[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
A REVIEW OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2022 BUDGET REQUEST FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JUNE 17, 2021
__________
Serial No. 117-19
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
45-457 PDF WASHINGTON : 2021
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi, Chairman
Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas John Katko, New York
James R. Langevin, Rhode Island Michael T. McCaul, Texas
Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey Clay Higgins, Louisiana
J. Luis Correa, California Michael Guest, Mississippi
Elissa Slotkin, Michigan Dan Bishop, North Carolina
Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri Jefferson Van Drew, New Jersey
Al Green, Texas Ralph Norman, South Carolina
Yvette D. Clarke, New York Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa
Eric Swalwell, California Diana Harshbarger, Tennessee
Dina Titus, Nevada Andrew S. Clyde, Georgia
Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey Carlos A. Gimenez, Florida
Kathleen M. Rice, New York Jake LaTurner, Kansas
Val Butler Demings, Florida Peter Meijer, Michigan
Nanette Diaz Barragan, California Kat Cammack, Florida
Josh Gottheimer, New Jersey August Pfluger, Texas
Elaine G. Luria, Virginia Andrew R. Garbarino, New York
Tom Malinowski, New Jersey
Ritchie Torres, New York
Hope Goins, Staff Director
Daniel Kroese, Minority Staff Director
Natalie Nixon, Clerk
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Statements
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress
From the State of Mississippi, and Chairman, Committee on
Homeland Security:
Oral Statement................................................. 1
Prepared Statement............................................. 3
The Honorable John Katko, a Representative in Congress From the
State of New York, and Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland
Security:
Oral Statement................................................. 4
Prepared Statement............................................. 6
Witness
Hon. Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary, United States Department
of Homeland Security:
Oral Statement................................................. 8
Prepared Statement............................................. 9
For the Record
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress
From the State of Mississippi, and Chairman, Committee on
Homeland Security:
Letter......................................................... 59
The Honorable Dan Bishop, a Representative in Congress From the
State of North Carolina:
Charts......................................................... 26
The Honorable Andrew S. Clyde, a Representative in Congress From
the State of Georgia:
Letters........................................................ 43
Appendix
Questions From Chairman Bennie G. Thompson for Alejandro N.
Mayorkas....................................................... 61
Questions From Honorable Josh Gottheimer for Alejandro N.
Mayorkas....................................................... 61
Questions From Honorable Clay Higgins for Alejandro N. Mayorkas.. 63
Question From Honorable Michael Guest for Alejandro N. Mayorkas.. 64
A REVIEW OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2022 BUDGET REQUEST FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY
----------
Thursday, June 17, 2021
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Homeland Security,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 8:30 a.m., via
Webex, Hon. Bennie G. Thompson [Chairman of the committee]
presiding.
Present: Representatives Thompson, Jackson Lee, Langevin,
Payne, Correa, Slotkin, Green, Clarke, Titus, Watson Coleman,
Rice, Demings, Barragan, Luria, Malinowski, Torres, Katko,
McCaul, Higgins, Guest, Bishop, Van Drew, Norman, Miller-Meeks,
Harshbarger, Clyde, LaTurner, Meijer, Cammack, Pfluger, and
Garbarino.
Chairman Thompson. The Committee on Homeland Security will
come to order. The committee is meeting today to review the
fiscal year 2022 budget request for the Department of Homeland
Security. Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare
the committee in recess at any point. The gentlewoman from New
Jersey, Mrs. Watson Coleman, shall assume the duties of the
Chair in the event I run into any technical difficulties.
Before we begin, in light of the Speaker's revised pandemic
policy announcement on Monday, I want to take the opportunity
to commit to working with the Ranking Member to ensure orderly,
and most importantly, safe return to in-person committee
operations once the House is no longer in a declared public
health emergency pursuant to House Resolution 8. The health and
welfare of Members, witnesses, and staff should not be a
political issue and I look forward to returning to in-person
committee hearings soon.
With that, I welcome the Members and our witness, the
Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, to today's
hearing. Secretary Mayorkas testified before the committee in
March regarding the way forward for the Department. We are
pleased to have him here today to discuss DHS's 2022 budget
request.
Overall, the Biden administration is requesting $52 billion
for DHS, roughly equal to the fiscal year 2021 funding level.
Though there is always room for improvement, the
administration's request would provide the Department with the
resources necessary to meet its diverse and ever-evolving
mission. The request prioritizes funding to improve Federal
cybersecurity, respond to heightened domestic terrorism
threats, and enhance border capabilities. It invests in
creating a fairer and more equitable immigration system,
preparing local communities for the effects of natural
disasters, and revitalizing the Department's research and
development capabilities. It further seeks to strengthen
National resiliency in these critical areas. Many of these
homeland security priorities were all but ignored by the last
administration. I am pleased the Biden administration is giving
these matters the attention and resources they demand.
Members will have questions for you, Mr. Secretary, about
areas where additional resources will be necessary, such as
homeland security grants to States and local governments and
cybersecurity funding given the recent cyber attacks. Be
assured we will be engaging the administration on these funding
needs as the appropriations process moves forward. Beyond the
budget, the committee looks forward to working with the
Department on a range of pressing legislative and policy
matters. For example, we look forward to working with the
administration completing the nomination process for the
Department and seeing competent, Senate-confirmed individuals
leading DHS's components, agencies, and offices once again.
I urge you, Mr. Secretary, to help ensure these remaining
nominees reflect the diversity of the Homeland Department you
seek to secure. With respect to legislation, we are ready to
help to bring about the transformational reforms you outlined
for the TSA work force earlier this month. That means enacting
H.R. 903, the Rights for TSA Workforce Act, to provide better
pay and protections to a work force that has steadfastly
protected our transportation systems even in the face of
Government shutdowns and COVID.
I also believe that we can come together to bolster
cybersecurity. For 4 years, we struggled with a lack of
consistent leadership from the White House on cybersecurity
issues, and late last year, the chickens came home to roost as
the Russians infiltrated Federal networks with a sophisticated
supply chain attack. More recently, the country felt the
effects of a series of ransomware attacks, including the attack
on Colonial Pipeline. From Day 1, the Biden administration has
sought to improve Federal network defenses, better manage
supply chain risk, and work with the private sector to improve
cybersecurity across critical infrastructure sectors. Much more
must be done to provide funding, personnel, and authorities to
address this growing threat.
Increasingly, we see growing support for changes in the law
to require reporting of certain ransomware attacks and cyber
intrusions, particularly when the operation of most critical of
critical infrastructure systems are implicated. With your
partnership, Mr. Secretary, I think we can get there. I also
think we can help shore up cybersecurity at the State and local
level by ensuring dedicated grant funding is available as the
committee seeks to do with H.R. 3138, the State and Local
Cybersecurity Improvement Act.
Beyond these two areas, with your engagement, we have an
opportunity to put the Department on a far better footing in
addressing its long-standing morale, acquisition, and
management challenges in a comprehensive bill. With respect to
policy matters, I want to commend the administration's release
this week of the first-ever National Strategy for Countering
Domestic Terrorism, a promise the President made on Day 1 in
the wake of the events of January 6. We look forward to
examining the strategy in both depth and hearing more detail
from the DHS, the intelligence community, and the other
agencies tasked with the important work and the bold plans they
have to implement the strategic vision that President Biden has
set forth.
Finally, I would note that you join us today, Mr.
Secretary, straight from your trip to Mexico this week where
you engaged your counterparts on border security and
facilitation matters. Your visit followed Vice President
Harris' recent trip to Mexico and Central America to work with
Government leaders on addressing root causes of migration. More
remains to be done, but I am pleased the Biden administration
is doing the hard work necessary to address the situation at
the border for the long term, while prioritizing a more secure
border and more humane immigration system today.
Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here, and the committee
looks forward to working with you on these critical issues and
positioning DHS for success in all its missions.
[The statement of Chairman Thompson follows:]
Statement of Chairman Bennie G. Thompson
June 17, 2021
I welcome the Members and our witness, Secretary of Homeland
Security Alejandro Mayorkas. Secretary Mayorkas testified before the
committee in March regarding the way forward for the Department, and we
are pleased to have him here today to discuss DHS's 2022 budget
request.
Overall, the Biden administration is requesting $52 BILLION for
DHS, roughly equal to the fiscal year 2021 funding level. Though there
is always room for improvement, the administration's request would
provide the Department with the resources necessary to meet its diverse
and ever-evolving mission. The request prioritizes funding to improve
Federal cybersecurity, respond to heightened domestic terrorism
threats, and enhance border capabilities. It invests in creating a more
fair and equitable immigration system, preparing local communities for
the effects of natural disasters, and revitalizing the Department's
research and development capabilities. It further seeks to strengthen
National resiliency in these crucial areas. Many of these homeland
security priorities were all but ignored by the last administration. I
am pleased the Biden administration is giving these matters the
attention and resources they demand.
Members will have questions for you, Mr. Secretary, about areas
where additional resources will be necessary, such as a homeland
security grants to State and local governments and cybersecurity
funding given recent cyber attacks. Be assured will be engaging the
administration on these funding needs as the appropriations process
moves forward. Beyond the budget, the committee looks forward to
working with the Department on a range of pressing legislative and
policy matters. For example, we look forward to the administration
completing the nominations process for the Department and seeing
competent, Senate-confirmed individuals leading DHS components,
agencies, and offices once again.
I urge you, Mr. Secretary, to help ensure those remaining nominees
reflect the diversity of the homeland your Department seeks to secure.
With respect to legislation, we are ready to help bring about the
transformational reforms you outlined for the TSA workforce earlier
this month. That means enacting H.R. 903, the ``Rights for TSA
Workforce Act,'' to provide better pay and protections to this
workforce that has steadfastly protected our transportation systems
even in the face of Government shutdowns and COVID.
I also believe that we can come together to bolster cybersecurity.
For 4 years, we struggled with a lack of consistent leadership from the
White House on cybersecurity issues, and late last year, the chickens
came home to roost as the Russians infiltrated Federal networks with a
sophisticated supply chain attack. More recently, the country has felt
the effects of a series of ransomware attacks, including the attack on
Colonial Pipeline. From Day 1, the Biden administration has sought to
improve Federal network defenses, better manage supply chain risk, and
work with the private sector to improve cybersecurity across critical
infrastructure sectors. Much more must be done to provide funding,
personnel, and authorities to address this growing threat.
Increasingly, we see support growing for changes in the law to
require the reporting of certain ransomware attacks and cyber
intrusions--particularly when the operations of most critical of
critical infrastructure systems are implicated. With your partnership,
Mr. Secretary, I think we can get there.
I also think we can help shore up cybersecurity at the State and
Local level by ensuring dedicated grant funding is available as the
committee seeks to do with H.R. 3138, the ``State and Local
Cybersecurity Improvement Act.''
Beyond these 2 areas, with your engagement, we have an opportunity
to put the Department on a far better footing and address its long-
standing morale, acquisitions, and management challenges in a
comprehensive bill. With respect to policy matters, I want to commend
the administration's release this week of the first-ever National
Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism--a promise the President
made on Day 1 in the wake of the events of January 6. We look forward
to examining this strategy in depth and hearing more details from the
DHS, the intelligence community, and the other agencies tasked with
this important work and the bold plans they have to implement the
strategic vision that President Biden has set forth.
Finally, I would note that you join us today, Mr. Secretary,
straight from your trip to Mexico this week, where you engaged your
counterparts on border security and facilitation matters. Your visit
follows Vice President Harris' recent trip to Mexico and Central
America to work with government leaders on addressing root causes of
migration. More remains to be done, but I am pleased the Biden
administration is doing the hard work necessary to address the
situation at the border for the long term, while prioritizing a more
secure border and more humane immigration system today.
Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here, and the committee looks
forward to working with you on these critical issues and positioning
DHS for success in all its missions.
Chairman Thompson. With that, I recognize the Ranking
Member, the gentleman from New York, Mr. Katko for an opening
statement.
Mr. Katko. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased that the
committee is holding this hearing to examine President Biden's
2022 budget request. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for taking time
to appear before the committee today.
Mr. Secretary, a lot has happened in the homeland since you
first appeared before this committee back in March.
Unfortunately, a lot of it has been anything but encouraging.
So, I look forward to talking about those challenges and how we
can work together. I also hope to soon be conducting these
hearings in person and I am very encouraged by Mr.--I am very
encouraged to have these hearings in person, and I am also very
encouraged that the Chairman has noted that that is going to be
happening soon.
Today, we have a full complement of Republican Members here
who are ready to make room on the dais and work alongside our
Democratic colleagues to conduct the important work of this
committee in a bipartisan manner. Mr. Secretary, I don't envy
the job you have today. The President has submitted the largest
budget request by far in the history of the United States, $6
trillion. Sadly, if this fiscally irresponsible budget is
enacted, our children and our children's children, at a
minimum, will be paying for it. A burden we should not place on
future generations. Despite its high price tag, this budget
request is out of touch with reality and more importantly,
fails to prioritize many of today's most pressing homeland
security threats.
To give you a few examples, the Department of Homeland
Security is asking for $76 million for electric vehicles, but
there are no additional appropriations requested for new Border
Patrol agents. CBP's net discretionary budget has a reduction
of $280 million. Overall, the fiscal year 2022 budget asks for
less than .5 percent of an increase for 3 key homeland security
law enforcement components: Customs and Border Protection, ICE,
and the Coast Guard. When proposed funding for pay increases is
set aside, these 3 agencies show a decrease from their enacted
levels in the fiscal year 2022 request.
On the cyber front, the budget requests a 29 percent
increase for the Department of Energy cyber activities, but
only a 6 percent increase for CISA. The Biden budget simply
fails to reflect the priorities that are critical to the
defense of the homeland. So, I do not envy you having to come
before the committee and defend this request on behalf of the
administration.
I honestly just don't know how it is possible to spend that
much money on a grab bag full of far-left proposals, while
somehow neglecting to adequately defend the homeland.
Particularly, given the rash of major cyber attacks we have had
recently. Mr. Secretary, unfortunately since you were last
before the committee, the crisis at the border has not gotten
better. In fact, it is trending worse. Just last week, Customs
and Border Protection announced that over 180,000 migrants were
encountered along the Southwest Border in the month of May
alone, including 121,000 single adults, over 44,600 family
units, and over 14,000 unaccompanied minors.
We have also become numb to these numbers, but they
continue to be staggering. The 180,000 number represents a 675
percent increase. Let me say that again, a 675 percent increase
from May 2020. Despite these numbers, by eliminating border
wall funding, President Biden is allowing cartels, smugglers,
criminals, and traffickers to continue exploiting the border.
Sadly, neither the President nor the Vice President has even
bothered to visit the border. In fact, in a recent interview,
Vice President Harris laughed off the idea, even though in
theory, President Biden has put her in charge of the crisis.
This is not a laughing matter.
One aspect of this crisis that has been highlighted and
truly makes every State a border State, is the explosion of
illegal drugs that have been streaming across the border. This
particularly impacts my district in central New York and so
many other communities across this country. According to
Customs and Border Protection, drug seizures were up 18 percent
in May from April 2021. Methamphetamine seizures were up 53
percent. Heroin seizures were up and so was fentanyl. There is
enough fentanyl that crossed the border this year already to
kill every man, woman, and child in the United States. Try and
digest that.
Customs and Border Protection continues to see an alarming
surge in fentanyl seizures at 56 percent higher than May 2021,
than all of--through May 2021 through--let me rephrase that--
which are 56 percent higher through May of fiscal year 2021
than all of fiscal year 2020. This means that more than 600
pounds of deadly fentanyl was seized every month for the last
12 months, and that is a record. In the last 6 months alone,
Border Patrol seized 5,400 pounds of fentanyl, enough lethal
doses to kill 1.2 billion people, or the entire population of
the United States more than 3 times over.
More than 90,000 Americans died of overdoses between
September 2019 and September 2020. Last year, drug overdose
deaths rose by more than 27 percent in New York State alone.
That is completely unacceptable, and Homeland Republicans will
continue pressuring the administration to reverse its
disastrous Executive Orders and work with us on stronger border
security measures.
Mr. Secretary, the last time you were here, I stated that I
did not want to be a bomb thrower, but wanted to work with you
on solutions, and that offer remains. I have introduced several
bipartisan bills including H.R. 2321 that would require
Homeland Security and Federal partners to establish an agile
plan to respond to irregular migration surges with benchmarks
in place for activation. This legislation has received
bipartisan support in the Senate, and a Senate companion is
coming soon.
I would ask that you look at this legislation, as I believe
it is a common-sense approach to at least our front-line law
enforcement in managing the crisis at the border. While the
President's request makes modest increases to CISA's budget,
CISA needs sustained, robust funding to carry out its mission
and nimbly respond to evolving threats. In the past 6 months,
CISA has worked to mitigate multiple significant cyber
incidents facing Federal networks, as well as a sharp increase
in devastating ransomware attacks on our Nation's critical
infrastructure.
Unfortunately, ransomware attacks are becoming a more
pervasive threat and I feel that we, as a country, continue to
fall further and further behind and we continue to play defense
instead of being on offense when we are at our strongest. I am
concerned that the President's budget included a sharper
increase for other Federal cybersecurity efforts, but not CISA.
Especially given the attacks CISA is tasked to defend.
How can CISA be expected to continue to address these cyber
threats head-on with such a small budget, given that the global
financial impact of these cyber attacks amounts to over $1
trillion annually? Try to digest that. Over $1 trillion
annually is the cost of these cyber attacks and we are not
really doing much about it with CISA.
You have also acknowledged that CISA needs to be the
quarterback for the .gov domain, and I appreciate that. I fully
agree, but this budget fails to do that. I believe that CISA
needs to be a $5 billion agency in 5 years, and that is not
going to happen with meager increases like you propose in this
budget. I look forward to hearing from the Secretary today, but
like I said, I do not envy his job. This budget proposal
manages to somehow be incredibly bloated, while at the same
time, lack the funding we need to protect the homeland. Thank
you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
[The statement of Ranking Member Katko follows:]
Statement of Ranking Member John Katko
Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing to examine
President Biden's 2022 budget request, and thank you, Mr. Secretary,
for taking time to appear before the committee today. Mr. Secretary, a
lot has happened in the homeland since you first appeared before this
committee back in March. Unfortunately, a lot of it has been anything
but encouraging, so I look forward to talking about those challenges
and how we can work together.
I also hope to soon be conducting these hearings in person. I am
encouraged that the Chairman has noted that will be happening soon.
Today, we have a full complement of Republican Members here, who
are ready to make room on the dais and work alongside our Democratic
colleagues to conduct the important work of this committee in a
bipartisan manner.
Mr. Secretary, I don't envy the job you have today. The President
has submitted the largest budget request, by far, in the history of the
United States--$6 trillion dollars. Sadly, if this fiscally
irresponsible budget is enacted, our children and our children's
children at a minimum will be paying for it--a burden we should not
place on future generations. And despite its high price tag, this
budget request is out of touch with reality and more importantly fails
to prioritize many of today's most pressing homeland security threats.
To give you a few examples:
DHS is asking for $76 million for electric vehicles, but
there are NO additional appropriations requested for new Border
Patrol agents, and CBP's net discretionary budget has a
reduction of $280 million.
Overall, the fiscal year 2022 budget asks for less than half
a percent (or 0.3 percent) of an increase for three key DHS law
enforcement components, CBP, ICE, and the Coast Guard.
When proposed funding for pay increases is set aside, CBP,
ICE, and the Coast Guard show a decrease from their enacted
levels in their fiscal year 2022 requests.
On the cyber front, the budget requests a 29 percent
increase for the Department of Energy's cyber activities, but
only a 6 percent increase for CISA.
The Biden budget simply fails to reflect the priorities that are
critical to the defense of the homeland. And so, I do not envy you
having to come before the committee and defend this request on behalf
of the administration. I honestly just don't know how it is possible to
spend that much money on a grab bag of far-left proposals, while
somehow neglecting to adequately defend the homeland particularly given
the rash of major cyber attacks we have seen recently.
Mr. Secretary, unfortunately, since you were last before the
committee, the crisis at the border has not gotten better. In fact, it
is trending worse. Just last week, CBP announced that over 180,000
migrants were encountered along the Southwest Border in the month of
May alone, including 121,000 single adults; over 44,600 family units;
and over 14,000 unaccompanied minors. We have almost become numb to
these numbers, but they continue to be staggering--the 180,000 number
represents a 675 percent increase, and let me say that again, 675
percent increase from May 2020.
Despite these numbers, by eliminating border wall funding,
President Biden is allowing cartels, smugglers, criminals, and
traffickers to continue exploiting the border.
Sadly, neither the President nor the Vice President has even
bothered to visit the border. In fact, in a recent interview, Vice
President Harris laughed off the idea, even though, in theory,
President Biden has put her in charge of the crisis.
This is no laughing matter.
One aspect of this crisis that has not been highlighted, and truly
makes every State a border State, is the explosion of illegal drugs
that have been streaming across the border. This particularly impacts
my district in central New York and so many other communities across
this country.
