[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                     OVERSIGHT OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF 
                             HOMELAND SECURITY

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                       COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                        WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2023

                               __________

                           Serial No. 118-39

                               __________

         Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary
         
 [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]        


               Available via: http://judiciary.house.gov
               
                              __________

                                
                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
53-168                       WASHINGTON : 2023                    
          
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------     
              
                       COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

                        JIM JORDAN, Ohio, Chair

DARRELL ISSA, California             JERROLD NADLER, New York, Ranking 
KEN BUCK, Colorado                       Member
MATT GAETZ, Florida                  ZOE LOFGREN, California
MIKE JOHNSON, Louisiana              SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas
ANDY BIGGS, Arizona                  STEVE COHEN, Tennessee
TOM McCLINTOCK, California           HENRY C. ``HANK'' JOHNSON, Jr., 
TOM TIFFANY, Wisconsin                   Georgia
THOMAS MASSIE, Kentucky              ADAM SCHIFF, California
CHIP ROY, Texas                      ERIC SWALWELL, California
DAN BISHOP, North Carolina           TED LIEU, California
VICTORIA SPARTZ, Indiana             PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington
SCOTT FITZGERALD, Wisconsin          J. LUIS CORREA, California
CLIFF BENTZ, Oregon                  MARY GAY SCANLON, Pennsylvania
BEN CLINE, Virginia                  JOE NEGUSE, Colorado
LANCE GOODEN, Texas                  LUCY McBATH, Georgia
JEFF VAN DREW, New Jersey            MADELEINE DEAN, Pennsylvania
TROY NEHLS, Texas                    VERONICA ESCOBAR, Texas
BARRY MOORE, Alabama                 DEBORAH ROSS, North Carolina
KEVIN KILEY, California              CORI BUSH, Missouri
HARRIET HAGEMAN, Wyoming             GLENN IVEY, Maryland
NATHANIEL MORAN, Texas               BECCA BALINT, Vermont
LAUREL LEE, Florida
WESLEY HUNT, Texas
RUSSELL FRY, South Carolina


               CHRISTOPHER HIXON, Majority Staff Director
          AMY RUTKIN, Minority Staff Director & Chief of Staff
                                 ------                                
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              

                        Wednesday, July 26, 2023

                                                                   Page

                           OPENING STATEMENTS

The Honorable Jim Jordan, Chair of the Committee on the Judiciary 
  from the State of Ohio.........................................     1
The Honorable Jerrold Nadler, Ranking Member of the Committee on 
  the Judiciary from the State of New York.......................     3

                                WITNESS

The Hon. Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary, U.S. Department of 
  Homeland Security
  Oral Testimony.................................................     5
  Prepared Testimony.............................................     8

          LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC. SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING

All materials submitted for the record by the Committee on the 
  Judiciary are listed below.....................................   112

