House goes to Republican majority control after the November midterm elections, his dereliction of duty may be grounds for impeachment.

The message is clear. Lawmakers want answers. The senators say that members of Congress have sent “countless letters” to DHS asking for explanations as to why the Biden border crisis has gone unaddressed for over a year and a half.

The letter says that according to recent statements from Mayorkas and others in the Biden administration, the border is secure though the crisis rages on. Vice-President Kamala Harris shares the same delusion. The Biden administration suffers from a “complete disconnect from reality.” They even included White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s insistence that “It’s not just that people are walking across the border.” Of course, we know that is exactly what is happening at the border. Migrants are literally walking across the border.

The senators use the department’s own numbers as proof of the absolute failure to secure the border.

The conclusion that you have been derelict in your duties is supported by data from your own department. Since you assumed office as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 19 months ago, there have been over 4.4 million illegal crossings, including over 3.5
million apprehensions by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)1 and at least 900,000 gotaways, who evaded apprehension.2

These astronomically high numbers are due in no small part to the political decision to rescind a number of President Trump’s policies that were stemming the flow of illegal aliens and illicit drugs across the southern border. Withdrawing the Remain in Mexico policy, ending Title 42
expulsions, terminating border wall construction contracts, and countless other decisions, coupled with your own lax border policies, act as “pull” factors that have encouraged millions of aliens to undertake the dangerous journey to the U.S.-Mexico border.

As a result of these political decisions, the United States has seen historic all-time highs of illegal
crossings along our southern border, including:

* 2,150,639 illegal alien encounters by CBP on the southern border in fiscal year 2022, the
most ever in a single year.3
* 1,734,686 encounters in fiscal year 2021, the second-most ever in a single year.
* 241,166 encounters in May 2022 alone, the most ever encounters in a single month.
* 235,706 encounters in April 2022 alone, the second-most ever encounters in a single month.

These record-high numbers stand in stark contrast to the levels of illegal immigration this
country saw under President Trump:

* 279% increase in encounters with illegal aliens by CBP along the southern border from fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2021.
* 437% increase in encounters from the same point in fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2022 year-to-date.
* 528% increase from June 2020 to June 2022.
* 930% increase—nearly tenfold—from May 2020 to May 2022.

The numbers are staggering, and Mayorkas has not been held accountable. The senators pointed to the fentanyl crisis and the drug cartels running operations along the border. The opioid epidemic killed 108,000 Americans last year.

Something not spoken about enough is the national security threat that comes from the open border.

The chaos at the southern border also presents a prime opportunity for terrorists to enter the United States undetected. Border Patrol has apprehended at least 78 individuals on the Terrorist Screening Database between ports of entry thus far in fiscal year 2022.11 That is more than twice as many apprehended in the past five fiscal years combined.

This uptick in known and suspected terrorists attempting to enter the United States should come as no surprise following our disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. We know that the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan has created a safe-haven for al-Qaeda. Terrorists likely have
noticed that our southern border is unsecured and are seeking to take advantage of it, if they haven’t already. With over 900,000 gotaways under you and President Biden to date, it is a near certainty that terrorists have already entered the United States undetected, taking advantage of
the lenient border policies you have put into place. It is only a matter of time until we will see an attack on American soil from such terrorists.

Graham and Cruz serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee. They both have asked with Mayorkas and the Biden White House on numerous times to address the Biden border crisis. They have visited the border six times in the last two years. Neither Sleepy Joe nor the border czar, Kamala, have bothered to visit the border since they have been in the White House.

I’m not under any illusion that this letter will do anything to wake Mayorkas up to the fact that we see what the administration is doing and the Biden border crisis is an intentional act. There is no other explanation. It’s a dereliction of duty, though. The president’s first obligation is to secure the homeland. He has not. Mayorkas plays Biden’s useful idiot. It will be interesting to see what happens when the House is under Republican control. Biden will still be president so his failing policies will still rule but let the investigations begin. DHS is long overdue for some real oversight.