According to CBP, drug seizures were up 18 percent in May, from
April 2021. Methamphetamine seizures increased 53 percent, heroin
seizures increased 7 percent, and fentanyl seizures increased 9
percent. CBP continues to see an alarming surge in fentanyl seizures,
which are 56 percent higher through May of fiscal year 2021 than all of
fiscal year 2020. This means that more than 600 pounds of deadly
fentanyl was seized every month for the last 12 months--and that is a
record. In the last 6 months alone, CBP has seized 5,400 pounds of
fentanyl, enough lethal doses to kill 1.2 billion people or the entire
population of the United States more than 3 times over. More than
90,000 Americans died of overdoses between September 2019 and September
2020. Last year, drug overdose deaths rose by more than 27 percent in
New York State alone.
This is unacceptable, and Homeland Republicans will continue
pressuring the administration to reverse its disastrous Executive
Orders and work with us on stronger border security measures. Mr.
Secretary, last time you were here, I stated that I didn't want to just
be a bomb thrower but wanted to work with you on solutions--that offer
remains. I have introduced several bipartisan bills, including H.R.
2321 that would require DHS and Federal partners to establish an agile
plan to respond to irregular migration surges with benchmarks in place
for activation. This legislation received bipartisan support in the
Senate earlier this month. I would ask that you look at this
legislation, as I believe it is a common-sense approach to at least
assisting our front-line law enforcement in managing the crisis at the
border.
While the President's request makes modest increases to CISA's
budget, CISA needs sustained, robust funding to carry out its mission
and nimbly respond to evolving threats. In the past 6 months, CISA has
worked to mitigate multiple significant cyber incidents facing Federal
networks, as well as the sharp increase in devastating ransomware
attacks on our Nation's critical infrastructure.
Unfortunately, ransomware attacks are becoming a more pervasive
threat, and I feel that we, as a country continue to fall further and
further behind--we continue to play defense instead of being on
offense. I am concerned that the President's budget included a sharper
increase for other Federal cybersecurity efforts, but not CISA,
especially given the attacks CISA is tasked to defend. How can CISA be
expected to continue to address these cyber threats head-on with such a
small budget given that the global financial impact of these cyber
attacks amounts to over $1 trillion annually?
You have also acknowledged that CISA needs to be the quarterback of
the .gov, and I fully agree, but this budget fails to do that. I
believe that CISA needs to be a $5 billion agency in 5 years, and that
is not going to happen with meager increases.
I look forward to hearing from the Secretary today, but like I
said, I do not envy his job. This budget proposal manages to somehow be
incredibly bloated while at the same time, lack the funding we need to
protect the homeland.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Thompson. All the Members of the committee are
reminded that under committee rules, opening statements may be
submitted for the record. Members are also reminded that the
committee will operate according to the guidelines laid out by
the Chairman and Ranking Member in our February 3 colloquy
regarding remote procedures. Again, I welcome our witness, the
Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas. With
objection, the Secretary's full statement will be inserted in
the record. I now ask Secretary Mayorkas to summarize his
statement for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF ALEJANDRO N. MAYORKAS, SECRETARY, UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Secretary Mayorkas. Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member
Katko, and distinguished Members of the committee, good
morning. Thank you for the opportunity to be with you again
today.
The 240,000 public servants in the Department of Homeland
Security are confronting increasingly complex and dynamic
threats. We have a broad mission set and my dedicated
colleagues across the Department are up to the challenges we
face. As we will discuss in more detail today, it is the
resources afforded by this Congress that will help ensure we
can continue to effectively meet our mission and recruit and
retain our Nation's most talented professionals. I welcome this
opportunity to discuss several key agency priorities for fiscal
year 2022 set forth in the President's budget for the
Department of Homeland Security.
First, the President's budget provides for more effective
and modern port and border security, including a $655 million
investment toward modernizing our land ports of entry. At our
ports of entry, the budget includes an additional $47 million
to integrate Customs and Border Protection detection
capabilities in addition to investments in border surveillance
technology. Notably, there is no request for additional border
wall construction.
The budget reflects the President's commitment to
rebuilding our immigration system into one that is fair,
efficient, and upholds our Nation's values and our laws. It
includes a new discretionary request for $345 million for U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services to tackle our backlog of
applications and petitions and to support up to 125,000 refugee
admissions per year. To ensure the safe and humane treatment of
migrants at the Southwest Border, the request includes $163
million for medical needs for those in Customs and Border
Protection custody.
In recognition of the growing threat of cyber attacks
against both the public and private sectors, the President is
requesting new resources for the Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency which leads DHS in interagency
efforts to defend against today's threats and promote cyber
resilience. It provides $2.1 billion for cyber activities,
which builds on the $650 million already provided to CISA in
the American Rescue Plan to respond to Government-wide breaches
and boost cyber defenses. It will also allow CISA to enhance
its cybersecurity tools, hire qualified experts, and obtain
support services to protect and defend critical infrastructure
and Federal information technology systems.
In recent years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency
has stepped up to confront increasingly costly, devastating,
and frequent natural disasters. FEMA has also taken the lead in
our efforts to deliver and expand access to COVID-19 vaccines.
As a result, the agency helped to vaccinate more than 5 million
people and helped stand up more than 1,000 community
vaccination centers. I am grateful for their efforts on both of
these fronts, especially as they focus on addressing the
existential threat of climate change.
The budget invests $532 million above the fiscal year 2021-
enacted level to confront climate change in an equitable way,
including significant investments in pre-disaster planning,
climate resilience, grant programs, and FEMA's work force.
Finally, under the Biden-Harris administration, our
Department has made it a top priority to address domestic
terrorism, which is the most lethal and persistent terrorism-
related threat to the United States today. The fiscal year 2022
discretionary request includes $131 million to support
innovative methods to prevent domestic terrorism while
respecting privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties. It also
supports critical research on the root causes of
radicalization, enhanced community outreach, and funding for
locally-driven efforts.
I am honored to support and represent the dedicated DHS
work force. Their commitment to the dynamic homeland security
mission is unwavering, and I vow to do everything in my
authority as Secretary to ensure they are resourced,
compensated, and recognized appropriately. On behalf of the
Department, I ask for your continued support in providing the
resources we need to meet our critical mission.
Thank you again for the opportunity to be here today. I
look forward to discussing the President's fiscal year 2022
budget priorities for the Department, and I welcome your
questions today. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Secretary Mayorkas follows:]
Prepared Statement of Alejandro N. Mayorkas
June 17, 2021
Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member Katko, and distinguished Members
of the committee: It is a privilege to appear before you today to
discuss the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) fiscal year 2022
budget.
On a daily basis, the more than 240,000 men and women of DHS
respond to our Nation's most serious threats. DHS employees rise to
every challenge, and the challenges are many. DHS is aggressively
pursuing the administration's priorities and addressing some of the
most critical and evolving threats to the United States. We are
focusing on defeating the COVID-19 pandemic, advancing technology for
border security while promoting a humane and efficient immigration
system, combatting Domestic Violent Extremism, and detecting,
mitigating, recovering from, and responding to malicious cyber attacks.
I would like to highlight the work we have undertaken so far at DHS
under the Biden-Harris administration, as well as the priorities
included in the fiscal year 2022 President's budget.
responding to the covid-19 pandemic
COVID-19 has impacted every facet of American life, and DHS has
been integral to the effort to successfully and equitably distribute
COVID-19 vaccinations across the country. The Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) helped vaccinate more than 5 million people at
our community vaccination sites and remains committed to assisting
Government and nonprofit partners to help defeat this deadly pandemic.
FEMA helped stand up over 1,000 Federally-supported community
vaccination centers. FEMA has provided more than $4.6 billion in
support of vaccinations across the country.
As Secretary, I have no greater obligation than that of ensuring
the health and safety of our workforce, 80 percent of whom are front-
line employees. Five days into the Biden-Harris administration, DHS
launched Operation Vaccinate Our Workforce (VOW) to accelerate the
administration of COVID-19 vaccines on a voluntary basis to front-line
DHS employees. On the first day of the Biden-Harris administration,
less than 2 percent of our front-line workers who elected to receive
the vaccine had been vaccinated. Today, that share has grown to more
than 77 percent. Prioritizing the health and safety needs of the DHS
workforce has enabled us to fulfill our mission even in a constrained
COVID-19 environment. Operation VOW partnered with the Veterans Health
Administration, a world-class health care system, to get COVID-19
vaccines into the arms of our front-line personnel.
Our public health and medical professionals from the Chief Medical
Officer's staff participated in the whole-of-Government approach to
combat the pandemic by serving on the Federal Healthcare Resilience
Task Force, the Medical Countermeasures Task Force, and deploying as
part of a tactical medical assistance team. These efforts resulted in
life-saving Personal Protective Equipment preservation best practices;
the accelerated development, manufacture, and availability of COVID-19
medical countermeasures; and the implementation of novel clinical and
operational interventions that saved lives in diverse communities
across the Nation.
addressing the challenges at the border
Since April 2020, the number of encounters at the border has been
elevated due to on-going violence, natural disasters, food insecurity,
and poverty in the Northern Triangle countries of Central America. This
resulted in a substantial strain on the processing, transportation, and
holding capacity of the U.S. Border Patrol. In response to the COVID-19
pandemic, the recommended temporary holding capacity within all Border
Patrol facilities had also been reduced by up to 75 percent to allow
for increased physical distancing and to reduce the further spread of
the disease. Compounding this challenge is the fact that the previous
administration dismantled our Nation's immigration system, terminated
the Central American Minors program, and cut hundreds of millions of
dollars in foreign aid to the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala,
El Salvador, and Honduras. As a result, the recent surge in
unaccompanied children presented a serious challenge for DHS and our
colleagues at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). We
have made significant progress on this front.
On March 13, I directed FEMA to support a Government-wide effort to
safely receive, shelter, and transfer unaccompanied children to HHS
care and custody, and on-ward to a verified sponsor. FEMA immediately
integrated and co-located with HHS to look at every available option to
support a quick expansion of HHS's physical capacity for the care and
custody of unaccompanied children, and to support HHS in managing
overall operations. FEMA has deployed more than 100 employees to help
HHS identify locations for emergency shelters, oversee construction,
and manage operations.
Additionally, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has
trained and deployed more than 350 of its personnel to virtually
interview unaccompanied children and potential sponsors, in order to
provide case management for unaccompanied children in HHS custody at
Emergency Intake Sites (EIS). As of June 14, 2021, USCIS personnel have
conducted approximately 10,000 interviews and recommended more than
7,000 children for release to a sponsor. U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) also constructed additional soft-sided facilities and
stood up the interagency Movement Coordination Cell to bring together
colleagues from FEMA, HHS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE), and CBP to share a common operating picture. More than 700
additional DHS volunteers stepped up to help through the DHS Volunteer
Force.
Between March 13 and May 1, FEMA assisted in the activation of 14
HHS EIS facilities. EIS facilities are operating in Texas, California,
and Michigan, increasing the potential temporary bed capacity when
fully staffed by 19,987 beds, or 1,999 percent.
This additional bed capacity, along with improvements in the
process of safely releasing unaccompanied children to sponsors, has
resulted in a massive reduction in the number of unaccompanied children
in CBP custody--from 5,767 at its peak on March 29 to 685 on June 11.
During this same period, the number of unaccompanied children who have
been in custody longer than 72 hours has decreased from 4,078 at its
peak on March 29 to 2 on the morning of June 11, while average time in
custody for unaccompanied children has fallen from 133 hours on March
29 to 23 hours on the morning of June 11. This progress was made,
moreover, while CBP encountered 18,000 unaccompanied children in the
month of April. For the 7-day period ending on June 10, CBP transferred
an average of 392 unaccompanied children per day to HHS's Office of
Refugee Resettlement, approximately 60 percent of CBP's total
unaccompanied child population on a given day, and keeping pace with
daily encounters.
On January 20, DHS announced it would suspend all new enrollments
in the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program. Under MPP,
approximately 70,000 individuals were forced to return to Mexico while
awaiting their immigration proceedings. On June 1, 2021, as directed by
the President in Executive Order 14010, I completed my review of MPP
and terminated the program. As part of the administration's phased
approach to restore safe and orderly processing at the Southwest
Border, DHS began processing into the United States certain individuals
who were enrolled in MPP to allow them to pursue their legal claims
before the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Executive Office for
Immigration Review. The Department worked closely with interagency and
international organization partners as well as the government of
Mexico. This innovative and efficient process to address certain
individuals who were enrolled in MPP is a testament to our ability to
process individuals into the United States in a way that is humane and
efficient while still enforcing our immigration laws and maintaining
border security and public health.
stopping the threat of domestic violent extremism
As threats against the Nation evolve, it is critical that the
Department adapts quickly and efficiently when necessary to meet any
threat against the people of the United States. Domestic Violent
Extremism (DVE) is typically fueled by false narratives, conspiracy
theories, and extremist rhetoric spread through social media and other
on-line platforms. The lethality of this threat is all too real, as
witnessed during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and
recent attacks across the United States, including against Government
buildings, personnel, and minority groups. DHS is prioritizing
addressing this threat while improving the quality of our intelligence
gathering and analysis, information sharing, and DVE detection,
prevention, and response efforts.
Combatting this violence requires a whole-of-Government and whole-
of-society approach, which I have already initiated at DHS in
collaboration with key partners, including the DOJ, to help ensure the
violence and assault on democracy that occurred on January 6 does not
occur again. DHS has established a new, dedicated domestic terrorism
branch within the Department's Office of Intelligence and Analysis, and
recently established a new Center for Prevention Programs and
Partnerships, replacing the Office for Targeted Violence and Terrorism
Prevention. Further, DHS is increasing training opportunities for law
enforcement partners, including through threat assessment and
management programs related to DVE. DHS has also undertaken an internal
review of the potential threat of DVE within the Department.
In February, I designated, for the first time, combatting DVE as a
``National Priority Area'' for the fiscal year 2022 State Homeland
Security Program and Urban Area Security Initiative grant program. As a
result, State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments are required
to spend 7.5 percent of their DHS grant awards combating this threat.
On March 24, the Department made $20 million available through the
Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program to help
communities across our country develop innovative capabilities to
combat terrorism and targeted violence.
bolstering cybersecurity and resilience
Our Nation faces constant cyber threats from nation-states and
criminal groups alike. Last month, the United States suffered a
significant ransomware attack against its critical pipeline
infrastructure. Over the past months, we discovered several intrusion
campaigns impacting the Federal Government and critical infrastructure.
As the Nation's lead agency for protecting the Federal civilian
government and critical infrastructure against cybersecurity threats,
the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) serves a
central role by enabling greater visibility into cybersecurity threats,
strengthening incident response capabilities, and driving improvements
in security practices. Congress recently empowered and further
strengthened CISA through several provisions in the fiscal year 2021
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and funding in the American
Rescue Plan Act of 2021 that the Department is now focused on
implementing.
On May 12, President Biden issued an Executive Order to protect
Federal Government networks and to bolster our Nation's cybersecurity.
This Order will empower DHS and our interagency partners to modernize
Federal cybersecurity, expand information sharing, and dramatically
improve our ability to prevent, detect, assess, and remediate cyber
incidents across the Federal Government. We are actively working to
implement the Executive Order to help agencies improve their security
posture, develop a standard playbook for incident response, and
establish a Cyber Safety Review Board comprised of public and private-
sector stakeholders.
In addition to the NDAA and the Executive Order, I announced a
series of 60-day ``sprints'' to mobilize action across the Department
focusing on specific priority areas. The first sprint was dedicated to
elevating the fight against ransomware, a particularly egregious type
of malicious cyber activity. The second is dedicated to building a more
robust and diverse workforce at the Department and beyond, including a
DHS cybersecurity hiring sprint during the 60-day sprint and the
development and launch of several other workforce-focused initiatives.
Subsequent sprints will focus on better protecting industrial control
systems, strengthening cybersecurity in the context of our
transportation systems, and safeguarding the integrity of our election
infrastructure.
funding priorities for fiscal year 2022
The fiscal year 2022 President's budget provides $1.2 billion for
effective and modern port and border security, which includes $655
million for modernization of land ports of entry (POE); investments in
modern border security technology and assets; and investments in modern
facility design and construction. The budget includes no additional
funding for border wall construction, and requests that Congress cancel
remaining border wall construction balances upon passage of a fiscal
year 2022 appropriations act. To expand our detection capabilities, CBP
Air and Marine Operations seeks enhancements to aircraft sensors and
additional aircraft acquisitions critical to surveillance along the
Southwest Border. The fiscal year 2022 President's budget includes $28
million for the first land interdiction configuration of the Multi-role
Enforcement Aircraft, which integrates with the $9 million request for
the U.S. Border Patrol small Unmanned Aircraft System program. The
integration of these border security technologies will provide a common
operating picture for law enforcement. At the POEs, CBP officers
continue to optimize Non-Intrusive Inspection technology, seeing
through barriers, and detecting concealed contraband. A $47 million
investment builds on their continued integration and deployment along
our borders, while maintenance and system support ensure reliability on
the front lines.
The fiscal year 2022 President's budget also supports the promise
of a fair and equitable immigration system that both enforces our
immigration laws and reflects the Nation's values. The budget includes
a 50 percent increase for case management services within the ICE
Alternatives to Detention program. This funding is intended to ensure
non-citizens are made aware of their legal obligations and it promotes
a more transparent immigration system. In addition, this proposal
reflects a new discretionary request of $345 million for additional
staff, equipment, and support services to administer the Nation's legal
immigration system. These enhancements will provide resources to reduce
application and petition backlogs and allow USCIS to interview enough
refugees to admit up to 125,000 annually. Additionally, to ensure the
safe and humane treatment of migrants at the Southwest Border, the
request includes $163 million for medical services for those in CBP
custody. This funding covers intake health interviews, medical
assessments, on-site diagnosis and treatment of basic medical
conditions, and comprehensive follow-up and monitoring in austere
conditions.
The fiscal year 2022 President's budget continues on-going
investments in CISA to address critical and pressing cyber, physical
infrastructure, and emergency communications security issues.
Accordingly, $2.1 billion is requested for cyber activities including
$408 million for the National Cybersecurity Protection System and $325
million for the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program. This
request builds on the $650 million already provided to CISA in the
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to respond to the recent Government-
wide cyber breaches and boost U.S. cyber defenses. It will also allow
CISA to enhance its cybersecurity tools, hire highly-qualified experts,
and obtain support services to protect and defend Federal and critical
infrastructure information technology systems.
In a constantly-evolving security environment, the Transportation
Security Administration (TSA) continues to leverage emerging technology
and enhanced screening. In fiscal year 2022, TSA will invest $127
million in the Secure Flight program, a risk-based, intelligence-driven
watch-list program to identify potential threats. To balance the need
for increased security without restricting freedom of movement for
legitimate travelers, the fiscal year 2022 President's budget includes
$104 million to expand TSA's Computed Tomography (CT) screening
capability. CT screening is the most impactful property-screening tool
available today, leveraging 3D imagery and detection against non-
conventional concealment methods, while eliminating the need for
passengers to remove electronic items from carry-on bags. Recognizing
long-term strategic goals, TSA also seeks to invest in their essential
personnel through a Transportation Security Officer service-pay
strategy, as well as the critical infrastructure supporting the more
than 55,000+ personnel of TSA.
The fiscal year 2022 President's budget reflects FEMA's continued
intent to execute its mission while managing resources efficiently and
effectively. This includes coordinating response and recovery missions
and maintaining a highly-regarded and well-trained cadre of employees
ready to respond to on-going and future disasters. The budget invests
$532 million above the fiscal year 2021 enacted level to confront
climate change, including significant investments in pre-disaster
planning and resilience efforts, climate resilience grant programs, and
investments into FEMA's incident management workforce. FEMA programs
include a resilient infrastructure and communities grant program, which
prioritizes climate resilience projects in vulnerable and historically
underserved communities. FEMA has projected $18.8 billion for the
Disaster Relief Fund, providing immediate assistance to families and
communities affected by disasters to rebuild and recover. In addition
to advancing long-term strategies via this request, FEMA remains
focused on the on-going COVID-19 response and will continue working
with partners to defeat this deadly pandemic.
The U.S. Coast Guard is in the midst of the largest
recapitalization effort in its history, an effort critical to building
the Coast Guard our Nation needs to meet increasingly complex National
security threats and to advance America's economic prosperity. In
fiscal year 2022, the Coast Guard seeks to continue its momentum in
this effort, with $170 million for Long Lead Time Materials for Polar
Security Cutter No. 3, as well as $597 million supporting the
construction of Offshore Patrol Cutter construction. The fiscal year
2022 President's budget also adds $116 million for sustainment and
crewing of new cutters, boats, and aircraft, as well as $194 million to
address maintenance backlogs on Coast Guard surface and aviation
assets.
The men and women of the U.S. Secret Service protect our Nation's
highest elected and appointed leaders, visiting foreign heads of State,
facilities, and major events. The fiscal year 2022 President's budget
includes $2.6 billion to support the Secret Service's critical
missions, ranging from continued investment in Fully Armored Vehicles
to empowering State and local law enforcement through partnership with
the National Computer Forensics Institute.
I have outlined above some of the many operational successes and
challenges throughout the Department and the fiscal priorities included
in the fiscal year 2022 President's budget for DHS. The strategic
investments that each DHS component initiates directly impact the
readiness, preparedness, flexibility, and success of the Department in
its mission to secure the homeland.
I am honored to support and represent the dedicated DHS workforce.
Their commitment to the dynamic homeland security mission is
unwavering, and I vow to do everything in my authority as Secretary to
ensure they are resourced, compensated, and recognized appropriately.