Materials submitted by the Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, a Member 
  of the Committee on the Judiciary from the State of Texas, for 
  the record
    An article entitled, ``Texas trooper alleges inhumane 
        treatment of migrants by state officials along the 
        southern border,'' Jul. 18, 2023, CBS News
    An article entitled, ``Southern border `eerily quiet' after 
        policy shift on asylum seekers,'' Jul. 12, 2023, The 
        Washington Post
    An article entitled, ``Exclusive: Texas troopers told to push 
        children into Rio Grande, deny water to migrants, records 
        say,'' Jul. 17, 2023, Houston Chronicle
A document from the Hon. Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary, U.S. 
  Department of Homeland Security, Mar. 29, 2022, submitted by 
  the Honorable Darrell Issa, a Member of the Committee on the 
  Judiciary from the State of California, for the record
    Not provided at time of publication
A fact sheet entitled, ``Quick Facts: Fentanyl Trafficking 
  Offenses,'' United States Sentencing Commission, FY 2018-FY 
  2022, submitted by the Honorable Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, 
  Jr., a Member of the Committee on the Judiciary from the State 
  of Georgia, for the record
Materials submitted by the Honorable Mike Johnson, a Member of 
  the Committee on the Judiciary from the State of Louisiana, for 
  the record
    An article entitled, ``Mayorkas testifies DHS is creating 
        `Disinformation Governance Board,' '' Apr. 27, 2022, Fox 
        News
    A colaborative statement entitled, ``Public Statement on the 
        Hunter Biden Emails,'' Oct. 19, 2020
Materials submitted by the Honorable Pramila Jayapal, a Member of 
  the Committee on the Judiciary from the State of Washington, 
  for the record
    An article entitled, ``The migrant crisis that still hasn't 
        arrived,'' May 23, 2023, Politico
    An article entitled, ``Burning Cell Towers, Out of Baseless 
        Fear They Spread the Virus.'' Apr. 10, 2020, The New York 
        Times
Materials submitted by the Honorable Matt Gaetz, a Member of the 
  Committee on the Judiciary from the State of Florida, for the 
  record
    An article entitled, ``U.S. suspends asylum appointments in 
        Texas border city after extortion reports,'' Jun. 12, 
        2023, Reuters
    An article entitled, ``US halts online asylum appointments at 
        Texas crossing after extortion warnings,'' Jun. 12, 2023, 
        AP News
    An article entitled, ``US halts appointments using migrant 
        phone app at Texas border crossing,'' Jun. 13, 2023, The 
        Guardian
An article entitled, ``Lawyers Say Helping Asylum Seekers in 
  Border Custody Is Nearly Impossible,'' Jul. 22, 2023, The New 
  York Times, submitted by the Honorable Mary Gay Scanlon, a 
  Member of the Committee on the Judiciary from the State of 
  Pennsylvania, for the record
Materials submitted by the Honorable Cori Bush, a Member of the 
  Committee on the Judiciary from the State of Missouri, for the 
  record
    A document entitled, ``(U//FOUO) 0900 CETC SITREP: Violence 
        Across Multiple U.S. Cities,'' Jun. 2, 2020, U.S. 
        Department of Homeland Security
    An article entitled, ``Homeland Security Admits It Tends to 
        Manufacture Fake Terrorism for Trump,'' Nov. 5, 2022, 
        Gizmodo
    A bulletin entitled, ``Summary of Terrorism--Related Threat 
        to the United States,'' May 24, 2023, National Terrorism 
        Advisory System, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
    A document entitled, ``DHS Intelligence Report Cribs Andy Ngo 
        Article,'' Weekly Dometic OSINT Report, 10DEC2022 to 
        16DEC2022, Tripwire
    An article entitled, ``DHS's Newest Target: Atlanta `Cop 
        City' Activists,'' Jun. 13, 2023, Just Security
    A State Warrant and Mittimus, Affidavit, Dec. 15, 2022, Clerk 
        of Superior Court DeKalb County
An article entitled, ``Tracking Movement of Illegal Aliens from 
  NGO's to Interior of the USA,'' Dec. 5, 2022, Heritage 
  Foundation, submitted by the Honorable Troy Nehls, a Member of 
  the Committee on the Judiciary from the State of Texas, for the 
  record
Remarks by President Biden and Vice President Harris in a Meeting 
  on Immigration, Mar. 24, 2021, The White House, submitted by 
  the Honorable Wesley Hunt, a Member of the Committee on the 
  Judiciary from the State of Texas, for the record

                                APPENDIX

DHS data on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, submitted 
  by the Honorable Becca Balint, a Member of the Committee on the 
  Judiciary from the State of Vermont, for the record
A graph entitled, ``Border Apprehensions, October 2015 through 
  June 2023,'' American Immigration Council, submitted by the 
  Honorable Veronica Escobar, a Member of the Committee on the 
  Judiciary from the State of Texas, for the record
Statement submitted by the Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, a Member 
  of the Committee on the Judiciary from the State of Texas, for 
  the record

                 QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES FOR THE RECORD

Questions to the Hon. Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary, U.S. 
  Department of Homeland Security, submitted by the Honorable 
  Lance Gooden, a Member of the Committee on the Judiciary from 
  the State of Texas, the Honorable Kevin Kiley, a Member of the 
  Committee on the Judiciary from the State of California, 
  Harriet Hageman, a Member of the Committee on the Judiciary 
  from the State of Wyoming, and the Honorable Cori Bush, a 
  Member of the Committee on the Judiciary from the State of 
  Missouri, for the record
    No response at time of publication

 
         OVERSIGHT OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

                              ----------                              


                        Wednesday, July 26, 2023

                        House of Representatives

                       Committee on the Judiciary

                             Washington, DC

    The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:01 a.m., in 
Room 2141, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Jim Jordan 
[Chair of the Committee] presiding.
    Members present: Representatives Jordan, Issa, Buck, Gaetz, 
Johnson of Louisiana, Biggs, McClintock, Tiffany, Massie, Roy, 
Bishop, Spartz, Fitzgerald, Bentz, Cline, Gooden, Van Drew, 
Nehls, Moore, Kiley, Hageman, Moran, Lee, Hunt, Fry, Nadler, 
Lofgren, Jackson Lee, Cohen, Johnson of Georgia, Schiff, 
Swalwell, Lieu, Jayapal, Correa, Scanlon, Neguse, McBath, Dean, 
Escobar, Ross, Bush, Ivey, and Balint.
    Chair Jordan. The Committee will come to order.
    Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a 
recess at any time.
    We welcome everyone to today's hearing on Oversight of the 
Department of Homeland Security. We welcome the Secretary here.
    The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from Texas to lead 
us in the pledge.
    All. I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States 
of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one 
Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for 
all.
    Chair Jordan. The Chair is now recognized for an opening 
statement.
    After 2\1/2\ years of the Biden border crisis, here is what 
administration officials have to told us:

The Biden Administration's policies have led to more national security 
    threats.
The Biden Administration's policies make it less likely--less likely--
    that enforcement actions will be taken against criminal aliens.
ICE officers have been reassigned from their duties locating and 
    arresting aliens to simply processing illegal border crossers, if 
    they report to ICE, as they were ordered to when they were released 
    at the border.
ICE officers are attempting to arrest fewer aliens because of the Biden 
    Administration's enforcement priorities memo.