Therefore, I ask for your continued support in providing the resources
we need to meet our mission.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you to discuss the
Department's fiscal year 2022 President's budget submission. I welcome
any questions you have at this time.
Chairman Thompson. I thank the Secretary for his testimony.
I remind each Member that he or she will have 5 minutes to
question the witness. I now recognize myself for such
questioning.
Mr. Secretary, when you last testified before the committee
in March, you stated you would certainly be reviewing the
events that led up to the horrible day of January 6. Since
then, DHS has been assessing its capabilities to address
domestic terrorism and prevent a January 6-like attack from
happening again. Just this week, the Biden administration, as
you said in your opening statement, released the Nation's first
National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism which tasks
DHS and other agencies with the important work of combatting
this persistent threat. What is the status of your review into
what happened on January 6 as it relates to DHS?
Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. We
have, indeed, reviewed the events that led up to the tragic
events of January 6, and our review is on-going. I think that
we are predicated on 3 pillars of our work to combat domestic
terrorism.
No. 1, we base it on intelligence and information gathered
by law enforcement. We are data-driven. No. 2, we are focused
on ensuring that while we do this critical work, we protect
civil rights, civil liberties, and the rights of privacy of
each member of the American public. Third, and importantly,
that we are ideology-neutral, that we look at any ideology, of
false narrative, of mis- and disinformation with respect to
ideologies of hate and radicalization, and critically, and this
is what is a distinguishing factor, their connectivity to
violence, regardless of the politics of any ideology, and that
we address it. This has been a long-standing challenge and I
note, for example, the 2017 attack on Republican Members of
Congress at our baseball stadium. It is vitally important that
we keep that principle in mind that we are ideology-neutral and
we are focused on the connectivity to violence, which is
unacceptable in our country.
Chairman Thompson. Thank you very much. As you know, the
majority of Members who come to Washington do so by air. I have
heard from flight attendants and others in the airline industry
about the alarming uptick in unruly passenger incidents aboard
planes in the last year. Some of these episodes have included
violent assaults on flight attendants and TSA officers. I am
gravely concerned that this number of such incidents is on the
rise. What is DHS doing to address the situation and address
problems on the ground before they become problems in the air?
Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chairman, I share your view that
this violence is intolerable and will not be accepted. We have
communicated quite clearly that the mask mandate that governs
the conduct of individuals in our modes of transportation and
in the air is a Federal mandate, and I have communicated that
from different airports around our country. We also have
prepared Federal air marshals to address any act of violence
that they themselves observe while on flights. Importantly, we
are working with law enforcement to ensure that these acts are
met with the full force of Federal law, which is applicable to
acts of violence in the air. These individuals who commit these
heinous acts will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Chairman Thompson. I look forward to it. There is some
question about our air marshals getting involved if they are on
the plane. I would like to further that conversation with you.
Last, our work force, we passed a bill, H.R. 8993, the
Department of Homeland Security Intelligence and Cybersecurity
Diversity Fellowship Program, but there is no money in the
budget for it this year. Diversity of the work force is
important. I look forward to working with you on seeing where
we can identify some resources that can support that program.
Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chairman, if I may. That is a core
value of this administration and our Department in it to ensure
that the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion are
fully realized, and you have my commitment.
Chairman Thompson. Thank you very much. I now recognize the
Ranking Member of the full committee, the gentleman from New
York, Mr. Katko, for questions.
Mr. Katko. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, just to
follow up on what Mr. Thompson just said. If that is one of
your core values and one of your core priorities, diversity,
why isn't there any funding for it in the budget?
Secretary Mayorkas. Ranking Member Katko, it is in
incumbent upon us to use the authorities that we have, the
recruiting, hiring, and retention authorities that we have to
achieve those objectives. We are implementing programs and
practices within our existing budget authority to ensure that
the diversity of our work force, including the diversity of our
leadership, reflects the diversity of the American public we
serve.
Mr. Katko. I think it is fair to say that if you had more
funding for it, if you had some funding for it, it would
enhance that even better.
Let's go on to another question here. CISA, I appreciate
your comments about being--CISA should be the quarterback of
the .gov domain and the quarterback of cybersecurity in the
Federal Government. I think you and I agree on that. You and I
agree on a lot of things with respect to CISA. So, let me ask
you this. It is very simple and a question it has--it warrants
a very brief response. Do you believe CISA should be up to
about a $5 billion agency in the not-too-distant future?
Secretary Mayorkas. I think it is very important to
resource CISA fully, Mr. Ranking Member. You and I do agree on
the mission of CISA, its criticality, as well as funding its
future. We have to make sure that the additional funds that we
receive are expended wisely, efficiently, and effectively. We
have requested additional funds for CISA. We so greatly
appreciate your support, this committee's support, and
Congress' support for the additional money we have already
received for that agency.
Mr. Katko. Mr. Secretary, you admit, would you not, that
CISA is completely overwhelmed with the amount of work they
have right now?
Secretary Mayorkas. I would not say that. I would say we
are extraordinarily busy. We are incredibly focused on this,
one of our most critical, urgent priorities, the cybersecurity
of our Nation.
Mr. Katko. I understand, sir. Thank you, sir. We have got
several other questions to ask you. But given the gravity of
the situation, given my discussions with folks at CISA, it is
clear to me that they need more resources. I would ask you
reconsider and speak to the administration about plussing this
up. We are going to have to do this in the appropriations
process. You are the one that is going to be the guy that is
going to be the cheerleader for CISA. A 6 percent increase,
given what is going on with cybersecurity in this country right
now, just isn't cutting the mustard. So, I would respectfully
ask you to do that.
Secretary Mayorkas. I am incredibly----
Mr. Katko. Now, with respect to----
Secretary Mayorkas. If I may, I am incredibly proud to
serve as the cheerleader for CISA. I am undaunted and
unrelenting in that regard.
Mr. Katko. Well, then give more money and that would help.
With regard to the Border, Customs and Border Protection, is it
correct that there is not additional Border Patrol agents
scheduled in this budget request?
Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Ranking Member, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection is seeking to invest significantly in court
modernization and technology,----
Mr. Katko. I understand that.
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. Integrated technology.
Mr. Katko. Sir, I don't mean to interrupt you, but I am
asking just a straight question. Does the budget contemplate
hiring more Customs and Border Patrol agents?
Secretary Mayorkas. It does. It does not--we have vacancies
now. We are very focused on recruiting and hiring additional
personnel.
Mr. Katko. Understood. Understood, thank you. But the
bottom line is if you go to the border, you will know that many
phenomena are happening. The retirement rate is very alarming
right now. It is increasing because of what is going on at the
border. We have a 21-year high in Border Patrol agents being
pulled from all over the country to deal with the crisis at the
border. It would seem to me that it would be a good time for us
to contemplate plussing up Border Patrol.
One last question, if I may, sir. You were a prosecutor
before you took this job. You prosecuted cases. You tried
cases. Is that right?
Secretary Mayorkas. For 12 years, I served as an assistant
United States attorney and the United States attorney for the
Central District of California.
Mr. Katko. I am a former AUSA as well, and I am sure you
will agree it is the best job you can ever have. But in that
capacity, did you ever go to the crime scenes? Did you ever go
to a crime scene so you can get in your head to see what
happened with the crime so you could then prosecute it?
Secretary Mayorkas. I think you may recall since we both
served as assistant United States attorneys that it is
critically important that a Federal prosecutor that is bringing
a case not serve as a witness. So, it was our office policy
not, in fact, to observe a crime scene. To rely on the brave
and extraordinary Federal agents, as well as State and local
law enforcement who did the investigative work, and we
focused----
Mr. Katko. Understood. I am not talking----
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. On our prosecution
mission.
Mr. Katko. I am not talking about when a crime was going on
or whatever. Just going back and surveying just to get an eye
and see what happened? You never did that?
Secretary Mayorkas. Ranking Member Katko, I did not and my
record of success as a Federal prosecutor speaks for itself.
Mr. Katko. OK, well, I am not questioning that at all.
Obviously, it was successful. OK, well----
Chairman Thompson. The Ranking Member's time has expired.
Mr. Katko. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Thompson. Thank you. The Chair recognizes the
gentlelady from Texas, Ms. Jackson Lee, for 5 minutes. The
gentlelady is having technical difficulties. The Chair
recognizes the gentleman from Louisiana for 5 minutes, Mr.
Higgins.
Ms. Jackson Lee. I am back.
Mr. Higgins. Mr. Chair, was I recognized, Mr. Chairman?
Chairman Thompson. Yes, you were. The gentleman from
Louisiana.
Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am appreciative of
the recognition. Today's hearing should be one of the most
significant hearings in Congress. We face unbelievable and
unprecedented challenge on our Southern Border. We are speaking
with the one man that leads the Department of Homeland Security
today. I am going to question him about the budget that has
been requested by our President. We recognize, as American
citizens, that our Nation is imperiled. Certainly, that
imperiled status is a threat from weak and agenda-driven
policies, by politicians who longer recognize their service to
we the people. Our Southern Border is absolutely the front line
of defense for the sovereignty of our Nation.
Yet, America can expect no real answers today. What you are
going to hear, my fellow citizens, is scripted, rehearsed
speeches. Mr. Mayorkas is not going to answer Republican
questions. He has made that clear. He is absolutely going to
echo the talking points of the Biden administration and the
Democrat Majority. So, let's ask about that. Mr. Mayorkas, have
you or your staff coordinated with the Democratic Majority
Members of the Homeland Security Committee or the Homeland
Security Committee Majority staff regarding your responses to
questions you will receive today and your answers? Have you
coordinated that, Mr. Mayorkas?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman Higgins, I conduct my
responsibilities and fulfill my duties to the American public--
--
Mr. Higgins. Bingo,----
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. In a bipartisan----
Mr. Higgins [continuing]. Exactly as I advised----
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. In a bipartisan--in a
bipartisan manner.
Mr. Higgins. You are not going to answer my question.
Secretary Mayorkas. I have had the pleasure and the
privilege of speaking with Members----
Mr. Higgins. Finish----
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. Of both sides of the aisle
prior to my testimony this morning.
Mr. Higgins. Reclaiming my time. Mr. Mayorkas, thank you
for making my point. I have a question that you probably are
not prepared for. Mr. Mayorkas, you are in charge of defending
our homeland. Let's dig into your true beliefs, sir. Do you
believe that every square inch of American soil is sovereign
and should be secured and protected?
Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
Mr. Higgins. Every square inch,----
Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
Mr. Higgins [continuing]. Is it sovereign and should be
secured and protected?
Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
Mr. Higgins. Simple question.
Secretary Mayorkas. I answered yes.
Mr. Higgins. Mr. Mayorkas, you are the lead DHS, good sir.
That is a pretty simple question. Do you believe that every
square--the answer is yes. Do you believe that you are as
leader of Department of Homeland Security, do you believe that
you are accomplishing that task right now?
Secretary Mayorkas. We are.
Mr. Higgins. My numbers say we have 1.1 million illegal
crossings at our Southern Border. We are absolutely in crisis
as a Nation.
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman----
Mr. Higgins. You are in charge.
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman----
Mr. Higgins. How are we doing?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman Higgins, I hope you----
Mr. Higgins. You are.
Secretary Mayorkas. I hope you heard the answers to your
questions.
Mr. Higgins. I turn my attention to the American----
Secretary Mayorkas. Both of them were affirmative.
Mr. Higgins [continuing]. Mr. Mayorkas is completely making
our point.
Chairman Thompson. Mr. Higgins, I am very--please allow the
witness to answer the question. The Secretary----
Mr. Higgins. Mr. Mayorkas, you have been very----
Chairman Thompson [continuing]. Did answer your questions.
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman Higgins,----
Mr. Higgins [continuing]. Attention to the crisis at our
border.
Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chairman, I----
Mr. Higgins. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time.
Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chairman, I had technical
difficulties. Or I should say Congressman Higgins had technical
difficulties. It was very difficult to receive his questions. I
don't know if he heard my answers. I answered his questions
quite directly.
Chairman Thompson. Yes, we heard him. He has yielded his
time. The Chair recognizes, again, the gentlelady from Texas,
Ms. Jackson Lee, for 5 minutes.
Ms. Jackson Lee. Thank you so very much. Good morning, Mr.
Secretary. Thank you again. Let me thank the administration for
its humanitarian treatment of this very difficult portion of
the immigration unaccompanied children. Let me thank you for
the work that you have done to reunite children that have been
disastrously separated over the last 4 years, cruelly, as many
of us have experienced those mothers and children not being
reunited.
Let me turn to CISA and the important work of cyber and
cyber response. We are under attack. The President made it
clear in his meeting with Mr. Putin yesterday. I want to ask,
how is the Cyber Response Recovery Fund designed to function in
consort with CISA in order to both prevent and respond to
attacks on our critical infrastructure such as in the case with
Solar Winds and Colonial Pipeline? Mr. Secretary, as you well
know, my time is short and I have several other questions. I am
delighted to welcome you.
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, thank you so much for
your support of CISA and its critical mission. That fund is
very important to equip and enable victims of cyber attacks to
recover from those attacks most swiftly in the service of the
public-private partnership and the American public.
Ms. Jackson Lee. I think it is very important that either
we as the Congress continues to increase that funding, but also
I would encourage developing the expertise at DHS as well.
Texas understands the challenge of climate crisis. Both
States and local governments that have a history of dealing
with climate emergencies, and are projected to continue this
experience, will they able to be prioritized with competitive
grants?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, yes, they will be and we
are taking a look at our FEMA grant programs, which are so
critically important to disaster prevention relief and recovery
and resilience, and the critical impacts of climate change on
States' abilities to be prepared.
Ms. Jackson Lee. The Transportation and Security
Administration has shown itself over and over again and the
TSOs how they have been the front line of our security. Many of
them were impacted by COVID-19. Should the administration have
a policy of trying to professionalize the TSA, TSOs for
retention and as well, be able to support increased funding for
that purpose, No. 1? No. 2, the Department has security as its
important point, but it also should have a commitment to civil
rights, civil liberties. What is the process that occurs with a
stakeholder reaches out to the Office for Civil Rights and
Civil Liberties? If you would take the TSA question first.
Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you so much, Congresswoman. We
are dedicating to funding TSA work force. I really applaud and
embrace the Chairman's dedication to that work force. In fact,
just a few weeks ago, I made a critical announcement about our
commitment, not only to provide collective bargaining rights to
the TSA work force, to the TSOs, but also to work toward
ensuring that their pay is at a level at least that level
provided under Title 5 of the United States Code. So, I share
your commitment and I really praise the Chairman's leadership
in this area.
One of the critical things, if I may, turning to your
second question, Madam Congresswoman, is a practice that I have
instituted in the Department of Homeland Security. Our
statutorily-created Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
does not engage at the end of our policy development in our
processes and procedures, but at the very, very beginning. That
is critical to ensuring that the movements that we make, the
decisions that we make, integrate that critical mission set,
those values and principles on the front end of our work.
Ms. Jackson Lee. Very quickly----
Secretary Mayorkas. I look forward to working with you on
that.
Ms. Jackson Lee. Very quickly, we know what is happening in
the Nation's airways and the Nation's airlines and the Nation's
skies. I heard you make a comment about marshals. I would be
interested in adding their powers or their procedures in how we
can ensure a safe travel for our traveling public who are
civilians and who have been called into action as if they are
staff or military to save the lives of the other traveling
public.
Secretary Mayorkas. I look forward to working with you on
that, Congresswoman. I really applaud the tremendous work that
our Federal air marshals have done so very many years. I know
of their work very well.
Ms. Jackson Lee. Thank you. Thank you so very much. I want
to compliment FEMA. We were under siege as all of us were in
COVID-19. They opened up several sites in the Texas area where
the surge of COVID-19. We lost a lot of lives, but they were
always there and particularly during the very difficult and
very unhealthful time of trying to get PPEs and other equipment
prior to the vaccinations. So, thank you so very much. Mr.
Chairman, I yield back.
Chairman Thompson. Thank you. The gentlelady yields back.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Mississippi, Mr. Guest,
for 5 minutes.
Mr. Guest. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, thank
you for joining us today. In reviewing the information that you
submitted to this committee, I see that in the category where
you address the challenges at the border, you state that the
number of encounters at the border has been elevated. You go on
to say, this resulted in a substantial strain on the
processing, transportation, and holding capacity of the U.S.
Border Patrol. Later you say, as a result of the recent surge
in unaccompanied children, this presents a serious challenge to
DHS. I know you have made previous statements. Previously, I
believe you said that we were on pace to encounter more
individuals on the Southwest Border than we have in the last 20
years.
Mr. Secretary, the last time you were here when questioned
by Ranking Member Katko, he asked, given the tremendous rise
and surge of individuals coming to the border, wouldn't it be
fair to call this a crisis? Your response was, I am not
spending any time on the language that we use. I am spending
time on the operational response to the situation at the
border. You make that, and then we see today a budget that has
no increased funding for key front-line agencies. So, my first
question to you, Mr. Secretary, is if when compiling these
budget requests, did you consult with our State and local
partners that we rely on so frequently as we attempt to secure
our homeland?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, thank you so much for your
question. I have most certainly engaged with State and local
law enforcement throughout my 4-month tenure. I have done so
regularly, not only with chiefs of police, but with sheriffs
and on occasion, rank and file, so that I understand what is
being experienced on the ground and best able and equipped to
respond to it most effectively. Most certainly, I have engaged
and I will continue to do so. In fact----
Mr. Guest. Well----
Secretary Mayorkas. In fact, if I may, I have elevated the
position that was in the prior administration a deputy
assistant secretary for State and local law enforcement to the
position of assistant secretary for State and local law
enforcement. In addition to that, I designated an individual, a
former chief of police, as a senior counselor to ensure that
our engagement in State and local law enforcement is both as
robust as possible, and effective in implementing the policies
and procedures that we are tasked to perform.
Mr. Guest. Mr. Secretary, I appreciate that open line of
communication. I do see here where the Governor of Texas, Greg
Abbott, last week announced plans to build a wall on the
Southwest Border. I see that the budget request that you
submitted has no funding for additional wall construction.
Governor Abbott said, our efforts will be effective if we work
together to secure the border, make criminal arrests, protect
landowners, rid our community of dangerous drugs, and provide
Texans with the support they need and deserve. This is what he
referred to in his statement as an unprecedented crisis. So, in
reviewing the request that you have since submitted
specifically as it relates to the Southwest Border, I see as it
relates to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol that we are looking
at roughly a $1.9 million less this budget year than last. No
funding for additional Border Patrol agents or CBP officers. No
funding for additional wall construction.
I have personally had the opportunity to visit the border
to meet with many of our front-line officers who are working
extremely hard to contain what I believe is truly a crisis at
the border. So, my question is based upon the previous
statements that you have made to this committee that you have
submitted in writing, that you have made to the public, could
you, please, walk me through and explain to me the reason for
the decline in CBP's budget request, the lack of additional
funding for Border Patrol agents, the lack of additional
funding for CBP agents, and the rationale behind no additional
wall funding, when clearly the Governor of Texas thinks that it
is very important to the point that he has already committed
$250 million of taxpayer money from the people of Texas to
build additional wall funding.
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, let me take a step back
because if we take a look at the border as a whole, it is not a
one-size-fits-all. The border is very dynamic and there are
different needs and challenges in different parts of the
border. No. 1, with respect to the brave men and women of the
United States Border Patrol, we are very focused on hiring,
recruiting, and hiring individuals to fill the vacancies. No.
2, we are studying border wall construction. We have already
focused on repairing roads and levies where that work is
needed. We are looking at particular gaps in the wall and
determining what is the best course of conduct to secure our
border. No. 3, and this is a vitally important consideration,
is innovation and technology as the greatest force multiplier
in the service of border security. That has been a bipartisan
position ever since I have worked in the Department of Homeland
Security. I am 20 years into Federal service this month, both
as a member of the Department of Homeland Security and as a
Federal prosecutor. I remember very clearly and very powerfully
my meeting with Senator John McCain and his advocacy to me
about the need to focus on technology. That the innovations in
modern development serve as the greatest force multiplier and
have the greatest impact in ensuring our security. I agreed
with him then and we are executing on that approach now. Not at
the expense----
Chairman Thompson. The gentleman's time has----
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. Of other--I am sorry.
Chairman Thompson. The gentleman's time has expired. The
Chair recognizes the gentleman from Rhode Island for 5 minutes,
Mr. Langevin.
Mr. Langevin. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr.
Secretary, I want to thank you for the important work that you
are doing leading the Department of Homeland Security. I want
to recognize the important work by the men and women of the
Department in keeping the country safe and secure.
Mr. Secretary, I want to begin by talking about the scourge
of ransomware that is affecting our country as epitomized by
the Colonial Pipeline and JBS attacks. As part of last year's
defense bill, we authorized the creation of a Joint Cyber
Planning Office at CISA, otherwise known as JCPO. I am grateful
to see the President's budget request funds to the office. So,
JCPO, which is based on a recommendation from the Cyberspace
Solarium Commission, on which I had the privilege of serving as
a commissioner, will bring together Government and private-
sector entities to coordinate defensive campaign plans. Mr.
Secretary, what role do you see for the JCPO in helping us
defend ourselves from on-going ransomware campaigns?