    According to the IG, we know that even aliens who illegally 
cross the border who are on the Terrorist Watchlist can be 
released into the United States, free to board an airplane, and 
head to the U.S. city of their choice.
    We know that record numbers of illegal aliens, terrorists, 
and fentanyl have crossed our Southwest border during the 2\1/
2\ years of this administration.
    We know that not only are communities on the Southwest 
border overwhelmed, so are cities 2,000-plus miles away from 
the border.
    With the current rate of removals and the current number of 
nondetained aliens who have been ordered removed from the 
United States at over 1.2 million, it would take 20 years for 
removal of those individuals.
    Criminal aliens who could have been removed under previous 
administrations are likely not subject to removal today under 
the Biden Administration.
    We know that Border Patrol does not specifically check the 
home country criminal history of aliens it encounters at the 
border.
    We know that the Biden Administration's open border 
policies have led directly to the deaths of Noel Rodriguez and 
Kayla Hamilton, the violent assault of a teenaged girl in 
Alabama, and the victimization of countless other American 
citizens.
    We know that this administration repeatedly violates the 
law under the guise of instituting safe, orderly, and humane 
policies, but nothing about the Biden Administration's policy 
is safe, orderly, or humane.
    In fact, there have been more than 5.6 million illegal 
alien encounters across the Southwest border since the start of 
the Biden Administration, and that doesn't include the over 1.5 
million gotaways.
    Millions of foreign nationals have indebted themselves to 
the smuggling cartels to get to this country. Millions of 
foreign nationals have subjected themselves to assault, 
robbery, or worse, on the way to the border, because they know 
that, more likely than not, they will be allowed to stay in the 
United States once they get here.
    I know that today Secretary Mayorkas is going to try to 
paint a rosy picture of this disastrous mismanagement of our 
border, but the numbers don't lie. As of June, border 
encounters were down from record highs of 252,000-145,000. Only 
this administration and my Democrat colleagues would call it a 
success when monthly encounter numbers are near 150,000.
    In fact, from Fiscal Year 2014 to the beginning of the 
Biden Administration, there were only four months with an 
apprehension number higher than 100,000. Under the Biden 
Administration, there have now been 29 straight months--29 
months in a row--with more than 100,000 border encounters, 
illegal encounters on our borders.
    DHS was created in the wake of September 11, 2001, after 
the terrorist attack. It was created to help ensure Americans' 
safety. Admittedly, this is an enormous task, and it is one in 
which this Secretary has completely failed.
    Instead of building off the previous administration's 
success, this administration has abandoned any semblance of 
border security and immigration enforcement. Americans are 
paying the price and they demand accountability.
    With that, I yield to the Ranking Member, the gentleman 
from New York, for an opening statement.
    Mr. Nadler. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Mr. Chair, we are, once again, far afield from the work 
this Committee should be doing. The Department of Homeland 
Security was born in the wake of the September 11th attacks and 
exists to protect our Nation from new and emerging threats. 
That work is serious business.
    In years past, under the leadership of Chair of both 
parties, when we welcomed the Secretary of Homeland Security 
into this hearing room, we took our responsibilities seriously. 
To be sure, some of the questions we posed in those past 
hearings were tough. Debate is often heated when we discuss 
important topics like immigration and the security of the 
Nation. Our work on both sides of the aisle was grounded in a 
good-faith effort to advance the mission of the department and 
to keep our country safe.
    How times have changed. A few weeks ago, desperate for 
votes on the debt ceiling deal, Speaker McCarthy promised the 
extreme MAGA wing of his party that they could pursue the 
impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas.
    As Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene put it, if she was 
going to vote for the debt ceiling bill, she wanted some, 
quote, ``dessert.'' As she so eloquently put it, ``Everyone 
loves dessert and that's impeachment. Someone needs to be 
impeached.''
    Like many of her colleagues, she seemed not to care who was 
impeached, so long as they could engage in the political 
exercise of impeaching somebody in the Biden Administration. 
She singled out Secretary Mayorkas as, quote, ``the lowest 
hanging fruit.''
    Unfortunately, as we have already heard from the Chair, 
today's hearing will not be about legitimate Congressional 
oversight or finding out the facts. Instead, the Chair and his 
colleagues in the majority will use today's hearing as a 
predicate for a completely baseless attempt to impeach 
Secretary Mayorkas. They will do so at the behest of the most 
extreme MAGA Republicans. It will be one more exercise in 
political theater for the right-wing outrage machine before the 
August break. Sadly, the outrage will be entirely evidence-
free.
    Don't just take my word for it. In October 2022, before the 
Republicans took the majority, and before any investigation had 
started, Chair Jordan said that Secretary Mayorkas deserves 
impeachment.
    More recently, he said, quote, ``It is not a matter of if; 
it's a matter of when.'' That's right, who needs high crimes 
and misdemeanors? Chair Jordan thinks the DHS Secretary should 
be impeached because he, quote, ``deserves it.''
    To be clear, Republicans have not established any 
legitimate grounds to impeach Secretary Mayorkas. They have not 
uncovered evidence of wrongdoing or malfeasance of any kind. 
They have policy disagreements with the Secretary, and so do 
we, but policy disagreements and personal grudges are not a 
basis for impeachment.
    Throughout this hearing, you will hear more of the same 
bogus claims that we have been hearing for the past six 
months--some of it dangerous; some of it petty; none of it 
true.
    First, Republicans will say that, as a result of, quote, 
``invasion'' of migrants at our Southern border, we no longer 
have a country.
    Second, they will say that Secretary Mayorkas opened our 
borders deliberately and is willfully violating our immigration 
laws.
    Third, they will say that all migrants are suspect because 
they are smuggling drugs, especially fentanyl, across our 
Southern border.
    Fourth, they will say, without evidence, that Secretary 
Mayorkas lied to Congress.
    Not one of these claims is true. Let's address each one in 
turn.
    The invasion narrative some Members push in this hearing 
room is bigoted, fact-free, and dangerous. Next month, we will 
commemorate the fourth anniversary of the El Paso shooting. In 
2019, a domestic terrorist walked into a Walmart in El Paso, 
Texas and murdered 23 people and injured 22 others. He posted a 
hateful and racist manifesto online prior to the attack, 
espousing White nationalist theories, like the great 
replacement theory, and claiming that there was a, quote, 
``Hispanic invasion.'' He told investigators that he was 
targeting Mexicans.
    We can draw a straight line from the hateful rhetoric we 
hear from some Congressional Republicans to that horrific 
tragedy. Our words matter. I implore my colleagues to be 
careful about how we discuss these issues today.
    I hope we can stick to the actual facts. Opened our 
borders? The reality is that Secretary Mayorkas is aggressively 
enforcing our immigration laws. The administration has issued a 
new asylum regulation that just yesterday a court determined 
was too restrictive. The administration has also opened 
additional legal pathways for migrants to come via refugee 
processing on a case-by-case parole determination.
    No matter what you think of these policies, they appear to 
be working. As of now, border numbers are at their lowest point 
since February 2021, with border apprehension numbers down 70 
percent--down 70 percent--from they were just 10 weeks ago.
    Further, the Biden Administration has deported or expelled 
over 2.5 million people in the last two years. This is nearly 
as many people as President Obama deported in his entire eight 
years in office.
    These are not the policies of an open border or an 
administration not executing our laws. They are the opposite.
    As we have discussed, drugs are, in fact, coming into this 
country. However, as every expert seems to agree, they are 
coming largely through ports of entry. According to CBP's own 
data, they are being brought in overwhelmingly by U.S. 
citizens.
    Last, no, the Secretary did not lie to Congress. Nobody 
believes that Secretary Mayorkas knowingly and willfully misled 
Congress during last year's testimony, and any assertion to the 
Congress is flat-out false.
    Thank you for being here today, Secretary Mayorkas. I hope 
the good men and women of the department will not be 
disheartened by what they hear today. I have confidence that 
they will not let these baseless attacks deter them from their 
commitment to the work that is so essential to the safety of 
our Nation.
    With that, I thank the Chair and I yield back.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman yields back.
    Without objection, all other opening statements will be 
included in the record.
    Chair Jordan. We will now introduce today's witness, the 
Hon. Alejandro Mayorkas. Mr. Mayorkas is Secretary of the 
Department of Homeland Security. He was sworn in on February 2, 
2021.
    We welcome our witness and thank him for appearing here 
today.
    We will begin by swearing you in. Will you please rise and 
raise your right hand.
    Do you swear or affirm under penalty of perjury that the 
testimony you're about to give is the truth and correct, to the 
best of your knowledge, information, and belief, so help you 
God?
    Let the record reflect that the witness has answered in the 
affirmative.
    Mr. Mayorkas, you know how this goes. You've done this 
several times. You get approximately five minutes for an 
opening statement. We got your written statement last night. I 
read through it. We'll look forward to your remarks, and then, 
we'll go right into questioning.