Secretary Mayorkas. First and foremost, Congressman, just
let me thank you for being such a champion of our cybersecurity
mission and CISA specifically. I think JCPO is on point for
much of the work that CISA needs to do. I greatly appreciate
the work of the Solarium Commission. I had the privilege of
spending a couple hours with the staff to better understand the
details of its work and its recommendation. I know that the
nominee to lead CISA, Jennifer Easterly, who was voted out of
committee yesterday and we are hoping for her swift
confirmation, will invest a tremendous amount of focus on JCPO
for the very reason you identified.
Mr. Langevin. Thank you. So, I certainly agree that JCPO
will be critical in our effort. However, the ransomware problem
is immediate and demands immediate action. So, Mr. Secretary,
would you agree that we should convene the interagency and
private sector at the JCPO at soon as possible to avoid
duplication of effort and ensure coordination in our efforts?
Secretary Mayorkas. I most certainly do, Congressman. Thank
you. As a matter of fact, my first public remarks on the
cybersecurity challenges that our Nation faces in February
shortly after I was confirmed and assumed this role, was on the
threat of ransomware. The very first 60-day sprint that we
embarked upon with CISA was focused on ransomware before the
Colonial Pipeline attack, before the attack on JBS. This is
most certainly a critical threat that we face on the homeland.
Mr. Langevin. OK, very good. Well, let us know how the
committee can help you in doing that and let's hope we see
action in weeks not months.
Mr. Secretary, I want to turn our attention to the issue of
systemically important critical infrastructure. I think that
the Colonial Pipeline incident has demonstrated how a cyber
incident affecting a single company can cause significant
consequences for our economy and National security. So, do you
think that an approach focused on systemically important
providers similar to the Section 9 list from the Obama
Executive Order is useful to mitigating risk? Will you commit
to working with me on legislation to codify a new social
contract with systemically important critical infrastructure?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I share your focus on
critical infrastructure. I know that we across the Department
and, of course, particularly in CISA, share your concern. I
look forward to working with you on legislation, if indeed,
that proves to be the best vehicle to bring strength to our
focus.
Mr. Langevin. Thank you on that. The last question, Mr.
Secretary. So, I have some concerns about how the Colonial
Pipeline incident response was handled in the interagency. I
strongly believe that that whole issue was a significant cyber
incident and should have--we should have seen the stand-up of a
cyber unified coordination group. Even if the UCG was not
established though, I feel that DHS as the lead agency for
asset response, likely should have coordinated the interagency.
I realize that decisions there were not made by you, so,
setting aside, this specific incident, can you walk us through
what DHS's role normally would be under the PPD-21, PPD-41, and
the National Cyber Incident Response Plan?
Secretary Mayorkas. Let me assure you, Congressman, that we
did, in fact, follow and execute an interagency model. We were
in close communication, of course, with the White House, with
Anne Neuberger, whose expertise and leadership in this area is
so renown and deservedly so. I worked very closely with
Senator--forgive me--Secretary Granholm. I was linked up with
Secretary Buttigieg. We were so closely connected throughout
the interagency that I can assure you that that interagency
paradigm that we all ascribe to was executed in full.
Mr. Langevin. OK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Thompson. The gentleman's time has expired. The
Chair recognizes Mr. Bishop for 5 minutes.
Mr. Bishop. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Secretary Mayorkas,
Mr. Guest previously made a point of your testimony, bottom of
page 2. It says, since April 2020, the number of encounters at
the border has been elevated. Just to put a finer point on what
he says, here is what elevated looks like. You see that blue
line. You are familiar with this. Just for the sake of the
committee and members of the public who may be looking, that
blue line at the top that goes up higher than any other line
and then levels out, that is elevated. By your expectation the
last time we had--we were together in March, you anticipated
that, the highest levels on a sustained basis in over 21 years.
Here is another chart of it. This is the Biden administration
here. You see what happened in the Trump administration
curtailed and then this enormous continuing spike. Your
understatement suggests that the administration's out of touch
with the dynamics of this situation.
Also, Secretary Mayorkas, you say in that same statement
that the number of encounters has been elevated, ``due to on-
going violence, natural disasters, food insecurity, and poverty
in the Northern Triangle countries.'' You do know, don't you,
that the principal cause of this surge is changes in policy by
the Biden administration from the previous administration, and
the factors that you cite were prevalent in the Trump
administration and prior administrations as well. So, that
doesn't--that didn't cause the change. Would you agree, sir?
Secretary Mayorkas. I would respectfully disagree with you,
Congressman. We have----
Mr. Bishop. For what reason?
Secretary Mayorkas. Those of us who have addressed
challenges at the border for many, many years have seen spikes,
decreases, spikes again, decreases again. It is a very dynamic
situation. It is overdue that we address the root causes of
irregular migration and multi----
Mr. Bishop. Well, you are often talking about what we ought
to do. I am just asking about the cause as you have deciphered
it. I understand, I will take your answer that you don't agree
with me. When I had 5 minutes with you in March, I asked you
whether you expected that the administration's changes in
policy would trigger this surge or you were surprised by that
development? You said that you had no expectation either way,
but we did what we had to do. Let me, this is, I don't know
that I had any particular expectation one way or the other. I
just knew what we needed to do when we confront a situation
and, in fact, we are doing it. But as this has developed, it is
true. I have learned, and it is true, isn't it, that the CBP
briefed incoming Biden administration officials that the
contemplated changes to policy, such as suspending or
terminating MPP would lead to exactly this surge.
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, when I had the privilege
of engaging with you back in March, the concern was the
overcrowding of Border Patrol facilities----
Mr. Bishop. Yes, sir. I am not----
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. By a private company----
Mr. Bishop [continuing]. Asking you to go on a different
tangent, Mr. Secretary. I am just asking whether or not you
were briefed that these changes would lead to this type of
surge?
Secretary Mayorkas. If I may, I was not----
Mr. Bishop. Yes or no, sir?
Secretary Mayorkas. I was not----
Mr. Bishop. Looks like you won't answer the question.
Chairman Thompson. Let's, excuse me----
Secretary Mayorkas. If I may have a moment----
Chairman Thompson. Excuse me, Mr. Secretary. Mr. Bishop,
please allow the witness to answer the question and you can
then follow up.
Mr. Bishop. I would be glad for him to elaborate, Mr.
Chairman. I would just like him to answer that question.
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I was briefed on the
border situation when I assumed office. In addition, if I may,
when we engaged in March, the focus was on the overcrowding of
Border Patrol facilities by unaccompanied children. I said then
that we had a plan and that we were executing on our plan and
that it would take time. The situation in the Border Patrol
facilities is drastically different than it was then. In fact,
we did execute on our plan and----
Mr. Bishop. I will reclaim my time of which I have only got
about another 30 seconds, Mr. Secretary. Tens of thousands of
migrants have been admitted into the country on the premise of
having an asylum claim. I understand that the majority, maybe
the vast majority, are determined not to be valid. What is the
administration doing to remove from the country those whose
claims, asylum claims, are either not being pursued any further
or have been determined invalid?
Secretary Mayorkas. Families, Congressman, who make claims
for asylum under the laws of the United States are placed in
immigration proceedings to seek to advance those claims. If
those claims are granted by an immigration judge, they are
granted asylum under our laws. If those claims are rejected by
a judge, and appeals prove unsuccessful, those individuals are
removed from the United States in accordance with the law.
Mr. Bishop. Mr. Chairman, in light of my time having
expired, I request unanimous consent for the submission of
these 2 charts that I displayed during the testimony. Thank
you, sir, and I yield back.
Chairman Thompson. Without objection, so ordered.
[The information follows:]
Charts Submitted by Hon. Dan Bishop
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman Thompson. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
New Jersey, Mr. Payne, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Payne. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, it is
evident that there were multiple failures leading up to and
during the siege of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, including
the 5 standby responses that the Pentagon relayed to the
National Guard during the attack, and the complete and utter
failure of both DHS and the FBI in not issuing a threat
assessment or joint intelligence bulletins specific to the
January 6 joint session of Congress. I know you were not
Secretary at the time, but the last time you were here, we
received--we reviewed your Department's failures that allowed
the violent mob to ransack the Capitol and depart without being
arrested or detained. Can you assure this committee that DHS's
failure to issue a threat assessment was not part of an attempt
by the Trump administration to leave the Capitol and Congress
undefended?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I am not in a position to
editorialize on actions of the--or inactions of the prior
administration. I am focused on lessons learned and what we can
do to make sure that our responsibilities are fulfilled. In
fact, we have taken significant steps in that regard. We issued
the first NTAS Bulletin in January. The first in quite some
time. Since then, we have issued information bulletins to
State, local, Tribal, and territorial partners with respect to
the false narratives that we are observing on social media to
make sure that the horrific events of January 6 do not happen
again.
We certainly have reviewed the events leading up to January
6. We continue to review those. We continue to draw lessons
learned and we are very focused on the point of your question,
which is the critical dissemination of information to equip
local law enforcement and local communities in responding to
events to prevent them and to respond should they tragically
occur.
Mr. Payne. OK, but wouldn't part of that lessons learned be
trying to assess the prior administration's lack of response to
this? Wouldn't that be part of lessons learned?
Secretary Mayorkas. Most certainly. We did note the fact
that products were not disseminated as robustly as we have
begun to do and we hope to continue to do.
Mr. Payne. OK. You know we always talk about defending the
homeland from, you know, foreign or domestic. To the extent
that we had a rogue administration potentially in the White
House, that also has to be assessed, correct?
Secretary Mayorkas. Well, Congressman, we look at the
events. We try to look at them and we succeed in doing so
through an apolitical lens, as I articulated at the very
outset. Domestic terrorism we look at in an ideology-neutral
fashion. We look at the information that we are receiving and
we ask ourselves what is its connectivity to violence? What can
we do to ensure that communities across the country are
prepared, can prevent actions? We work to achieve partnership
with our State, local, Tribal, and territorial communities.
Mr. Payne. Just so we are clear, I am being apolitical as
well. It is not a Republican or Democrat irrespective of who
was in the White House at the time, that assessment needs to be
made regardless of party. So, this is apolitical for me as
well, sir.
DHS and this committee have been warning about the threat
of domestic terrorism for over a decade now. I know the
Chairman has been consistent in his concern for this issue and
I have followed his lead as I have come on the committee and
learned. As far back as 2009, DHS warned about a resurgence in
right-wing extremism----
Chairman Thompson. The gentleman from New Jersey's time has
expired.
Mr. Payne. Thank you, sir.
Chairman Thompson. I recognize the other gentleman from New
Jersey, Mr. Van Drew, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Van Drew. Thank you, Chairman. Mr. Secretary, you must
have noticed, you must feel it, you must see it that there is a
crisis on our Southern Border. I know that you say there isn't.
The administration say that there isn't. But if you speak
with--you can feel the frustration of so many Congress people
that are even here today questioning you. The bottom line is
illegal border crossings are at a 21-year high. Statistics
don't lie. The bottom line is you can see the videos. You can
visit these sites. You can see the pictures. It is just all
there. It is real and it is not something in the past. Frankly,
I don't even want to talk about the past. I want to talk about
what is happening now.
You know, over 150,000 people a month and the children.
Somebody mentioned what a wonderful job we are doing with the
children. Well, let me tell you what is happening to children.
Children are being abused as they cross the border. Children
are being abused before they get to the border. They are being
used as drug mules. They are being sexually abused. So are
women and families. I mean, this is horrific. It is inhumane.
It is wrong. I feel like I am in bizarro world when we say that
it doesn't exist. It does. We can see it. You can go there. You
can look at it. It is there. It is there now, right now. Our
border towns, processing facilities, and the Customs and Border
Protection agents are completely overwhelmed. Yet, the
President's budget proposal has a 0 percent, 0 percent increase
in Homeland Security funding for 2022.
Furthermore, and I think this is bizarre to me, the budget
does not mention border security. Regardless of your partisan
positions on things or anybody's positions on things--and I am
not trying to give you a hard time--but how can you have a
budget, a 72-page report, and not mention budget security?
Whatever you think about it, we know that something needs to be
done. The Customs and Border Protection fiscal year 2022
request is almost $300 million below the 2021 level. There is
no call for funding for additional Border Patrol agents or
Customs and Border Patrol officers. They are suffering down
there. The people who are working there are suffering. The
people who live there are suffering. The people in the country
are suffering. Quite frankly, the undocumented that are coming
across are going through hell in many cases as I mentioned. We
aren't treating children well. The Customs and Border
Protection Procurement Construction and Improvements account
was cut in the President's budget by almost 50 percent from the
2021 enacted level. It is awful.
In addition, I am concerned that the President's budget
left out necessary funding for Coast Guard needs. If we get
time, we could talk about that a little bit later. I am
grateful that the budget includes the much-needed
recapitalization project for training in Cape May, which is in
my district. The budget does little to address the $2 billion
backlog in the service currently. We need to address the aging
IT infrastructure of the Coast Guard without a doubt. This
budget doesn't accomplish that. It spends so much and it
doesn't accomplish that. That is, again, the bizarre, I don't
know what other word to use, part of it all.
Now, Mr. Secretary, as you know, President Biden issued a
proclamation on his first day in office to pause construction
of the border wall. Why? I don't know, but he did. And pause
the obligation of funds for the wall. The Government
Accountability Office issued a report on Tuesday this week
suggesting that the Department of Homeland Security submit a
time line to the committee dealing how DHS--dealing with how
DHS plans to obligate its Congressionally-appropriated funds.
This time line is necessary to ensure that this committee
maintains strong oversight over the Department and the
administration does not replace priorities established through
the legislative process with its own agenda. Will you please
commit to providing the committee with this time line?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I have to respond.
Mr. Van Drew. Sure, I want to you respond. Mr. Secretary, I
want you to respond.
Secretary Mayorkas. Please allow me to respond to some of
your preliminary remarks. They require a response. I share your
position that the smugglers and the traffickers who exploit
children are heinous criminals that need to be addressed. In
fact, we have a number of law enforcement operations to elevate
the attack on those smuggling and trafficking organizations
over and above the work that was previously done, No. 1.
No. 2, we are in fact addressing children in a more humane
way than was previously the case. In the prior administration,
Congressman, unaccompanied children were expelled. We are now
receiving those children and assessing the claims for
humanitarian relief to which they are entitled under American
law. We are no longer expelling those children, those
unaccompanied children, No. 1.
Mr. Van Drew. I don't mean to interrupt you, Mr. Secretary,
but, yes, after they have gone through hell to get here, after
we are not committed to the agreement we had with the Northern
Triangle and with Mexico, which was much more secure. They were
more secure. Our country was more secure. We have less
security----
Chairman Thompson. The gentleman's time----
Mr. Van Drew [continuing]. Now than we had then.
Chairman Thompson. The gentleman's----
Mr. Van Drew. I look----
Chairman Thompson [continuing]. Time from New Jersey has
expired. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California for
5 minutes, Mr. Correa.
Mr. Correa. First of all, let me thank our Secretary for
being here today. Sir, welcome. A quick question, sir. Under
the prior administration, DHS failed to provide Congress with
the 2018 quadrennial, every 4-year, Homeland Security Review.
This report is important to provide effective oversight by us,
Congress, of DHS and to make sure that your department has the
assets, capabilities, budget, and policies to address the
evolving threats. Will you commit here, sir, today to deliver
Congress, us, the 2022 Quadrennial Homeland Security Report?
Secretary Mayorkas. We will indeed do so, Congressman.
Mr. Correa. Thank you. Mr. Secretary, I want to talk about
the border and Border Patrols. My colleagues have made a good
point. We need more agents. A number of years ago, this
committee had hearings on hiring new Border Patrol officers.
Back then, the problem was that most recruits couldn't pass the
test or meet the qualifications, or most importantly, pass a
polygraph test. The Anti-Corruption Act requires a polygraph
test for all new CBP law enforcement officers. I know some vets
may be exempt from this. But, Mr. Secretary, are we still
having the same problems hiring agents?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we are very focused on
recruiting and hiring Border Patrol agents. We are looking at
how the hiring process can be reformed to achieve greater
efficiency. Indeed, we are focused on that critical effort.
Mr. Correa. Sir, let me turn again to the border. I want to
El Paso. I took a tour of the area. I met 2 young girls there,
2 refugees, Yuri and Yareli, 2- and 5-year olds. They were
thrown over the border wall by smugglers. In this case, the
wall didn't work. They were saved because 2 alert Border Patrol
officers saw them with their high-tech equipment. They were
able to detect an intrusion with high-tech equipment. So,
technology worked. So, my question, sir, is this what you have
in mind when you talk about your budget and protecting our
Nation's security, more effective technology?
Secretary Mayorkas. I most certainly do, Congressman. Thank
you both for recognizing the force multiplier that technology
is, as well as the extraordinarily heroic work of the United
States Border Patrol.
Mr. Correa. Mr. Secretary, again, talking about the border
and illegal drugs at the border. I agree with my colleagues,
record number of illegal drug seizures at the border. But I
would say, sir, that these go hand-in-hand with a record-high
demand and consumption for illegal drugs in our Nation. Would
it be fair to say that our dollars are purchasing more and more
illegal drugs and this is in great part driving the record
number of importations and illegal drug seizures at our border?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, tragically, the demand for
narcotics is one of the causal factors. In fact, the data shows
that most narcotics are sought to be smuggled through the ports
of entry, which is yet another reason why we are focused on
innovative technology, which is the greatest tool to interdict
the flow of narcotics through the ports of entry.
Mr. Correa. So, more technology, more effective homeland
security.
Secretary Mayorkas. Indeed. With respect to the flow of
illegal narcotics, the prior administration failed to
promulgate critically-needed regulations to implement the STOP
Act. But we moved very swiftly in the service of Senator
Portman's leadership in that area to implement those
regulations. We are very dedicated to that fight.
Mr. Correa. Secretary Mayorkas, thank you for being here. I
look forward to continuing to work with you to secure the
homeland. Mr. Chairman, with that, I yield.
Chairman Thompson. The gentleman from California yields
back. The Chair recognizes Mr. Norman for 5 minutes.
Mr. Norman. Thank you. Thank you, Secretary Mayorkas.
Secretary, can you hear me OK?
Secretary Mayorkas. I can, thank you, Congressman.
Mr. Norman. Have you ever had a medical physical?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I have and that is--of
course I have, and that is quite a private question to pose to
me.
Mr. Norman. Do they, when you had the medical physical--I
am not talking about what they found, but did they physically
get you in the office, talk to you, see what is going on, and
was that effective?
Secretary Mayorkas. Yes, sir.
Mr. Norman. OK. Why then would the leader of this country
and the Vice President not want to go physically look at the
border, talk to the Border Patrol agents that you say you want
to find the truth, why, if it applies in so many other fields,
why does it not apply with this? In fact, is it fair if you had
a doctor that laughed at you as the Vice President did when
asked to come to the border, can you comment on that? Does that
make sense to you?
Secretary Mayorkas. I most certainly can. I consider that
question to be quite unfair and disrespectful. Let me be very
clear. The President and the Vice President have requested and
directed me to visit the border, which I have done on multiple
occasions. I would like to cite to my exchange with Ranking
Member Katko with respect to my work as a Federal prosecutor
and the direction that I provided to State and local law
enforcement to Federal investigators to visit particular
scenes.
Mr. Norman. Well, I----
Secretary Mayorkas. They directed--I am sorry, if I may. If
I may finish, because----
Mr. Norman. I am reclaiming my time. You made the
statement--you made the statement----
Secretary Mayorkas. I am sorry. I must----
Mr. Norman. I am reclaiming my time. You made the statement
that my question was unfair. I am making the statement that
your comments are just words and they are very unfair. I asked
you a simple question. I would like for you just to answer
simply. Does it make sense for the leaders of the free world to
go to talk to and see what is going on at the border? You
didn't answer it with Mr. Katko. All I am saying is we don't
want words. We don't want--we want actions. When you say you
are trying to hire Border Patrol agents, where is the money?
Secretary Mayorkas. We have, Congressman, the funds to hire
Border Patrol agents to fill the vacancies, No. 1. No. 2, I am
the Secretary of Homeland Security and it is my responsibility
to manage the border at the direction of the President and the
Vice President. I have visited the border on multiple
occasions. No. 3,----
Mr. Norman. Have you talked to the Border Patrol agents?
Secretary Mayorkas. No. 3--and No. 3,----
Mr. Norman. Have you talked to the Border Patrol----
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. Finally,----
Mr. Norman [continuing]. Agents?
Secretary Mayorkas. No. 3 and finally, my----
Mr. Norman. Have you spoken with the Border Patrol agents?
That is the question.
Secretary Mayorkas. I most certainly have. I most certainly
have. No. 3, if I may, the Vice President served as the
attorney general of a border state, of California, and she is
quite familiar with the situation on the border.
Mr. Norman. But she is laughing at it. She has been----
Secretary Mayorkas. I have met with her on----
Mr. Norman. I am reclaiming my time,----
Secretary Mayorkas. That is absolutely----
Mr. Norman [continuing]. Secretary Mayorkas.
Secretary Mayorkas. That is absolutely----
Mr. Norman. I have got a limited----
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. Unequivocally untrue.
Mr. Norman. I have got a limited amount of time. She is
laughing at it. When you say----
Secretary Mayorkas. That is absolutely----
Mr. Norman [continuing]. It is an insult----
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. Unequivocally----
Mr. Norman. It is an insult--reclaiming my time--for you to
say that you are looking at the border wall and looking at it,
when you are not--what do you have to look at? You are not
building it. When you say technology, what I have heard, how
effective once the million to 2 million people are in this
country illegally, how effective is technology going to be to
root them out and to find out who they are when you don't know
who is coming in in the first place? Simple question.
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman,----
Mr. Norman. Simple question.
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. The factual premise of
your question is inaccurate.
Mr. Norman. OK, so you just don't know?
Secretary Mayorkas. Technology has proven to be an
effective force multiplier.
Mr. Norman. How about stopping them from coming in the
first place? How about knowing who is coming in the country? Is
that not common sense?
Secretary Mayorkas. It is a multi-pronged effort, and we do
that as well.
Mr. Norman. Multi-prong. Wow, multi-prong. It is like all
the other words. It is basically you are not doing anything
because the numbers don't lie, Secretary Mayorkas. Unless you
dispute the 180,000 that came last month as opposed to the, in
the previous administration, 20,000 for the same month in 2020.
Now, once they are in the country, it is hard to get them back
out. The Border Patrol agents we talked with, you know why they
are demoralized? They are changing diapers. You will not take
the necessary steps to stop it. You can say you are. But in the
74-page budget this administration has put out, you know how
many times border is mentioned? Not once. You know how many
times climate is mentioned? Fifty-four times. It is not a
priority. I am just telling you this is a crisis. I would
invite you. We are going for a second time. Many have been far
more. We are going for a second time. We would invite you to
come talk to the agents. See the children that are put with--
you got 2- and 3-year olds, put with----
Chairman Thompson. The gentleman's time has expired. The
Chair recognizes the gentlelady from Michigan, Ms. Slotkin, for
5 minutes.
Ms. Slotkin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Secretary Mayorkas,
thank you for joining us today. I am struck as we head to the
20th anniversary of 9/11 just how different the homeland issues
are from when, you know, DHS was stood up. Where most Americans
were, you know, worried about threats from foreign actors, from
foreign terrorists and attacks on the homeland. Fast-forward 20
years, we are talking about cyber attacks, the border, domestic
terrorism. It is very different.
So, what I want to ask is about those pivots to those very
different things that are threatening Americans. Particularly
on cyber, I would just note it feels like all roads lead back
to the Department of Homeland Security, particularly in the
last couple of weeks. First, because these attacks have really
started to affect the average American. They are affecting our,
you know, gas, and our meat, and our video games. I am, you
know, standing with farmers and they are asking me about
cybersecurity. You all at CISA are really the 9-1-1. You are
the 9-1-1 call center for cyber attacks on our businesses, on
our local governments. It is critical that you be well-funded
and well-staffed and ready to take on that responsibility.
Second, yesterday in the summit between President Biden and
President Putin, you know, one of the big things where the
President put down a marker was on this list of 16 different
critical infrastructure sectors and how it was important that
the Russians understood that those sectors meant something to
us. So, I guess my first question is can you please tell us how
you and CISA are prepared to take on this additional
responsibility? Particularly since, yes, you know, when it
comes to deterring Russian cyber attacks, Chinese cyber
attacks, often resilience is the best way to deter future
attacks. So, tell me about CISA. We are waiting for your
questions, your concerns, your asks on money and resources.
Tell us what you have done to prepare.
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, thank you so much for
recognizing the fact that CISA is indeed, as we have termed it,
the quarterback of the Federal Government's cybersecurity
efforts. We have requested funding of Congress. We are grateful
for the support that Congress has provided. We have champions
on this committee with respect to the work of CISA. We
received, of course, $650 million already and we are requesting
additional funds.
Ms. Slotkin. Yes.
Secretary Mayorkas. The model that we--that model that we
rely upon and that we are advancing is the public-private
partnership. That is what is critical. Not only the partnership
across the Federal enterprise with respect to all of the
Government agencies that are invested in and dedicated to this
effort, but a partnership with the private sector as well. It
is so critically important. That is our focus.
Ms. Slotkin. Thank you. I appreciate that. Given that the
President put down this marker on these 16 different sectors
that I think were identified by CISA, I would really
appreciate--I think we all would--if DHS would come back to us
in a couple months and give us an update.
In those 16 sectors, have the Russians tried to penetrate?
Have the Chinese tried to penetrate? Have ransomware groups
emanating from those countries tried to penetrate? I think
hearing back from you is a real accountability for these
nation-states that are allowing these groups to mock around
with the average American's stuff. The stuff we need. So, I
would make that request.
Pivoting to the issue of domestic terrorism. You came in
front of this committee and talked about how domestic terrorism
is now the most significant terrorist threat threatening the
average American. I know the White House just put out their big
domestic terrorism strategy. That is a hard pivot to go from
focusing on foreign terrorism to domestic terrorism. In the
brief time that you have left, can you talk to me about, again,
how many analysts? What does you budget look like? Tell me how
many people and the scope you have working on this threat
compared to foreign terrorism, if you could.
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, thank you. We will,
indeed, update you in a couple months as you have requested
with respect to the cybersecurity challenge in the 16 sectors
specifically. We have created a dedicated unit within the
Office of Intelligence Analysis to focus on domestic terrorism.
We have focused our efforts on information gathering on
intelligence to not only best learn of the threat, but to be
able to disseminate information to our State, local, Tribal,
territorial partners. We have a concerted effort. We created
the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnership, CP3, to
also focus on this effort and to develop partnerships that are
so critical to this mission. I would welcome the opportunity.
We would welcome the opportunity to provide greater details to
you about our intense focus on this mission set, which is quite
frankly, as I have articulated previously, the greatest
terrorism-related threat that we now face in the homeland.
Chairman Thompson. The gentlelady's time has expired. The
Chair recognizes the gentlelady from Iowa, Mrs. Miller-Meeks,
for 5 minutes.
Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Secretary
Mayorkas, thank you for coming before us here today. As you may
know, in April Ranking Member Katko and I wrote a letter to
yourself and the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
Becerra, regarding the vetting for sponsors and caregivers of
unaccompanied alien children at the border. We have not yet
received a response. Can you commit to providing us response on
this within the next week?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, I apologize if we failed
to respond to your letter, and we most certainly will as
quickly as possible.
Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Thank you.
Secretary Mayorkas. I pride myself on responsiveness and we
have received--we have many committees to answer to and I
apologize and will address that immediately.
Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Thank you. Yesterday, I questioned
Secretary Becerra on the vetting required for UACs and he
stated that, ``We are not going to do anything that imperils
the safety and care of the child. Some of the children are
being dropped off over the border wall and have perished and
they are brought here by human smugglers and traffickers.'' Do
you agree that the smugglers put children at risk?
Secretary Mayorkas. Most certainly and that is why we have
enhanced our law enforcement efforts to address the smuggling
organizations and the traffickers.
Mrs. Miller-Meeks. So, you agree, Secretary Becerra agrees,
and I agree that these smugglers and traffickers are putting
children in danger. Yet, we have seen no action from the Biden
administration to disincentivize smugglers from bringing
children as young as 1 across the border. If we are serious
about protecting children, we need to stop making it profitable
for smugglers to bring children into the United States. Your
administration's open border messaging is putting children's
lives at risk and 79,948 children have crossed our Southwest
Border.
While I was in the Rio Grande Valley sector earlier this
year, Border Patrol agents told me that migrants are paying on
average $4,000 apiece to be smuggled into the United States.
Human smugglers are openly advertising their services on
Facebook, claiming that they can promise a 100 percent safe
journey. These cartels are making billions of dollars smuggling
individuals and drugs into our country. Because of this, your
agents told me that they feel like we are aiding and abetting
transnational criminal organizations and that the policies of
the previous administration were working. If we want to tackle
root causes, as the Biden administration continues to state,
then we should not be promoting policies that enrich the
cartels and lead to worsening corruption in the Northern
Triangle countries.
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman----
Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Additionally, yesterday I met with young
people who have come into the United States legally with their
parents as children on the visa status, but yet these
documented dreamers are soon to be deported. I sponsored a bill
regarding this and year after year, their families have applied
for the green card lottery only to be denied. When they contact
your staff, they are told that they should get married or leave
the country and come through the Southern Border. They are
young adults that are being penalized because their parents did
not commit the crime of coming to the United States illegally.
It would be incumbent upon you and your staff to address that
issue.
Finally, I have cosponsored several bills regarding SIVs,
or Special Interest Visas. There is no greater urgency for your
Department than to bring safely to United States those who have
helped us in Afghanistan during the global war on terror. The
situation is becoming increasingly more dire with each day that
passes and with reports that the Taliban has recently closed
off access roadways. I am a Vietnam-era veteran. I know first-
hand that no one wants to see the image of a helicopter leaving
a rooftop with people dangling from the footplates. Let us not
compound the mistakes of the past with inaction in the present.
Can you commit to working with the State Department and
Department of Defense with a renewed urgency for evacuating
these individuals from Afghanistan?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, yes, indeed, we are very
focused on that, No. 1. No. 2, allow me to thank you for your
service, which is the noblest thing one can do in one's career.
No. 3, I share your view of the smuggling organizations, the
trafficking organizations, and the harm they cause. It is why
it was such a terrible decision for the prior administration to
dismantle the Central American Minors Program and eliminate a
legal and safe pathway for children to arrive in the United
States who have a legitimate claim for relief under United
States law.
Mrs. Miller-Meeks. According to the Border Patrol----
Secretary Mayorkas. It is why we have----
Mrs. Miller-Meeks [continuing]. Agents, Secretary
Mayorkas,----
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. Stood up----
Mrs. Miller-Meeks [continuing]. Those individuals who come
into this country and then go back for their hearing, there is
only 90 percent who do not go to the hearing, 10 percent who go
to the hearing, that only 10 percent of those 10 percent are
eligible for asylum. So, I thank you for your answers. I yield
back by time.
Chairman Thompson. The gentlelady's time has expired. The
Chair recognizes the gentlelady from New York for 5 minutes,
Ms. Clarke.
Ms. Clarke. I thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is good to see
you again, Secretary Mayorkas. I applaud your decision earlier
this year to require State Homeland Security Program and Urban
Area Security initiative grantees to dedicate at least 7.5
percent of their award to enhancing their cybersecurity
posture. I also understand that the administration is seeking
funding for a cyber response and recovery fund. While I support
these efforts to provide State and local governments additional
resources, I believe we get more bang for our buck investing in
efforts to prevent malicious actors from compromising networks
in the first place.
The ever-increasing number of ransomware attacks has
demonstrated that additional support is needed going forward.
For that reason, this committee recently passed my legislation,
the State and Local Cyber Security Improvement Act, which would
authorize $500 million in annual cybersecurity grants to State,
local, Tribal, and territorial governments. Do you agree that
the vulnerability of our State and local governments to cyber
attacks is a National security threat? That the Federal
Government should provide a dedicated grant program to
strengthen State and local cybersecurity?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, thank you for
championing this effort. I do agree that the cyber
vulnerability of State and local governments is a Homeland
Security issue across our Nation. I look forward to working
with you to see how we can best empower and equip and resource
State and local governments, especially those that don't have
the education and resources to strengthen their cybersecurity
alone.
Ms. Clarke. I look forward to working with you as well, Mr.
Secretary. As the Chairwoman of the cybersecurity committee, I
am extremely concerned about the rise in ransomware and other
cyber attacks targeting our critical infrastructure. I am
concerned that we seem to be--to keep relearning the same
lessons from each other--each of these attacks. We have asked
CISA to do an enormous job, but we have given them next to no
regulatory authority over privately-owned critical
infrastructure. Nor do they have sustained visibility into
threats on private networks.
I am working on legislation to close both of those gaps.
First, by requiring critical infrastructure owners and
operators to report cyber incidents to CISA. Second, by
authorizing capabilities CISA has brought--has built through a
pilot called Cyber Sentry which allows CISA to partner with
certain strategically-placed critical infrastructure to monitor
and detect threats in real time. Specifically, threats to
industrial control systems and operational technology. Would
you agree that for CISA to be effective, it needs access to
information about cyber attacks and greater visibility around
those threats to privately-owned critical infrastructure?
Secretary Mayorkas. I think, Congresswoman, once again,
thank you. I do believe that CISA's visibility into what is
happening across the country is critical to securing our
homeland against cyber attacks. It is why the public-private
information-sharing architecture is central to its strategy.
Ms. Clarke. Can you give me a sense of how your budget
supports those goals then?
Secretary Mayorkas. So, we are very focused on resourcing
CISA. We appreciate this committee's and Congress' support of
CISA. We have developed teams that most effectively deploy to
public entities, as well as private entities, to assist them in
remediation, to assist them in securing their cyber or
enhancing their cyber hygiene. Working with them to provide
tools, education, and our expert resources when they are
otherwise ill-equipped to do so. We are very engaged in the
partnership. The funding that we have obtained and that we hope
to continue to obtain will further resource CISA to deploy
those teams across the country because in cyber, as I have said
repeatedly, we are only as strong as our weakest link. Under
those----
Ms. Clarke. Yes, I agree, Mr. Secretary. I just want to say
that it has been 6 years since Congress passed the
Cybersecurity Act of 2015 to incentivize voluntary private-
sector participation and information sharing. The fact is we
still aren't seeing the kind of robust engagement we had hoped
for. At some point, we have to go back to the drawing board and
find a solution that works. I look forward to working with you
on that. Mr. Chairman, having said that, I yield back.
Chairman Thompson. The gentlelady yields back. The Chair
recognizes the gentleman from Michigan, for 5 minutes, Mr.
Meijer.
Mr. Meijer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Secretary Mayorkas,
thank you again for coming before the committee today to review
the Department's budget request and its priorities. I sincerely
appreciate your willingness to answer our questions. You know,
in my time today I wanted to drill down on what I hope is a
major priority for the Department and the administration more
broadly. That is the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and
ensuring that the safety of our Afghan partners who worked
alongside us. We have a moral obligation to protect our brave
allies who put their lives on the line for us. We have been
working for months to engage the administration to make sure
there is a plan, with few concrete results.
We certainly recognize the complexity of the withdrawal and
understand that there are a lot of interagency components
involved from the State Department to DHS. But time is running
out and we are talking about the lives of those who served us
that we made a commitment to. We need to have more transparency
and action from the administration beyond on-going interagency
conversations. The current Afghan SIV program cannot move
quickly enough to address this challenge and we need to be
developing an evacuation plan for those Afghan interpreters who
put their lives on the line alongside U.S. forces.
There is a precedent for this in Operation New Life during
the Ford administration in 1975. But today, it has been
consistently unclear who is charge of this effort and what the
obstacles actually are. I will talk to one department and they
will send us over to another. Again, just this interagency
roundabout. I know that you cannot speak for the State
Department or Department of Defense or other agencies, but DHS
is a part of this interagency effort. So, today I wanted to get
clarity on what DHS's roles and opinions are on this matter.
So, specifically, Mr. Secretary, does DHS have any objections
to the Guam option to evacuate our Afghan partners and allow
their SIV processing to continue in a safer location than
Afghanistan?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I share your dedication as
I know my partners across the Federal enterprise under the
leadership of President Biden share your dedication to ensuring
the safety of those who courageously assisted our troops. I
need to study the Guam proposal. I know that Guam, of course,
is an American territory and that has implications. But we are
focused on this program. I would welcome the opportunity to
speak with you further about it. I share your dedication to it.
Mr. Meijer. I would welcome that, Mr. Secretary. Time is
running out here. I know our staff, you know, talked prior, and
so I hope we can get an answer on this quickly because the
diffuse claims that there is some issue on the DHS side with
having a Guam evacuation relocation plan, to your point, it is
a U.S. territory, making sure that we can do whatever we can to
alleviate what concerns those may be. If that is a statutory
constraint, we can hopefully work as a Congress expeditiously
in order to alleviate that because I think there is a broad
sense in Congress that we need to be doing everything we can to
help out our allies. I understand having spent time in
Afghanistan and also having, you know, been aware as a solider
in Iraq of the SIV issues that our interpreters there were
facing back in under the Obama administration that, you know,
things get bad slowly and then all at once.
We need to make sure that we are planning. We need to make
sure that we are preparing. If there are hesitations in the
interagency process, I hope that those are brought out into the
open. That we can work to remedy and to address them as best as
we can. Again, if there are procedural modifications that can
be made to alleviate concerns that DHS may have over the Guam
evacuation, we are here to review to try to push forward those
legislative options. Because doing nothing is simply not
satisfactory.
So, and please, Mr. Secretary, consider us a willing and
able partner in this, but also one that will be pushing forward
to make sure that we are leaving no stone unturned. That we are
not taking no for an answer or just a vague concern for an
answer, but drilling down, getting clarity, and making sure we
are doing everything we can for the Afghans who put their lives
on the line for us and are currently in harm's way while
awaiting the adjudication of their claims. Thank you, Mr.
Chairman. I yield back.
Chairman Thompson. Thank you. The gentleman yields back.
The Chair recognizes the gentlelady from New Jersey for 5
minutes, Mrs. Watson Coleman.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. Good morning and thank you, Mr.
Chairman. Thank you, Secretary Mayorkas, for being here. First
of all, let me just say that I am encouraged by a number of
initiatives as you have advanced today and priorities for DHS.
I am also very encouraged about your recent administrative
actions to improve the protections and the pay for the TSA
workers. These actions do represent significant progress toward
ensuring that these officers receive the pay protection and
benefits they deserve. However, they do not place TSA under
Title 5 of the U.S. Code. Therefore, enabling a future
administration to roll back these actions without statutory
protection in place for the work force.
Secretary Mayorkas, I have a few questions to this extent.
Would you support the legislative changes such as the passage
of Chairman Thompson's H.R. 903, the Rights for the TSA
Workforce Act to build upon the recent actions taken to support
the TSA work force and to ensure their performance?
Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you, Congresswoman. We deeply
appreciate Chairman Thompson's leadership in this area and I
know that our subject-matter experts are working with his staff
to provide technical advice with respect to that legislation.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. So, I am going take it as a
possibility you are still examining the implications of it?
Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. Thank you. While your announcement
included actions to improve the pay for the TSA work force, it
didn't actually place the employees on the General Schedule
Wage System, which would ensure that they were getting regular
increases as people working in like jobs in perhaps other
agencies. So, would you support placing the TSA employees on
the GS System that is used by most of the Federal agencies in
order to align them with pay scales and opportunities akin to
those with like jobs in other agencies?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, I would support
providing pay that is at least at the level of the General
Schedule. I know that there are some positions where adherence
to the General Schedule might have unintended consequences that
don't serve the interests of particular employees. So, I
believe that in my direction internally here in the Department
of Homeland Security, I wanted to ensure compensation at least
at the level of the General Schedule.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. Not only compensation, but moving
forward the kinds of increases that happen when you are a part
of a system. Thank you.
Secretary Mayorkas. I concur.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. Unfortunately, the President's budget
request didn't include the funding to implement the changes
that you announced. So, how do you propose Congress pay for
those expensive actions? Would you support ending the diversion
of the Passenger Security Fees into the general fund to ensure
that those fees go to TSA where they can help pay for these
work force improvements that are so desperately needed?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, I would very much look
forward to working with you to review the diversion of those
funds and whether--and if so, how best those funds could be
used in the service of the compensation of our TSA work force.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. That certainly is the most encouraging
answer that I have gotten to this question in quite a while.
Last, but not least, we are having a lot of discussion
about cybersecurity, ransomware attacks on critical pipelines,
and things of that nature. Would you consider directing TSA and
CISA to work collaboratively to issue required cybersecurity
standards for all modes of transportation either through
security directives or full notice and comment regulations?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, let me, if I can, cite
to the work that CISA performed with TSA. TSA issued a security
directive to the pipeline industry in the wake of the Colonial
Pipeline attack. That was an example and a terrific model of
two offices working together to address one of our critical
infrastructure sectors. We are looking at critical
infrastructure across the board and how best we can use our
administrative tools and our regulatory tools that are resident
in different parts of the Federal Government to bring a
cohesive approach to an increased cyber hygiene, and something
I would also welcome discussing with you further.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. Well, thank you very much, Mr.
Secretary. Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Chairman Thompson. Thank you very much. The Chair
recognizes the gentleman from Texas for 5 minutes, Mr. Pfluger.
Mr. Pfluger. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you,
Ranking Member. Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here. I
represent Texas' 11th Congressional District and I, over the
past few months, have traveled to all 29 counties. I hold town
halls. I talk to law enforcement. I want to say that the
situation at the border is a crisis of epic proportion. The
amount of drugs that are entering this country, the human
trafficking, the people that are being exploited, it is a
complete tragedy and a crisis. Mr. Secretary, when is the last
time that you talked to a Customs and Border Protection agent
in the El Paso sector or the Rio Grande Valley or any sector in
Texas?
Secretary Mayorkas. I believe, I am not sure if it was
yesterday or certainly within the last few days.
Mr. Pfluger. Did they tell you----
Secretary Mayorkas. I did speak to----
Mr. Pfluger. Did they----
Secretary Mayorkas. I speak to the Border Patrol multiple
times every week, if not multiple times every day.