            STATEMENT OF THE HON. ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS

    Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, Ranking 
Member Nadler, distinguished Members of this Committee.
    I'm immensely proud to be here to discuss the work of the 
United States Department of Homeland Security. Every day, 
members of our extraordinary workforce--260,000 selfless, 
dedicated, and talented public servants across the country and 
around the world--make sure that travelers reach their 
destination safely; protect our shores and harbors; keep 
fentanyl and other deadly drugs from entering our country; help 
families rebuild after the devastation of a natural disaster; 
protect our ability to safely and securely turn on our 
computers, faucets, and lights, and secure our border, despite 
the broken and outdated immigration system in which we operate.
    These heroic men and women are meeting challenges that have 
grown more complex and dynamic throughout the 20 years since 
our department was established. As the threats have evolved, 
so, too, has our department--innovating and advancing, as we 
secure our homeland and keep the American public safe.
    We are leading an unprecedented effort to interdict the 
flow of fentanyl into our communities, which has escalated for 
more than five years. We seized nearly two million pounds of 
narcotics last fiscal year. Operations Blue Lotus and Four 
Horsemen alone stopped nearly 10,000 pounds of fentanyl from 
the U.S.; led to 284 arrests and yielded invaluable insights 
into the transnational criminal organizations wreaking this 
death and destruction on our communities.
    When our department was created after the tragedy of 9/11, 
foreign terrorists were our primary terrorism-related focus. 
While that concern certainly persists, the most prominent 
terrorism-related threat we now confront is from lone offenders 
and small groups already present here and radicalized to 
violence, based on ideologies of hate, antigovernment 
sentiments, false narratives, and personal grievances.
    Thanks to support from Congress, we have developed grant 
programs and distributed more than $50 million in funds to help 
communities prevent acts of targeted violence and terrorism.
    Our approach to managing the border securely and humanely, 
even within our fundamentally broken immigration system, is 
working. Unlawful entries between ports of entry along the 
Southwest border have consistently decreased by more than half 
compared to the peak before the end of Title 42.
    Under President Biden's leadership, we have led the largest 
expansion of lawful, safe, and orderly pathways for people to 
seek humanitarian relief under our laws, at the same time 
imposing tougher consequences on those who, instead, resort to 
the ruthless smuggling organizations that prey on the most 
vulnerable.
    We secured the first increase in Border Patrol Agent hiring 
in more than a decade, and our campaign to disrupt and 
dismantle human smuggling networks has resulted in the arrest 
of nearly 14,000 smugglers.
    We have taken bold and decisive action to counter the 
cybersecurity threat from Nation-States like the People's 
Republic of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, and from 
cyber criminals around the world who targeted our critical 
infrastructure and seek to hold schools, hospitals, police 
departments, and other institutions vital to our daily lives 
hostage for ransom.
    We have seen the recent devastation that increasingly 
severe and frequent extreme weather events have brought to 
Kentucky, Florida, Vermont, Oklahoma, New York, and many other 
States. Our department, through FEMA, is working with partners 
across the Federal Government to support communities impacted 
by unprecedented natural disasters and help them strengthen 
their long-term recovery and resilience through grant funds, 
technical assistance, and on-the-ground support. This and so 
much more.
    The DHS workforce does all of this with honor, integrity, 
and the resolve to safeguard our people, our homeland, and our 
values. They perform bravely, despite public attacks on their 
character and service; despite unfair and inadequate pay, and 
despite, as frontline agents repeatedly tell me, threats made 
against them and their families.
    These public servants deserve better. Supporting the men 
and women of DHS has been my top priority since taking office. 
We have expanded departmental efforts to solicit and 
incorporate feedback from personnel across all components and 
all levels; worked to ensure that every employee works in a 
high-quality facility; made new resources available across the 
department for employee mental health and well-being, and 
earlier this week, facilitated long-overdue pay fairness for 
TSA personnel.
    Our department and this Congress need to work together as 
partners to address the threats and challenges America faces. 
We must fix our broken immigration system; fund the continuing 
protection of local communities; disrupt and dismantle 
transnational criminal organizations and implement the latest 
technologies to advance our mission.
    Americans are safer today on the border, in the air, at 
sea, across the country, and around the world because of the 
Department of Homeland Security. Serving with the personnel of 
DHS is the greatest honor of my life.
    I look forward to continuing to work together on their 
behalf, and I look forward to your questions.
    [The prepared statement of the Hon. Mayorkas follows:]
    