Mr. Pfluger. Mr. Secretary, those agents are they saying
the word ``help'' to you? Because that is what they are saying
to me every time I talk to them. The law enforcement agents in
my district are saying that because there has been an
abdication of protecting that border, we are having to send DPS
troops, National Guard troops, down to the border, which is
leaving our communities less safe, less secure, when we have an
immense amount of drugs that are entering. Just 2 weeks ago,
Saturday, in one of the northern-most counties of my district,
we had two high speed chases. In one of them, the sheriff told
me there was an F350 that was full of 20 illegal immigrants. In
the next one, there were 7 in a small sedan. Five were
apprehended, 2 were got-aways, were not apprehended. In that
vehicle, over $500,000 worth of fentanyl, methamphetamines,
cocaine, and other drugs. Mr. Secretary, we are--this is a
crisis that is hitting my community and we are not a border
district. How are we going to curb the flow of 180,000 folks in
May, the amount of drugs and fentanyl that are entering this
country, the children that are being exploited? What is our
path forward?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, let me answer that quite
precisely. Let me first correct a data error. It is not 180,000
individuals. It is 180,000 encounters. That is an important
distinction because we are expelling single adults under Title
42 of the United States Code. We are seeing repeat offenders
under Title 42. So, it is not 180,000 individuals. It is
180,000 encounters. I wanted to make that note.
When I was a Federal prosecutor in the 1990's, I
prosecuted----
Mr. Pfluger. Mr. Secretary, I want to know----
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. Smuggling cases that
were----
Mr. Pfluger. Mr. Secretary, let me reclaim my time. I am
asking what the plan is to curb the flow?
Secretary Mayorkas. Exactly what we are--thank you so much,
Congressman. Exactly what we have asked of this Congress in the
President's fiscal year 2022 budget. Provide us with the
funding to resource innovation and technology, which is the
greatest force multiplier in the service of security at our
borders, both southern and northern.
Mr. Pfluger. Mr. Secretary, we are seeing a cut in CBP-
specific funding. We have a $6 trillion proposal from the
President, and meanwhile, every single agent that I talk to,
whether it is Border Patrol, ICE, Customs, is saying ``help''.
They are asking me for help in technology. Their morale is
down. They are not able to do their jobs because the priorities
haven't been issued.
Secretary Mayorkas. They are asking you for help in
technology just as we are asking Congress for help in
technology. That is precisely why we are directing our funding
request in the service of enhanced technology, the greatest
force multiplier to achieve security.
Mr. Pfluger. Well, and I don't disagree with that. At one
point in time as a Senator, as Senator Biden, he said you can
tell me what you value, but show me your budget and I will tell
you what you value. I think that is what we are looking at
right now is that in my district and in Texas, we have a crisis
of epic proportion that we don't seem to be able to get our
arms around. The policies that we need are not there to curb
that flow. So, when it comes to our budget, when it comes to
putting our best foot forward, Mr. Secretary, we are asking and
demanding that we stop this mass surge and crisis that is
hitting my community and every single other community in the
State of Texas and on these border--in these border States.
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we have a strategy. We are
executing that strategy. I am confident in the strategy. I am
confident in the proposal that we have submitted to this
Congress to best resource that strategy.
Mr. Pfluger. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Thompson. The gentleman from Texas' time has
expired. The Chair recognizes the gentlelady from Nevada, Ms.
Titus, for 5 minutes.
Ms. Titus. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, I would
like to echo the sentiments of some of the others on this
committee and say how relieved and reassured we are to have you
in this position, especially after the parade of incompetents
who have been before this committee over the last 4 years.
I would like to ask you, first though, about the budget
that cuts $15.3 million in UASI funding, especially in the wake
of the attack on the Capitol and with a new emphasis on
domestic terrorism that seems to be a bigger threat now than
foreign terrorism.
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, we are focusing our
intelligence and analysis resources on the greatest terrorism-
related threat to the homeland, and that is domestic terrorism.
We have created CP3 as it is known by its acronym, the Center
for Prevention Programs and Partnership. We have created a
discreet unit within the Office of Intelligence and Analysis to
focus on domestic terrorism. We are building an IT
infrastructure to more ably disseminate terrorism-related
information to our State, local, Tribal, and territorial
partners. We are doing so very much in this area and we
appreciate the President's leadership in issuing the National
strategy that we are executing on.
Ms. Titus. Well, I think that is true, but my district is
Las Vegas and we certainly know what the results of domestic
terrorism are after the October 1 shooting. We used those funds
in a very effective way through our fusion center, which works
with your Department very closely. We would just hate to see
those cut. So, I hope that Congress can find a way to restore
some of those dollars.
Speaking of my district, I would also ask you about
Temporary Protective Status. I have a large population from El
Salvador in my district. Folks from there, and Honduras
especially, are concerned because they are just on hold. They
don't know when that may be extended, what the courts might do,
what your Department's position is. Could you address that a
little bit because they can't go home whether it is a natural
disaster or armed conflict or something. Many of them have been
here for a long time and their families have grown up here. So,
could you tell us kind-of what you are thinking about a time
line for a decision on TPS?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, I appreciate the
question a great deal. We are very closely and intensely
studying the country conditions in El Salvador and Honduras and
in other countries to determine the status of Temporary
Protective Status, TPS, for those communities. We are working
as quickly as we can and appreciate the sensitivity and the
humanity underlying your questions.
Ms. Titus. Thank you. If I can work with you in any way, I
would appreciate that so I can reassure those folks that we
have their best interests in mind.
One last question. I chair the subcommittee that oversees
the Stafford Act. I appreciate the plussing up of the BRIC
Program. But one of the things I am trying to do is to be sure
that FEMA has the best personnel possible to carry out some of
this mitigation and attempt at resiliency. I am trying to get a
bill passed that would provide similar employment protections
for FEMA reservists like we do for military reservists. I hope
you will take a look at that and see if we can work together to
do that as well.
Secretary Mayorkas. I very much look forward to doing so
and I am incredibly excited about our new administrator's
leadership, Deanne Criswell, and so incredibly honored to work
alongside the FEMA personnel, and all of the DHS personnel.
Ms. Titus. I have spoken to her about this too. So, maybe
we can get it moving. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I
yield back, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Thompson. The gentlelady yields back. The Chair
recognizes the gentleman from Florida for 5 minutes, Mr. Clyde.
Mr. Clyde. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am from Georgia's 9th
District. Mr. Secretary, I sent a letter back on March 31 to
DHS and requested some information about the need to expand
detention capacity.
[The information follows:]
Letter Submitted by Honorable Andrew S. Clyde
March 31, 2021.
Acting Director Tae Johnson,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, 500 12th St SW, Washington, DC 20536.
Dear Acting Director Tae Johnson: I write regarding my concerns
surrounding a sole-source, non-competitive contract that Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) awarded to Endeavors, the non-profit
division of Family Endeavors, Inc., to provide family residential
processing space for migrants. On March 22, 2021, you announced the
agency had awarded an $86.9 million contract ``to provide temporary
shelter and processing services for families who have not been expelled
and are therefore placed in immigration proceedings for their removal
from the United States.''\1\ While Endeavors is working with Federal
and State entities to provide relief services at the Southwest border,
and has an admirable mission and reputation, it is my understanding
that Family Endeavors, Inc. has no previous history as an ICE
contractor.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ ``ICE Signs $86.9 Million Contract with Endeavors for Short-
Term Migrant Care,'' Homeland Security Today, 21 March 2021, https://
www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/border-security/ice-signs-86-9-
million-contract-with-endeavors-for-short-term-migrant-care/, accessed
25 March 2021.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As you know, as a general rule contracts must be awarded using full
and open competition. However, according to the Federal Procurement
Data System, the contract was not competed per the Federal Acquisition
Regulation (FAR) 6.302-2 which can be applied when the agency's need
for the supplies or services is of such an unusual and compelling
urgency that the Government would be seriously injured unless the
agency is permitted to limit the number of sources from which it
solicits bids or proposals.\2\ Though the situation at the border might
warrant the use of the FAR 6.302-2, I find it hard to believe that
there were no other vendors that could have been at least considered
for the award.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Federal Procurement Data System accessed 24 March 2021.
Contract Summary from USAspending.gov: https://www.usaspending.gov/
award/CONT_AWD_70CDCR21C000000- 01_7012_-NONE-_-NONE-.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although Endeavors has had contracts with several other Federal
agencies, such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Federal
Acquisition Service, these contracts were competed and all for dollars
amounts under $1 million, with one exception that was $1.4 million.
Additionally, it appears that the Endeavors organization recently
hired a former official of the Biden Campaign and the Administration's
transition team, who also served in the Obama Administration.
As a result, I have some specific questions I would like you to
address:
1. When did the government identify the need to expand detention
capacity to address the reported shortage of bed space for
family units?
2. Did the Government post a request for information or a
competitive notice requesting additional family unit detention
beds?
3. Did the Government receive an unsolicited proposal from
Endeavors?
4. What criteria, if any, did ICE use to determine that Endeavors
was the only source that could provide these services?
5. To what extent has ICE, the Customs and Border Protection, or
other Federal agencies contracted with Endeavors for similar
services in the past?
6. Did a former ICE Executive and Biden campaign advisor for
homeland security, Andre Lorenzen-Strait, have any involvement
in securing the $86 million no bid contract for detention beds?
7. Did Mr. Strait have any discussions with ICE officials or Biden
Administration officials pertaining to the $86 million
contract?
I am gravely concerned given that ICE did not compete this contract
award, that this is Endeavors' first contract with ICE, and that the
contract award amount far exceeds any previous award amounts with this
organization.
I look forward to your response about this situation and would
appreciate a written response within a week.
Sincerely,
Andrew S. Clyde,
Member of Congress.
______
Letter From Jason P. Houser to Honorable Andrew S. Clyde
June 1, 2021.
The Honorable Andrew S. Clyde,
U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
Dear Representative Clyde: Thank you for your March 31, 2021 letter
to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) relating to the
decision to award a contract to Family Endeavors.
ICE is dedicated to effectively enforcing U.S. immigration laws and
border security measures. While we are seeing an increased number of
migrants attempting to cross into the United States along the Southwest
Border (SWB), the Department of Homeland Security continues to
prioritize and target critical resources toward border areas in order
to process them consistent with applicable legal authorities, including
our immigration authorities and public health requirements. This influx
of migrant encounters at the SWB has been generally rising since April
2020 due to a variety of factors, including on-going violence, food
insecurity, and poverty within the noncitizens' home countries.
ICE is working expediently to implement additional processing and
throughput capacity to address the heightened traffic flow of
noncitizen families encountered along the SWB. To humanely and
efficiently address the current situation along the SWB, ICE signed a
short-term contract with the non-profit division of Family Endeavors to
provide temporary shelter and processing services for families who have
not been expelled from the United States and are therefore processed
for immigration proceedings. ICE actively engaged in market research
utilizing the techniques set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation
10.002(b)(2)(i) and (viii)--contacting knowledgeable individuals within
government and industry and conducting interchange meetings with
potential offerors. In the event the need for more emergency family
staging centers increases, the Federal Government will continue to
engage in market research as needed.
Thank you again for your letter. Please find answers to your
specific questions enclosed. Should you wish to discuss this matter
further, please do not hesitate to contact the ICE Office of
Congressional Relations at [].
Sincerely,
Jason P. Houser,
Acting Assistant Director, Office of Congressional Relations.
Enclosure
______
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Response to Representative
Andrew S. Clyde's March 31, 2021 Letter
Question 1. When did the Government identify the need to expand
detention capacity to address the reported shortage of bed space for
family units?
Response: After January 2021, the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) observed an increase in irregular migrant flows to the Southwest
Border (SWB), including greater numbers of family units. The projected
encounters for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 are expected to be the highest
number observed in over 20 years. Currently, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection is averaging encounters of more than 500 family units per
day. Because of this unusual and compelling urgency, the government
required the use of Emergency Family Staging Centers to meet the
critical mission requirements of housing, feeding, transporting, and
providing medical attention to thousands of asylum-seeking families
encountered along the SWB. The Federal Government lacked the capacity
to address the large influx of asylum seekers along the SWB and, as
such, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had to contract
expeditiously to expand its existing bedspace for family units. The
Federal Government is subject to regulatory and judicial constraints
that mandate specific housing requirements and failure to comply could
subject the Federal Government to substantial liability.
Question 2. Did the Government post a request for information or a
competitive notice requesting additional family unit detention beds?
Response: ICE utilized an expedited contracting authority
authorized in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) to respond to
the immediate and unusual situation along the SWB. ICE actively engaged
in market research utilizing the techniques set forth in FAR
10.002(b)(2)(i) and (viii)--contacting knowledgeable individuals within
government and industry and conducting interchange meetings with
potential offerors. ICE will continue to conduct market research for
any future emergency family reception needs. ICE did not issue a formal
request for information or pursue a competitive award for this
requirement based on the urgent need for these services.
Question 3. Did the Government receive an unsolicited proposal from
Endeavors?
Response: Based on the exception of FAR 5.202 (a)(2) (``unusual and
compelling urgency''), the ICE Office of Acquisition Management did not
publicize this firm-fixed price contract prior to award. This action
was required due to the urgency and time sensitivity of the situation,
coupled with the complexity of the services required. ICE relied on
knowledgeable government and industry personnel to identify the best
sources available to deliver the expedited support needed for the
current border crisis. ICE did not receive an unsolicited proposal in
accordance with FAR 15.603.
Question 4. What criteria, if any, did ICE use to determine that
Endeavors was the only source that could provide these services?
Response: The contract was awarded under the authority of FAR
6.302-2, unusual and compelling urgency. The justification for the use
of this authority was approved by the DHS Chief Procurement Officer.
DHS has experienced increase in irregular migrant flows to the SWB
and projected encounters for fiscal year 2021 are expected to be the
highest number observed in over 20 years. Due to the unusual and
compelling urgency, the Federal Government requires Emergency Family
Residential Sites (EFRSs) to meet the critical mission requirements of
housing, feeding, transporting, and providing medical attention to
these thousands of asylum-seeking families along the SWB. Without
EFRSs, the Federal Government would be forced to house family units and
unaccompanied children in unsuitable and unsafe living conditions. The
Federal Government is subject to regulatory and judicial constraints
that mandate specific housing requirements and failure to comply will
open the Federal Government to substantial liability. Family Endeavors,
Inc. (Endeavors) is the only known source that is presently capable of
meeting the Federal Government's urgent requirement to provide 1,239
hotel beds and all-inclusive emergency family residential services to
support the Federal Government's response. Other sources currently
engaged in providing these or similar services for ICE are being
further mobilized or converted for this specific use.
Question 5. To what extent has ICE, the Customs and Border
Protection, or other Federal agencies contracted with Endeavors for
similar services in the past?
Response: This is the first contract that ICE has awarded to
Endeavors. ICE cannot speak to any contracts awarded by CBP or any
other agencies.
Question 6. Did a former ICE Executive and Biden campaign advisor
for homeland security, Andre Lorenzen-Strait, have any involvement in
securing the $86 million no bid contract for detention beds?
Response: While Andrew Lorenzen-Strait is a former ICE employee,
ICE's pursuit of a contract with Endeavors was based upon Endeavors'
capabilities in combination with the urgent need of a service provider.
Question 7. Did Mr. Strait have any discussion with ICE officials
or Biden Administration officials pertaining to the $86 million
contract?
Response: As an employee of Endeavors, Mr. Lorenzen-Strait has
participated in the performance of the contract ICE established with
the non-profit organization.
Mr. Clyde. In response to that letter, the Department says
when I ask, when did the Government identify the need to expand
detention capacity? The response was, after January 21, the
Department of Homeland Security observed an increase in
irregular migrant flows to the Southwest Border. It further
goes on to say, the projected encounters for fiscal year 2021
are expected to be the highest number observed in 20 years.
This is from your own agency. Then in response to question 4,
DHS has experienced an increase in irregular migrant flows to
the Southwest Border and projected encounters for fiscal year
2021 are again expected to be the highest number observed in
over 20 years. Do we have a crisis at the border, Mr.
Secretary?
Secretary Mayorkas. I have previously articulated many,
many times that as has occurred in the past, we have a
challenge----
Mr. Clyde. A yes or no is sufficient, sir.
Secretary Mayorkas. We have a challenge at the border and
we have a strategy.
Mr. Clyde. Do we have a crisis at the border, sir?
Secretary Mayorkas. I do not agree with the use of that
terminology as I have articulated before. We have a strategy.
We are executing----
Mr. Clyde. Well, I think we do, Mr. Secretary.
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. On our strategy. I have
confidence in our strategy.
Mr. Clyde. Now, along with this letter, I asked about a
$86.9 million noncompete contract that was given to Family
Endeavors by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Do you agree
that the Federal Government should be the best possible steward
of taxpayers' money?
Secretary Mayorkas. Absolutely.
Mr. Clyde. OK. Well, this $86.9 million noncompete contract
requested 1,239 beds beginning March 17 through the end of
September 2021, which was 197 days. So, if you take 1,239 times
197, that is 244,000 beds for $86.9 million. That is $356 a day
per bed. Does that sound excessive for a hotel?
Secretary Mayorkas. I cannot judge from my position,
Congressman. I think you are well aware of the fact that it
would be impermissible for the Secretary of Homeland Security
to involve him or herself in the contracting process.
Mr. Clyde. Well,----
Secretary Mayorkas. I know that that--if I may finish. I
know that that contract is actually----
Mr. Clyde. Let me reclaim my time. OK. I think this is
excessive. That is way above the Government rate and it does
not sound like a good use of Government resources to me.
Secretary Mayorkas. I know that that contract is under
review, Congressman.
Mr. Clyde. OK, well, according to this letter, it says, ICE
actively engaged in market research utilizing techniques set
forth in the FAR contacting knowledgeable individuals within
the Government and industry and conducting interchange meetings
with potential offerors. Would you be willing--would you agree
today to provide us a copy of your market research and the list
of potential offerors with which DHS met, including the times
and dates of those meetings?
Secretary Mayorkas. I know that that contract is under
review and I will relay your request for information to my
team, Congressman.
Mr. Clyde. OK.
Secretary Mayorkas. We pride ourselves on responsiveness.
Mr. Clyde. OK. You know, this letter states the reason for
this noncompete is unusual and compelling urgency. They use an
expedited contracting authority to respond to the immediate and
unusual situation along the Southwest Border. You know, that
says crisis to me. It also says, this is the first contract
that ICE has awarded to Endeavors. The very first contract, yet
it says, Family Endeavors is the only known source that is
presently capable of meeting the Federal Government's urgent
requirement to provide 1,239 hotel beds in an all-inclusive
emergency family residential services to support the Federal
Government's response. How in the world does ICE know that they
are the only known source when they have never awarded a
contract to Family Endeavors before?
Secretary Mayorkas. Two comments, if I may, Congressman.
First, I must repeat that that contract is under review. The
team----
Mr. Clyde. OK, all right. Thank you. I have got another
question for you on a different subject. Is the Federal airline
mask mandate a Federal law?
Secretary Mayorkas. It is a Federal mandate.
Mr. Clyde. So, it is not a law.
Secretary Mayorkas. I actually don't know the answer to
that question, Congressman. I know it is a mandate and we have
the legal authority----
Mr. Clyde. OK.
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. To issue--if I may answer,
Congressman. We have the legal authority to issue mandates.
Mr. Clyde. OK, all right. That is fine. So, Dr. Fauci,
every----
Chairman Thompson. The gentleman's time has expired.
Mr. Clyde. I yield back.
Chairman Thompson. The gentleman's time has expired. The
Chair recognizes the gentlelady from New York, Miss Rice, for 5
minutes.
Miss Rice. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Secretary Mayorkas, I
was pleased this week to see the White House release the first-
ever National Strategy for Domestic Terrorism and that the
strategy places a particular emphasis on addressing the racism,
bigotry, and religious hatred that has fueled a great deal of
domestic violent extremism. Even before the pandemic,
communities in my district and across New York were reeling
from a spate of anti-Semitic attacks. Things have only worsened
as extremists and conspiracy theorists spin lies about Jews
spreading the virus or controlling our elections.
Just last month, a young man from my district, Joseph
Borgen, was the victim of a anti-Semitic assault on the streets
of New York, which was videotaped and went viral in which he
was punched, kicked, pepper sprayed, and assailed with ethnic
slurs. Tragically, the Orthodox community is an easy target for
violence because they wear such visible markers of their faith.
How will President Biden's National strategy protect the
Orthodox community and other targets of violence motivated by
religious hatred?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, I very much appreciate
your question. I should answer it first on a personal note. My
maternal grandfather lost 8 brothers and a sister and his
parents to anti-Semitism executed by the Nazis in World War II
Europe. That issue has deep and profound resonance for me.
Under the President's leadership, we have invested considerable
resources in educating faith-based communities, including the
Orthodox community, with respect to the rise of ideologies of
hate and their connectivity to violence. We have resourced a
grant program in that regard, and we have----
Miss Rice. I wanted to talk about that if I could, Mr.
Secretary. The Nonprofit and Security Grant Program, which
provides funding for physical security, enhancements for houses
of worship, as you know, is one of the most important resources
available to vulnerable communities and nonprofits. While I am
grateful that that program has delivered millions of dollars to
New York and Long Island. My colleagues and I have heard from
Jewish and interfaith organizations that present funding levels
are insufficient to meet current needs. So, Representative Ted
Lieu of California and I recently wrote to the House
Appropriations Committee, Homeland Security Subcommittee, to
request $400 million of funding for this program for fiscal
year 2022. So, I am hoping that that is going to be responded
to.
I have a short amount of time and I just want to move on to
the issue of border waiver authority. I was glad to see that
President Biden's budget requests no funding for border wall
construction, and instead focuses on investing in effective and
modern methods of securing the border and addressing the root
causes of migration. This stands in stark contrast to the
previous President whose budget request reflected a very
narrow-minded view of immigration and redirected billions of
dollars to the misguided border wall at the expense of public
safety and the mission of DHS. While I am glad that our country
is moving in the right direction, I do believe we need to learn
from our past and correct loopholes in our law where we find
them.
As you now, two-thirds of land on the Southern Border is
owned by private citizens or the border States. Much of it is
home to sensitive wildlife and wild lands. So, in order to
construct his wall across this land, President Trump relied on
both eminent domain, in which the Government seizes land from
citizens, and DHS's waiver authority, which allows the
Secretary to waive environmental preservation laws in support
of border wall construction. The former administration's abuse
of the waiver authority led to destroying habitats for at-risk
species, it undermined the public's trust in Government, and
was particularly harmful to Tribal nations whose sacred lands
cross the Southern Border.
So, last Congress this committee passed my bill the
Rescinding DHS' Waiver Authority for Border Wall Act, which
would have repealed the Department of Homeland Security's
ability to waive any and every law with the stroke of a pen. Do
you agree that you and your successors should not have
unchecked authority to waive critical public health and safety
laws including the Endangered Species Act, the National
Environmental Policy Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the
Clean Water Act for wall construction? How is the Biden
administration going to work to rebuild these habitats and
rebuild trust in the U.S. Government?
Secretary Mayorkas. We are very committed to environmental
protection. Any waiver authority that we would exercise would
only be compelled by circumstances that include an evaluation
of environmental impacts. I look forward to working with you on
that legislation, Congresswoman.
Miss Rice. Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. I yield
back, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Thompson. Thank you. The gentlelady yields back.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas, Mr. McCaul, for
5 minutes.
Mr. McCaul. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Mr.
Secretary. Since January 2021, there have been over 700,000
illegal crossings across the Southwest Border, a 21-year high
that you, in fact, predicted. This month, the Biden
administration officially rescinded the Migrant Protection
Protocols, and I will want to ask you about that.
But first, my home State of Texas passed a $1 billion in
taxpayer dollars because the Federal Government is failing to
step up to the plate. Texas has had to take this crisis in its
own hands. The Governor talked about spending now $250 million
to begin border wall construction and is now taking donations.
Are you, sir, prepared to--it is a Federal responsibility, the
border, not a State. We all understand that. Are you prepared
to reimburse Texans for their border security expenses?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman McCaul, it is good to see
you again. It has been a while----
Mr. McCaul. You too.
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. Since we worked together
when you were Chairman of the committee and I served as the
deputy secretary. I believe it is, indeed, a Federal
responsibility. We are fulfilling that responsibility. We are
executing our strategy and we will continue to do so.
Mr. McCaul. Well, it is a Federal responsibility. Yes, at
some point the Federal Government needs to pick up the cost and
the tab on this. With respect to Migrant Protection Protocols,
you know, I have been a very--I have been very harsh in my
criticism of the recission of Remain in Mexico and the asylum
cooperation agreements with Central America. I think that was a
foreign policy masterpiece by the Trump administration and a
foreign policy blunder by the Biden administration, which has
created the self-inflicted wound which opened up the border to
the traffickers. The traffickers are the ones winning here, not
the children, for sure. Now we are seeing--we will probably see
1 million come into this country, along with all the drugs,
including fentanyls, which are now killing people not only in
the northeast, but in my home State of Texas. I have seen many
deaths take place and the apprehensions are going up.
What is your plan to deal with this migrant surge? I know
you went down to Mexico, but please tell me you are negotiating
with Central America and Mexico. You could call it whatever you
want, but some agreement with them to stop this crisis that we
are now in.
Secretary Mayorkas. We have a multi-tiered strategy,
Congressman, as I think you well know. One, we are addressing
the root causes of irregular migration that have persisted for
quite a number of years, peaks at several times. You and I
worked together to address peaks over the many years, No. 1.
No. 2, we are building legal pathways, alternatives to
irregular migration so people don't have to take the perilous
journey. We are rebuilding and expanding the Central American
Minors Program. Building processing centers in the countries of
origin. Third, we are, indeed, addressing the tools that we
have to bring consequences to bear when individuals seek to
avoid detection.
Mr. McCaul. If I can reclaim my time.
Secretary Mayorkas. Addressing the home organizations.
Mr. McCaul. I know it is called the [inaudible] in
Guatemala. I talk to the Ambassador a lot and that is great,
these processing centers. But until you change these policies
that were rescinded, the traffickers are not going to choose
those centers. They are going to chose to make 15 million a day
and .5 a billion month by taking these children on this
dangerous journey.
I would ask that you, as I know you are, work with the
State Department. We have the Development Finance Corporation.
When I talk to the Guatemalan ambassador, he says I don't
really want aid, I want trade. He wants private investment in
Central America. We created statutorily into law the
Development Finance Corporation and there are other avenues as
well to work with the private sector to get private investment
in Central America because it is one area where you and I agree
on this one is that until we fix that, we are going to continue
to have a migration problem. So, I hope you can work----
Chairman Thompson. The gentleman's time from Texas has
expired. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas, Mr.
Green, for 5 minutes. The Chair recognizes Mrs. Demings from
Florida for 5 minutes.
Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. Secretary
Mayorkas, thank you so much for being with us. It is great to
see you and to have you in your position. I am very pleased to
see the administration's announcement of the National Strategy
for Countering Domestic Terrorism this week. As you know, we
all must, especially on this committee, be truthful about the
threats we face. It is clear that domestic terrorism is an
urgent threat the United States faces today.
While we in Congress survived the attack on our Capitol,
everyone, as you know, Mr. Secretary, did not. We should do
everything in our power to thoroughly investigate it and ensure
that while we are here doing the people's business, that we,
our staff members, and the people who work in this building,
are safe. How can we forget the law enforcement officers who
were beaten down that day and gave all they had to, as they
say, hold the line.
I appreciate the work the administration is doing to help
FEMA assist State and local governments combat domestic
terrorist threats in their community. This year, the notice of
funding opportunity for fiscal year 2021 for FEMA State
Homeland Security Grant Program and Urban Security Grant
Initiative included domestic terrorism as a new National
priority. Secretary Mayorkas, can you explain the significance
of this change in the Homeland Security grant programs and how
you think its impact will be?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, thank you so much for
your focus on this critical area. As I have mentioned, it is
the greatest terrorism-related threat that we face on the
homeland. We require grant recipients under the program that
you identified to dedicate at least $77 million to this effort.
We believe that the greatest utility, the most effective
measure is to build partnerships to equip State, local, Tribal,
territorial law enforcement agencies to understand, to receive,
to understand, and actionalize the information they receive
with respect to threat streams and to build programs of
partnership in the communities in which they reside to protect
us, to be able to identify individuals who are exhibiting signs
of radicalization and intention to commit violence, and to
prevent it before it occurs.
Mrs. Demings. Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for that.
But by the same token, as the Chair of the Subcommittee on
Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery, I am greatly
disappointed to see that the Department proposed a decrease of
$15.3 million to the Urban Area Security Initiative Grant
Program. One that I as a local official, local police chief,
certainly depended upon. The Department's budget justification
states that the proposed reduction will have a minimal impact
on accomplishing the goals of UASI. Mr. Secretary, how did the
Department engage jurisdictions, local law enforcement,
organizations, and emergency managers to determine that a $15.3
million cut would have a ``minimal impact on accomplishing the
goals of UASI''?
Secretary Mayorkas. A three-part answer, if I may,----
Mrs. Demings. Yes.
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. Congresswoman. Certainly,
I recognize your distinguished service as a chief of police
before becoming a Member of Congress. No. 1, I immediately
halted when I came to office a significant diversion of UASI
funds that was planned by the prior administration. No. 2, we
have shifted a focus from developing capacity, to sustainment,
to now being able to address emerging threats for precisely the
reason that your first question underscores. Third, we are
working very closely with State and local law enforcement to
analyze the grant formula that underlies the UASI program and
make sure that it addresses the needs most effectively of the
entire first responder community.
Mrs. Demings. Mr. Secretary, I am out of time. Thank you so
much. Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Ms. Barragan [presiding]. Thank you. The gentlewoman yields
back. This is Congress Member Barragan who will take over
chairing as the Chairman has gone to the floor to vote. We next
have up Representative Garbarino. You are recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. Garbarino. Thank you very much. Thank you very much,
Mr. Secretary, for being here. I have a question regarding
President Biden's recent cybersecurity Executive Order. It
gives CISA a lot of--gives them a lot of responsibilities and
has several requirements for them. While we are supportive of
these steps, the budget does not request additional funding for
CISA to carry this out. Is there a reason CISA is not getting
additional funding for all these items that are in the
Executive Order?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman Garbarino, we appreciate
the additional funding that Congress already has provided. We
do seek additional funding for CISA. We intend to devote all of
our efforts to execute on the President's leadership in this
area.
Mr. Garbarino. But I mean, is there--was there a reason
that the Executive Order and the budget requests were not
coordinated more closely?
Secretary Mayorkas. We do think that the strategy is
coordinated very effectively, Congressman. Our team would be
very pleased to meet with you and your staff to ensure that you
understand exactly the coordination that we have undertaken.
Mr. Garbarino. So, you believe CISA has the resources to
meet the requirements under the Executive Order?
Secretary Mayorkas. We have the resources. We have
requested the resources, and we will continue to request the
resources to expand on the mission as the threats so compel.
Mr. Garbarino. I appreciate that and I agree with the
Ranking Member that CISA needs to be a much highly--much more
funded organization and needs to be really the centerpiece of
the Government's cybersecurity. Which is why I am wondering
where is the administration--I know they are currently
reviewing and providing comments on some cybersecurity bills
that would give the Department of Energy enhanced cybersecurity
authorities relating to the energy and pipeline sectors. It is
not just the pipeline and energy sectors that is under attack
from these cyber attacks. So, wouldn't it make more sense for
CISA to have the responsibility across the board to be the
quarterback and not give DOE enhanced cybersecurity authorities
over these pipelines because, you know, these attacks are not
sector-specific?
Secretary Mayorkas. So, we have been taking a look at that
question. I think the question raises very complex issues that
we also would look forward to discussing. I think what we have
done in the pipeline arena in the pipeline sector in response
to the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack speaks of the
complexity of the issues. TSA as assuredly you know, regulates
the security of the gas pipelines. In coordination with CISA,
issued a new security directive several weeks ago, which
required--imposed certain obligations on gas pipeline operators
such as identifying the cybersecurity coordinator who would be
on call 24/7. Such as providing information to CISA upon an
attack. I think this is a very complex area with respect to the
role of CISA vis-a-vis regulatory agencies across the different
sectors. I would look forward to discussing that with you,
Congressman Garbarino.
Mr. Garbarino. Yes, I think we have to--we should
definitely--we don't have enough time here today to go over it,
but we should definitely work together on that. I want to
change angles here real quick. I was down at the border
recently. The Biden administration has reduced the enforcement
of Title 42 for UACs, and Title 42 for other adults, we spoke
to Border Patrol. They said having that, the border police
having that Title 42 authority right now is extremely helpful
in stopping their officers, their buildings from being overrun.
If the administration fully revokes Title 42, even though the
pandemic is still--we still have a global pandemic and the
COVID numbers in Mexico are very high, is there enough funding?
Is there enough funding for Border Patrol to make sure that
they can deal with the influx of migrants coming across? I
mean, they are very concerned about what is going to happen if
Title 42 is fully revoked.
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, it is a very important--
this is a very important point. Title 42 is a public health
authority. It is not an immigration authority. The ability to
employ the Title 42 authority is dependent upon the public
health situation. It is driven by public health data, not a
matter of immigration policy, and that is dictated by law.
Mr. Garbarino. But the Border Patrol agents--but the Border
Patrol agents still have to deal with it. I mean, so, I mean,
they are going to need the resources.
Secretary Mayorkas. That is correct, and we have a plan as
we had before the pandemic, to address irregular migration in
between the ports of entry absent a public health imperative.
Ms. Barragan. The gentleman's time has expired. Thank you
to the gentleman for your questions. I will now recognize
myself for 5 minutes of questions.
Mr. Secretary, first, thank you for being with us today. I
will just remind my colleagues on the other side who have been
asking for this country to open up because there is no longer a
health crisis according to them, that we will continue to
encourage the administration to look at Title 42 now that the
country is reopening again.
I want to thank you, Mr. Secretary, for all the work you
have done at the border and for allowing me to visit the border
with you to see the remarkable progress we have seen. Having
children out of Border Patrol custody as quickly as possible
under your work and the work of this administration has been
remarkable to see the hours go down significantly, less than 72
hours in many cases, 24 hours. So, I want to thank you for
that.
We also heard from colleagues across the aisle about help
on the border. I am sure that you are aware of this, but happy
to report to my colleagues that help is on the way. I had the
honor of going down to FLETC in Charleston to provide remarks
at a graduation ceremony there for the second class of the
Border Patrol processing coordinator. Which is a position that
was created to provide that additional assistance for Border
Patrol agents so they had that extra help to process migrants
to make sure that we are getting them better care for children
and for families and to allow more agents to remain in the
field. So, I wanted to thank you, Mr. Secretary, for that.
Mr. Secretary, as you know, the Department of Homeland
Security is the largest Federal law enforcement agency in the
country with more than 60,000 law enforcement officers among
its work force. Additionally, tens of thousands of State,
local, and Tribal law enforcement officers receive training
from one of DHS's components, the Federal Law Enforcement
Training Centers. As I mentioned, I was fortunate to visit the
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Charleston earlier
this week. This visit reinforced my belief that DHS has the
opportunity to be a leader in law enforcement training by
prioritizing de-escalation tactics and oversight mechanisms in
its standards regarding use of force and ensuring compliance
throughout the Department. Secretary Mayorkas, what efforts is
DHS making to ensure that the Department's law enforcement
components are prioritizing de-escalation and utilizing proper
use of force tactics?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, thank you for your
preliminary remarks. We are every day looking at the training
that we provide to our law enforcement personnel and ensuring
that it comports with best practices as they emerge. We are
very focused on ensuring that FLETC implements those best
practices in its training protocols, not only because FLETC
imparts expertise, knowledge, and education to Federal law
enforcement, but also has an important role with respect to
State and local law enforcement. I would be pleased to provide
the particulars to you.
Ms. Barragan. Well, thank you. You kind-of read my next
question was, you know, what are FLETC and the Department doing
to convey these best practices to State, local, and Tribal law
enforcement agencies?
Secretary Mayorkas. We work in close partnership with
State, local, Tribal, territorial law enforcement. I was just
in California last week and met with chiefs of police,
sheriffs, highway patrol, and spoke about these very issues. We
take a very collaborative and communicative approach with our
partners in this regard.
Ms. Barragan. Great. Well, thank you for that. I was
impressed to see the efficiency of having this law enforcement
training center there and so many agencies, I believe over 100,
using it and collaborating and working together. I am also
pleased that the Chairman of our committee has taken action on
this issue by developing language in the DHS reform bill that
enhances and expands de-escalation training at the Department
and prohibits the use of chokeholds, among other reforms. Mr.
Secretary, will you commit to working with the committee on
enacting and implementing these reforms?
Secretary Mayorkas. I look forward to doing so,
Congresswoman.
Ms. Barragan. Well, fantastic. Thank you again, Mr.
Secretary. I see that my colleague, Mr. Torres of New York has
joined us. I will now recognize the gentleman from New York,
Mr. Torres, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Torres. Good morning, Mr. Secretary. My first question
is about the 287(g) program. As you know, the program grew by
425 percent during the Trump administration. It has led to the
weaponization of local law enforcement against immigrants and
their families. It has done incalculable damage to the public
trust that lies at the foundation of public safety. Despite
promising to end the program, which has been abused by the
likes of Sheriff Arpaio, your Department has so far kept it
intact. So, I am going to ask the same question that I asked
several months ago. When do you plan to end the program as the
President promised?
Secretary Mayorkas. Well, Congressman, let me share with
you the approach that we are taking. No. 1, I should say as a
predicate, that change takes time. No. 2, it is clear that we
need to strengthen and improve our relationship with State and
local law enforcement to make sure that it is productive in the
service of our mission and in adherence with, and this is
critical, our principles and values. I am working with
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement on new enforcement
guidelines. That, I think, is the first step necessary as we
reform our immigration enforcement system.
No. 2, an additional point, and I think you I am sure are
aware of this, if in fact, we see the pernicious abuse of a
287(g) agreement, the mistreatment of individuals in
immigration custody, we will act accordingly. Indeed, I have
done so. I specifically and respectfully draw your attention to
our actions in the State of Massachusetts in keeping with the
findings of the attorney general in that State.
Mr. Torres. You are conducting a review. What is the time
line for the review?
Secretary Mayorkas. We will move as swiftly as we can. We
will----
Mr. Torres. Do you have something more concrete than as
swiftly as we can?
Secretary Mayorkas. I do not, Congressman. I do not have a
more concrete time line for you.
Mr. Torres. A question about TPS. As you know, Mr.
Secretary, instability in Central America has driven a mass
migration to the U.S.-Mexico border. Central America has been
hit hard by several hurricanes. According to Oxfam, two
hurricanes in particular had an impact on 11 million people
causing the evacuation of 800,000. Since environmental disaster
is one of the criteria for Temporary Protected Status, are you
open to designating Guatemala and redesignating El Salvador,
Honduras, and Nicaragua for Temporary Protected Status?
Secretary Mayorkas. We are looking at the country
conditions in the countries that you identified, Congressman
Torres. We are studying those country conditions very carefully
and we fully recognize that climate disasters are considered a
factor in our review.
Mr. Torres. Is there a time line for that review?
Secretary Mayorkas. We are also moving as swiftly as
possible, Congressman.
Mr. Torres. OK. As you know, Mr. Secretary, there has been
a surge in cyber attacks. The law department in America's
largest city was struck by a cyber attack. So was the
Metropolitan Transit Authority, the largest public transit
system in the United States. Are you aware of each of these
attacks?
Secretary Mayorkas. I am.
Mr. Torres. Since local and State governments and public
transit systems have no reporting obligation to DHS when it
comes to cyber incidents, how did you find out about these
attacks? When did you find out? Did you find out immediately?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we pride ourselves in our
partnerships with both public agencies across the Nation as
well as with the private sector. We are looking at reporting
obligations. The current architecture, they are voluntary. We
are determining the pros and cons of making reporting
obligations mandatory. I should say, obliging them. There are
both----
Mr. Torres. Just in the interest of time quickly, Mr.
Secretary, I just want to--because my time is running out. Does
DHS have the authority to require reporting of cyber incidents
as a condition for receiving DHS grants?
Secretary Mayorkas. I would have to take a look at that
precise question as you tie it to grant funding, Congressman.
Mr. Torres. Stipulate for a moment that you did have the
authority, would you be open to extending reporting obligations
to State and local governments and public transit systems that
become the target of cyber attacks?
Secretary Mayorkas. I would like to analyze that issue
better. I am not equipped to answer such a significant question
extemporaneously.
Mr. Torres. I see my time is about to expire. So, I thank
you for your public service.
Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you.
Chairman Thompson. Thank you very much. The gentleman's
time has expired. I thank the gentlelady from California for
stepping in while I went and voted. Thank you much. The Chair
recognizes the gentlelady from Florida for 5 minutes.
Mrs. Cammack. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate
it. Good morning Secretary Mayorkas.
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, it is--forgive me. I
apologize for interrupting. It is a little difficult to hear
you.
Mrs. Cammack. Can you hear me better now?
Chairman Thompson. I think you need to turn your volume up.
Mrs. Cammack. Can you hear me better now?
Secretary Mayorkas. Yes. Yes. I will focus even more
intensely on----
Mrs. Cammack. OK. All right. Well, I will jump right in on
the questions and I will speak as loud as I possibly can. So,
Secretary Mayorkas, you would, I am assuming, certainly agree
that border security is under the purview of Homeland Security.
Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
Mrs. Cammack. Excellent. So, can you tell me what the job
description of the border czar is?
Secretary Mayorkas. Do you mean the Secretary of Homeland
Security? My----
Mrs. Cammack. No, no.
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. Responsibilities----
Mrs. Cammack. I am referring to the appointment from
President Biden to Vice President Harris as the border czar.
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, you are speaking with
the individual who has responsibility for border security. As
the Secretary of Homeland----
Mrs. Cammack. So, you----
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. Security.
Mrs. Cammack. So, there is----
Secretary Mayorkas. The Vice President's----
Mrs. Cammack [continuing]. Then with the administration.
So, it is our understanding that Vice President Harris has been
appointed by President Biden as a border czar.
Secretary Mayorkas. That is a----
Mrs. Cammack. You said you disagree.
Secretary Mayorkas. That is a misunderstanding. The Vice
President, her focus is on addressing the root causes of
irregular migration working with the countries of Guatemala, El
Salvador, and Honduras in the Northern Triangle to understand
why people are leaving their home countries, their homes where
they speak the language----
Mrs. Cammack. OK. Secretary Mayorkas----
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. Where they built their
lives.