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]	
    
    Chair Jordan. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
    The Chair now yields to the gentleman from California, Mr. 
McClintock.
    Mr. McClintock. Mr. Secretary, what is the maximum number 
of illegal migrants you believe we should admit into this 
country?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, it is our responsibility 
to enforce the laws that Congress has passed, and that is, 
indeed, what we are doing. Individuals who do not have--
    Mr. McClintock. So, is there a limit? Yes or no?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, individuals who make a 
claim for relief under our laws and who do not succeed--
    Mr. McClintock. Well, you've already released more than 2.1 
million illegal immigrants into this country since you took 
office. That's a population the size of the State of Nebraska. 
While the Border Patrol has been consumed by taking names and 
changing diapers at the border, 1.5 million known gotaways have 
illegally entered the country as well. That's an additional 
illegal population the size of the State of Hawaii.
    So, once again, I would ask you, what is the limit? Or is 
there one?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, last year, we expelled or 
removed approximately 1.4 million people who did not have a 
legal basis to remain in the United States, the largest number 
in recent history.
    Mr. McClintock. Well, actually, you testified that 72,000 
illegal migrants were removed in 2022. In 2019, there were 
267,000 removals. So, removals are down under your 
administration by more than 75 percent.
    Meanwhile, in 2019, there were 458,000 border encounters. 
Yet, under your policies, we're now up to 2.3 million 
encounters. That's five times as many.
    So, while encounters were up five times, removals are down 
by 75 percent. How do you account for this?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, a few points.
    (1) Our approach of expanding lawful pathways for people to 
reach the border and delivering consequences for those who 
arrive at our border irregularly is working. The number has 
dropped.
    You'll also recall, Congressman, that last year Title 42--
    Mr. McClintock. Well, whoa, whoa.
    Secretary Mayorkas. --the public health authority was in 
place. Under that authority, we could not remove individuals or 
expel them.
    Mr. McClintock. Well, again, I'm short on time.
    You announced the CBP One app this year. It allows migrants 
to bypass the Southern border and enter directly into the 
United States at ports of entry. This program began with up to 
a thousand illegal migrants a day. It's been amped up to as 
many as 1,500 a day. That's more than 540,000. That's the 
population equivalent of adding a new State of Wyoming every 
single year.
    That's why the numbers are dropping. Instead of them coming 
in through the Southern border, you're bringing them directly 
into ports of entry. So, please don't, don't dissemble.
    Now, I've got a very important concern for the people of my 
region. In January, a family of six people were executed in the 
rural town of Goshen. That's not far from my district. 
According to the Tulare County Sheriff, it was a cartel hit. 
The victims ranged from age 72 down to a 10-month-old who was 
shot in his mother's arms.
    Two weeks ago, the FBI Director warned us in this Committee 
that the open border is a ``huge driver'' of cartel presence in 
the United States. Those were his words--``huge driver.''
    The Jalisco, a new generation of cartels, now established 
hubs in Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix, and Chicago. Millions 
have fled from Mexico to escape these conditions, and the 
cartels have followed them into the United States.
    So, how long before we can expect the same kind of gun 
battles here as have become routine in Mexico?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we are taking it to the 
transnational criminal organizations, the cartels, that peddle 
in death and destruction, to an unprecedented degree. We have--
    Mr. McClintock. They're following the mass migration into 
this country. That's what the FBI Director told us.
    Secretary Mayorkas. We have a number of lawful 
investigative actions and operations that are disrupting and 
dismantling those transnational criminal organizations.
    Mr. McClintock. Director Wray also testified that we have 
no idea how many terrorists are among the 1.5 million known 
gotaways that have entered under your policies, but that 
there's been a significant increase in terrorists apprehended 
at the border.
    When your administration abandoned Afghanistan, it released 
5,000 terrorists that were being held at Bagram. Ten days 
later, one of them killed 13 U.S. servicemembers at Kabul 
Airport. Wray said we don't know where the other 5,000 are. 
It's clear to me that we're in growing danger of a coordinated 
terrorist attack because of your policies.
    Have you given any thought to how you're going to explain 
yourself when that happens?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, the safety and security of 
the American people is our highest priority. That is what is 
the genesis of the creation of the Department of Homeland 
Security.
    Mr. McClintock. Well, obviously, it is not your highest 
priority. The numbers speak for themselves.
    Secretary Mayorkas. It most certainly is, Congressman.
    Mr. McClintock. I yield back.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman yields back.
    The Chair recognizes the Ranking Member, Mr. Nadler.
    Mr. Nadler. Mr. Secretary, I want to address some of the 
outlandish claims my colleagues have made and put them to rest 
at the outset of this hearing.
    My Republican colleagues claim that the border is open. Is 
the border open, Mr. Secretary?
    Secretary Mayorkas. No, it is not.
    Mr. Nadler. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
    The border is not open, and to say so is not only false, 
but it is really an insult to the brave men and women of the 
Border Patrol who work every day to keep us safe.
    Next, Mr. Secretary, my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle have been extremely focused on an exchange you had with 
Mr. Roy the last time you appeared before this Committee. They 
claim that you liked to the Committee about whether we have 
operational control of the border. The Homeland Security 
Committee even wrote about it in Phase 1 of their investigation 
into potentially impeachment.
    It is my understanding that DHS and its components use 
different definitions the term ``operational control.'' For 
example, the U.S. Border Patrol previously defined 
``operational control'' as ``the ability to detect and 
interdict illegal activity.''
    CBP, in their 2020 U.S. Border Patrol Strategy, defined 
``operational control'' as, quote,

        The ability to perceive and comprehend the operating 
        environment; mobilize assets, infrastructure, and barriers to 
        prevent criminal activity, and respond to and resolve any 
        illicit cross-border incursions.

Furthermore, in May 2023, a transcribed interview, Chief Patrol 
Agent Aaron Heitke of the San Diego Sector affirmed that, 
quote,

        Border Patrol has operated under different definitions of 
        operational control than what is listed in the Secure Fence 
        Act.

So, can you describe what happened in that exchange last year?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Ranking Member Nadler, the Congressman 
did not allow me to complete my answer. The Secure Fence Act, 
specifically, the statute, defines ``operational control'' as 
``not having one individual cross the border illegally.'' Under 
that statutory definition, no administration has achieved 
operational control.
    Last year, we had approximately 1.7 million different 
individuals cross the border, the Southwest border. So, under 
that definition, no administration, under the Secure Fence Act, 
no administration has achieved operational control. We have 
provided data with respect to the number of encounters 
experienced at the Southwest border every month to Congress.
    Mr. Nadler. Last, my Republican colleagues claim you are 
abusing your authority. However, Congress gave the executive 
branch wide latitude over immigration laws, including writing a 
provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows 
for individuals to be paroled into the United States for urgent 
humanitarian or public benefit purposes.
    For more than 70 years, administrations of both parties 
have used parole for categories of people. Some of my 
colleagues have criticized these programs, as well as the ones 
recently implemented by the Biden Administration for Haitians, 
Venezuelans, Cubans, and Nicaraguans, alleging that parole is 
not being granted on a case-by-case basis. Is that particular 
criticism accurate, Mr. Secretary?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I very well know in my 22 
years of Federal service, including 12 years as a Federal 
prosecutor, that we are a Nation of laws, and I take our 
obligation to follow the law scrupulously. I adhere to it 
strictly.
    Our parole authority is being used consistent with the law. 
It is a discretionary authority that the statute provides. We 
exercise it on a case-by-case basis, and our parole program has 
at least three significant benefits.