Mrs. Cammack [continuing]. This is Homeland Security of the
United States. I understand that we--I understand where you are
going with this, but I am going to reclaim my time. So, I am
just going to redirect. How many agents do we have, Border
Patrol agents do we have on the Southwest Border?
Secretary Mayorkas. I will provide you with a precise
number, Congresswoman. I will provide that to you later today.
Mrs. Cammack. As Secretary of Homeland Security, we have a
border crisis, and you can't tell me how many agents we have,
roughly, approximately on the Southwest Border?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, I think you are aware of
the fact the tens of thousands of Border Patrol agents that we
have. You are well aware of the responsibilities that they
execute and the talent and expertise they bring to bear to the
border.
Mrs. Cammack. I am. There is roughly 20,000 for both the
north and southern borders on the United States. Can you tell
me how many sectors we have in Texas?
Secretary Mayorkas. I cannot provide to you the precise
number----
Mrs. Cammack. There are 9 sectors.
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. Of sectors that we have.
Mrs. Cammack. Secretary Mayorkas, there are 9 sectors. I
will answer that for you. In the President's budget, they
allocated $9.1 million in coordinators, which will be the
equivalent of 125 agents, which are not full-fledged agents.
They are transporters for migrants and paper intake folks. But
when we have a record number of retirees out of the Border
Patrol agents with some of the lowest morale in the country,
and 40 percent of the agents in just the RGB sector alone, one
of the highest activity sectors they are seeing the highest
numbers of apprehensions and got-aways along the Southwest
Border, 40 percent of the agents are already doing
humanitarian. Do you think 125 agents or coordinators,
additional coordinators is sufficient----
Secretary Mayorkas. I can----
Mrs. Cammack [continuing]. Given the numbers?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, if you understand the
work force and its----
Mrs. Cammack. Mr. Secretary----
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. And its needs,----
Mrs. Cammack. Mr. Secretary, I do not mean to be rude, but
just a yes or a no will suffice.
Secretary Mayorkas. No, may I please have the opportunity
to answer your question? Because this is so vitally important
not only for the execution of our responsibilities, but to the
morale of the Border Patrol agents. What we try to avoid is
having Border Patrol agents execute mission support
responsibilities and, therefore, we are recruiting and hiring
individuals with different job portfolios so that those with
expertise can actually execute the responsibilities within the
parameters of their expertise.
Mrs. Cammack. Secretary Mayorkas, I am not sure what
expertise is required to drive a bus or van and to fill out
paperwork. But I do think that our full-fledged sworn officers
and agents need more support from the administration
absolutely.
I am going to redirect the remaining time that I have. As
you know, FEMA's Emergency Food and Shelter Program provides
Federal funds. I have recently been on an airplane in McAllen,
Texas in which migrants were being flown from on that plane
that I was on and these were migrants that we had picked up the
night before, it is my understanding that FEMA is supporting
the travel costs of these migrants. Is that true?
Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, we have brought
resources from different agencies to address the security of
the border. It reflects our commitment to achieving that
security. It is part of our strategy and we are executing on
that strategy. We have dedicated FEMA----
Mrs. Cammack. I will take that as a yes.
Secretary Mayorkas [continuing]. Personnel to the
Department of Health and Human Services as well. Personnel from
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to address the needs
of unaccompanied children. It is what you and I spoke of at the
last hearing. I think the progress that--the extraordinary
progress that we made with respect to that mission set speaks
precisely to what I communicated to you in March, which is, we
have a strategy.
Mrs. Cammack. Mr. Secretary, I understand.
Secretary Mayorkas. We are executing our strategy.
Mrs. Cammack. I understand. My time has expired. I want to
be respectful of the Chairman. So, I will take your answer as a
yes that FEMA has been supporting the travel costs of migrants.
I will also submit for the record that once again, the
questions that I submitted to the record to you, Secretary
Mayorkas, in March have gone unanswered. I will again repeat my
request to have your office respond in writing to those
requests. With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Chairman Thompson. The gentlelady yields back. Thank you
very much.
Mrs. Cammack. Thank you.
Chairman Thompson. Mr. Mayorkas, I am submitting for the
record, a letter from Chairwoman Maxine Waters asking for
certain information from your office. I ask unanimous consent
for it to be included in the record without objection.
[The information follows:]
Letter Submitted by Chairman Bennie G. Thompson
June 16, 2021.
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security, U.S. House of
Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
Chair Thompson: I am writing to you regarding a false allegation
being made about me which states that I requested and received
protection from the United States Capitol Police, the United States
Secret Service, and the Federal Air Marshal Service during an April 17,
2021 flight from Washington Dulles International Airport to
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. This false allegation is
being circulated by several media outlets and is claiming that Members
of Congress are abusing the Federal Air Marshal Service due to changes
made after January 6, 2021.
To be clear, I did not request any protection from any of the
agencies I have outlined. I have never requested Federal Air Marshal
protection, Secret Service, or any armed guards from anywhere and I
certainly never knew that Members of Congress have called or requested
Air Marshal protection. It is my understanding that the Federal Air
Marshal Service is a service overseen by the Transportation Security
Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
Due to the nature of the false claim against myself and other
Members of Congress regarding the Federal Air Marshal Service, I am
doing my own thorough investigation. While I have received definitive
statements from the United States Capitol Police and the United States
Secret Service confirming that I did not request or receive protection
from them, I am now requesting a definitive statement from the Federal
Air Marshal Service clarifying that I did not request Air Marshals to
accompany me on my April 17 flight, or any of my flights. Due to these
false accusations, I have received threats against my life and I feel I
must defend myself by having the agencies I am accused of using tell
the truth about the allegations.
Through my inquiries into this matter, it was determined by the
U.S. Capitol Police that my itinerary for the April 17 flight was
leaked by an individual with the Metropolitan Washington Airports
Authority to right-wing media outlets who began pushing a false
narrative about Members of Congress and their alleged abuse of the
Federal Air Marshal Service. The identification of this person was not
given, nor is it clear if any actions have been taken against them for
the leak of my itinerary. I would like to know if there is any law that
prohibits individuals from leaking the flight information of any
passenger, be it an elected official or otherwise.
I have also discovered that there are various groups that represent
Federal Air Marshals. Two that I am aware of are the Air Marshal
Association and the Air Marshal National Council. The Air Marshal
National Council broke off from the Air Marshal Association and handles
their information very differently. The Air Marshal National Council
President David Londo and Executive Director Sonya Hightower LoBasco
have made outrageous statements about my travel. Hightower LoBasco, as
cited in a May 14 Fox News Article, has said that I was already
accompanied by two U.S. Capitol Police Officers and two U.S. Secret
Service officers when I requested two air marshals and two more
marshals on touchdown to escort me. Londo has said ``Placing FAMs on
aircraft simply because a Member of Congress requests it is an
egregious misuse of government resources. The FAMs are now taking
agents off of regularly scheduled `high risk' flights to put them on
flights with Members of Congress, that in most cases have their own
armed Federal security details onboard already. It has become akin to a
type of extremely expensive concierge service for congressional
members.'' Following these outrageous claims, the Air Marshal
Association has referred me to information that describes the Airport
National Council and I will refer you to that.
Over the last couple of months, I have discovered that Members of
Congress do not know or understand the relationship between all the
agencies tasked with working with Congress. With Secretary Mayorkas
coming before your committee tomorrow, June 17, it is my hope that he
can address this. I am also respectfully requesting a meeting to
clarify the role that each agency tasked with ensuring the protection
of Members of Congress fulfills including, but not limited to, the
United States Capitol Police, the Transportation Security
Administration, and the Federal Air Marshal Service.
Respectfully,
Congresswoman Maxine Waters.
Chairman Thompson. I want to thank the Secretary for his
testimony and the Members for their questions. The Members of
the committee may have additional questions for the Secretary
and we ask that you respond expeditiously in writing to those
questions. The Chair reminds Members that the committee record
will remain open for 10 business days. Let me thank you again,
Mr. Secretary. You have gone almost 3 hours. So, thank you very
much. Without objection, the committee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:13 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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Questions From Chairman Bennie G. Thompson for Alejandro N. Mayorkas
Question 1. The mission of the Countering Weapons of Mass
Destruction Office (CWMD) is to lead DHS efforts and coordinate with
domestic and international partners to safeguard the United States
against chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and health
security threats. However, the relatively new Office, established in
2018, has struggled to manage its responsibilities, with biodetection
being one of the most prominent examples of the Office's struggles, and
previous leadership issues within CWMD leading to low employee morale
and high attrition rates.
Mr. Secretary, will you commit to taking a thorough look at the
challenges within CWMD, and report to this committee, within the year,
your plans to address them?
Question 2. Mr. Secretary, CWMD also houses the Department's chief
medical officer. However, there is considerable debate over whether the
officer's placement serves the needs of the Department and the public.
In the weeks following the hearing on June 17, 2021, DHS officials have
proposed transferring the CMO to another unit within DHS. Is it your
view that the CMO should transfer to another unit within CWMD? Please
describe your vision for the Department's CMO, and include details
about the operations, goals, and structure you envision for the CMO's
office going forward.
Answer. As Secretary Mayorkas stated during the May 26, 2021, House
Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing, the medical and
public health functions of the Department are too fractured. In light
of the lessons learned throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Secretary
directed the Department to examine the organizational alignment of our
medical and public health functions to determine whether a different
structure would better serve the Department's Countering Weapons of
Mass Destruction Office (CWMD) mission, leadership, and workforce.
In accordance with the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Act
of 2018, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) CMO resides
within CWMD and serves as the principal advisor to the Secretary of
Homeland Security, Assistant Secretary for CWMD, the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator, and DHS senior leadership on
medical and public health issues related to natural disasters, border
health, pandemic response, acts of terrorism, and other man-made
disasters.
The Secretary is considering options to help define the vision,
structure, and other details of the CMO position and the Department's
medical and public health functions. Secretary Mayorkas looks forward
to continuing to work with Congress on the path forward.
Questions From Honorable Josh Gottheimer for Alejandro N. Mayorkas
Question 1. Why did the National Strategy for Countering Domestic
Terrorism take such a light touch when it comes to social media and
tech?
Question 2. How do you plan to address this clear gap in the
strategy, and what steps will DHS take to ensure that these platforms
do not remain breeding grounds for domestic terrorism?
Answer. While protecting U.S. civil rights and civil liberties, we
must combat domestic terrorism in all forms. Domestic terrorism poses
the most lethal and persistent terrorism-related threat to our country
today, particularly by white-supremacist, anti-government, and anti-
authority violent extremists. In June 2021, President Biden released
the first-ever National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism to
address this National security challenge and improve the Federal
Government's response. The strategy provides a Nation-wide framework
for the U.S. Government and partners to understand and share domestic
terrorism-related information; prevent domestic terrorism recruitment
and mobilization to violence; disrupt and deter domestic terrorism
activity; and confront long-term contributors to domestic terrorism,
while embracing the protection of civil rights and civil liberties as a
National security imperative.
Strategic Goal 2.2 of the National Strategy for Countering Domestic
Terrorism specifically addresses the prevention of on-line
radicalization, recruitment, and mobilization of individuals by
domestic terrorists and includes assisting technology companies and
platforms in developing strategies for establishing and enforcing their
terms of service. This strategy reflects the long-standing engagements
that have already been taking place between Federal agencies and the
technology sector on terrorism. For example, DHS and its partners
regularly engage with social media companies as well as the multi-
stakeholder nongovernmental organization Global Internet Forum to
Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), founded in 2017 by Facebook, Microsoft,
Twitter, and YouTube. Most notably, DHS has participated in the
Content-Sharing Algorithms, Processes, and Positive Interventions
working group which aims to build dialog across industry, Government,
and civil society about the tech sector's use of automation and content
recommendation processes, as well as best practices on positive online-
to-offline interventions.
In addition to regularly attending multilateral, public-private
partnerships like GIFCT, this year alone the Center for Prevention
Programs and Partnerships (CP3) has hosted and participated in more
than 70 engagements working with technology companies to find solutions
for preventing on-line radicalization to violence. Since September
2020, CP3 has hosted 3 Digital Forums, which are virtual conferences
for speakers and attendees from technology companies and platforms,
civil society, governments, and researchers that cover topics from on-
line gaming to health and well-being to help highlight the risks,
trends, and solutions. These events, attended by hundreds of
participants from around the world, showcased how technology can
exacerbate risk factors associated with the radicalization of
individuals via on-line platforms.
DHS will continue to collaborate across the global, multi-
stakeholder setting to address the recruitment and radicalization to
violence of domestic terrorism on-line while remaining committed to the
Constitutionally-protected freedoms of expression, association, and
free exercise of religion, among others. In addition to our on-going
engagement with stakeholders, DHS is developing ways to foster and
cultivate digital literacy to educate the public on understanding and
reading digital content with a focus on critical thinking and source
judgment. These efforts will help individuals maintain awareness and
improve safe social media practices, while building resiliency and
reducing the risk of radicalizing to violence. DHS is further exploring
partnerships with the private tech sector and civil society to better
enable our understanding of the domestic terrorism threat and our
ability to address new related threats as they emerge.
Question 3. Secretary Mayorkas, given that the agencies did not
meet the statutory mandate, how did this report inform the Department's
funding requests for countering domestic terrorism?
Question 4. When can policy makers expect a complete accounting for
the acts of domestic terrorism as mandated by the NDAA?
Answer. In January 2021, President Biden directed his National
security team to lead a comprehensive review of U.S. Government efforts
to address domestic terrorism. The review was rooted in the Joint
Comprehensive Threat Assessment on Domestic Violent Extremism, provided
by the intelligence and law enforcement communities. An unclassified
summary, Domestic Violent Extremism Poses Heightened Threat in 2021,
was released in March 2021. This assessment was followed by the
completion of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) mandated
report, which was provided by DHS and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) to Congress in May 2021. This report included a
strategic intelligence assessment and data on domestic terrorism,
including an appendix that included 10 years of data on domestic
terrorism incidents. The finalization of the NDAA report was but one
baseline source of inputs informing I&A's efforts to increase our
capabilities to conduct domestic terrorism, as efforts in this space
had been underway since the publication of DHS's Strategy for
Countering Terrorism and Targeted Violence in 2019.
Subsequently, the Biden administration released the first-ever
National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism in June 2021 to
address this threat to National security and improve the Federal
Government's response. The strategy provides a Nation-wide framework
for the U.S. Government and partners to understand and share domestic
terrorism-related information; prevent domestic terrorism recruitment
and mobilization to violence; disrupt and deter domestic terrorism
activity; and confront long-term contributors to domestic terrorism,
while embracing the protection of civil rights and civil liberties as a
National security imperative.
Collectively, the strategic guidance provided by the White House,
coupled with the results of the NDAA-mandated report and the assessment
of the domestic terrorism threat, will help prioritize DHS efforts to
counter threats of domestic terrorism and targeted violence; inform
Department decision-making; and be utilized to support and inform
future budgetary and funding requests for countering domestic
terrorism.
Question 5. What steps is the Department taking to ensure that all
acts of domestic terrorism are accounted for and tracked, to accurately
illustrate trends, help understand the threat, and appropriately
allocate resources?
Answer. As FBI and DHS noted in the November 2020 report on
Domestic Terrorism Definitions, Terminology, and Methodology, which we
jointly prepared to satisfy a requirement in the 2020 National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, Pub. L. 116-92, tracking of
domestic terrorism incidents Nation-wide has long been a challenge for
the Federal Government as there is no mandatory requirement that
directs State and local law enforcement agencies to report criminal
activity that may be racially or ideologically motivated. Nonetheless,
DHS has moved forward with several initiatives to baseline the threat,
both internally and with our partners.
Our second report to satisfy the NDAA, the joint FBI and DHS-
authored Strategic Intelligence Assessment and Data on Domestic
Terrorism provided to the Congress in May, contained a list of jointly
agreed-upon domestic terrorism incidents over the last 10 years. The
DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) has also internally
continued to track domestic terrorism incidents from a variety of
sources--including open sources and from our partners in the field--to
baseline activity in fiscal year 2021. Fourteen (14) analysts within
I&A's Counterterrorism Mission Center have been organizationally
aligned into a Domestic Terrorism Branch with responsibilities to
perform baseline analysis by identifying trends in domestic terrorism
incidents and work to develop internal databases to inform their
analysis.
DHS is also actively engaged in enacting programs, policies, and
efforts outlined in the White House's National Strategy for Countering
Domestic Terrorism, released June 2021, to bolster the Federal
Government's understanding and guide its response to the threat of
domestic terrorism--which recognizes the importance of identifying new
data sources to integrate into our existing tracking mechanisms,
ensuring a more holistic view of the threat. Future stakeholders and
partners--including State, local, Tribal, territorial, private-sector
partners, and academia--all possess data and expertise that can assist
in our analysis, and align our internal strategies to address the
threats of domestic terrorism.
Questions From Honorable Clay Higgins for Alejandro N. Mayorkas
Question 1. With a simple yes or no, do you acknowledge that the
number of documented border crossings is currently the highest it's
ever been in the past 2 decades?
Answer. In May 2021, there were 172,627 encounters of undocumented
migrants attempting to cross the southwest land border between ports of
entry. That was the highest number of encounters since April 2000
(180,050). However, the number of total encounters does not correspond
to the number of unique individuals CBP encounters. The large number of
expulsions under Title 42 authority during the pandemic has contributed
to a larger-than-usual number of migrants making multiple border
crossing attempts, which means that total encounters overstate the
number of unique individuals arriving at the border.
Question 2. Why would the Biden administration decrease the CBP
budget during this time of crisis?
Answer. The fiscal year 2022 President's budget provides funding to
sustain and strengthen U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) most
critical programs and capabilities in each of CBP's mission areas. The
planned resources emphasize border security, enforcement, and
administration of our immigration laws, preventing terrorism, and
enhancing security. The President's fiscal year 2022 budget includes
$14.6 billion in net discretionary funding for CBP, including $163.2
million to establish a permanent funding source to continue contracted
health care services at U.S. Border Patrol stations and ports of entry
along the Southwest Border; $87.0 million for various expansion and
renovation projects at U.S. Border Patrol facilities; $41.4 million to
fortify the Air and Marine Fleet; $35.0 million for procurement and
deployment of border surveillance technology; $31.1 million to support
contracted services (transportation and guard services) necessary to
support the movement of detained noncitizens from the Southwest Border;
and $9.1 million to hire 125 additional Border Patrol Processing
Coordinators and associated Mission Support personnel.
Question 3. Do you believe that if the President and Vice President
visited the border and took the time to hear from CBP officers that
they need more help, that then they'd understand how important it is to
fund additional officers in the DHS budget?
Answer. The Secretary accompanied Vice President Harris to the
Southwest Border on June 25, 2021, to receive operational briefings at
the Paso del Norte Port of Entry and the El Paso Border Patrol Station.
They met with U.S. Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations local
leadership and community leaders to discuss on-the-ground conditions
and the root causes of migration. Vice President Harris and the
Secretary also discussed the Vice President's continuing efforts to
address the root causes of migration from El Salvador, Guatemala, and
Honduras, as well as the need for Congress to pass urgently needed
immigration reform.
Staffing, technology, and infrastructure all play roles in border
security. Regarding CBP staffing levels, CBP is currently staffed with
19,499 Border Patrol agents, which is 99.7 percent of the fiscal year
2021 enacted number of agents, as well as 25,856 CBP officers which is
also 99.7 percent of the enacted number of officers appropriated by
Congress and supported by user fees. Both CBP officers and Border
Patrol agents work tirelessly to protect the border and I strongly
support their work.
Question From Honorable Michael Guest for Alejandro N. Mayorkas
Question. When reviewing DHS's budget priorities, I noticed that
the amount requested to confront climate change and disaster challenges
is over 16 times the amount requested for investing in modern border
security ($19.4 billion vs. $1.2 billion). With confronting climate
change as the highest funded priority in your budget, and modern border
security trailing the bottom, could you elaborate on how the
administration came to this request instead of using precious resources
to address other issues our Nation is currently facing? I am concerned
that the Department of Homeland Security's budget request only
reinforces what we already knew--that the administration is not
prioritizing a secure border and a secure homeland and is leaving us
vulnerable to numerous threats.
Answer. Safeguarding the American people is the highest priority
for the Department. The fiscal year 2022 President's budget provides
funding to sustain and strengthen U.S. Customs and Border Protection's
(CBP) most critical programs and capabilities in each of CBP's mission
areas. The planned resources emphasize border security, enforcement,
and administration of our immigration laws, preventing terrorism, and
enhancing security. The President's fiscal year 2022 budget includes
$14.6 billion in net discretionary funding for CBP, including $163.2
million to establish a permanent funding source to continue contracted
health care services at U.S. Border Patrol stations and ports of entry
along the Southwest Border; $87.0 million for various expansion and
renovation projects at U.S. Border Patrol facilities; $41.4 million to
fortify the Air and Marine Fleet; $35.0 million for procurement and
deployment of border surveillance technology; $31.1 million to support
contracted services (transportation and guard services) necessary to
support the movement of detained noncitizens from the Southwest Border;
and $9.1 million to hire 125 additional Border Patrol Processing
Coordinators and associated Mission Support personnel.