        (1)  It has driven down the number of encounters at the 
        Southwest border.

        (2)  It allows us to screen and vet individuals before they 
        arrive at the Southwest border.

        (3)  Very importantly, we are cutting out the smuggling 
        organizations that wreak such tragedy and trauma on the lives 
        of vulnerable individuals.

    Mr. Nadler. It appears to me that the administration is 
merely saying certain categories of people are eligible to be 
considered for parole. Is that correct?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes. We evaluate parole on a case-by-
case basis.
    Mr. Nadler. Our adjudicators still conduct a case-by-case 
determination to see if to grant parole is appropriate. You 
just said that. This is very much in line with historical use 
of parole by administrations of both parties?
    Secretary Mayorkas. To my knowledge, yes, Congressman.
    Mr. Nadler. Thank you. I yield back.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman yields back.
    The gentleman from California is recognized, Mr. Issa.
    Mr. Issa. Mr. Secretary, we've known each other for a long 
time, including your time as a U.S. Attorney. I'm going to ask 
you some tough questions and they go back all the way to that 
time and before.
    Was the immigration system--well, you said it in your 
opening statement; ``it was broken.'' Was the immigration 
system broken when you were a U.S. Attorney?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, it is broken. It has been 
broken for as long as I can remember.
    Mr. Issa. Does broken include the fact that there's 
virtually no penalty for being a coyote or for entering this 
country illegally; that, for all practical purposes, it's a 
slap on the hand and that U.S. Attorneys, historically, have a 
difficult time justifying their time, when, in fact, it's a 
revolving door for people who come into this country illegally 
and the coyotes who bring them? Isn't that one of the 
challenges you face?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, if you are referring to my 
time as a Federal prosecutor--
    Mr. Issa. No, I'm not referring to you personally. I'm 
referring to the broken, the broken immigration law. You said 
it was broken; I agree it was broken. I agree that it's broken 
today. I just want to make sure that, for the record, we get 
into what's broken.
    I asked you a specific question. You might remember that 
dismissal of Carol Lam, when she said that it just wasn't worth 
prosecuting coyotes who weren't carrying weapons because they 
were going to be back out in weeks. So, isn't one of the 
problems that there is no real penalty for human trafficking, 
and there certainly is virtually no penalty for coming here 
illegally?
    Secretary Mayorkas. There are penalties for immigration 
violations. Title 8 of the United States Code, Section 1324, 
deals with smuggling of individuals--
    Mr. Issa. Right, and isn't it true, isn't it true that, 
within a matter--if you come here illegally, you're going to, 
essentially, be sent back out of the country in a very short 
period of time? If you traffic without weapons or drugs, you're 
going to be removed again.
    Let me go on to something else. A broken immigration 
system. Isn't one of the biggest parts of the broken 
immigration system the part that we've all been talking about, 
at least on this side of the dais; the fact that, if you 
present yourself at the border and make a claim--one, often, 
that has been taught to you by your smugglers, taught to you by 
NGO's--if you make a claim, more than nine out of ten of those 
claims are false? You will get into the country, and you will 
be here for an extended period time.
    Isn't, in fact, a system that allows the vast majority of 
people making a claim to be lying, to be knowingly giving you a 
false story, one that, after adjudication, is proven to be 
false, isn't letting them in the country inherently part of our 
broken system?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, let me--
    Mr. Issa. That was a yes or no.
    Secretary Mayorkas. No, let me, let me--
    Mr. Issa. Give me a yes or no, and then, give me the rest.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I respectfully disagree 
with your data, the statistic you cited. One of the problems in 
our broken immigration system is the length of time it takes 
between the time of the encounter--
    Mr. Issa. I understand the length of time. Isn't it true 
that most countries do not simply admit and release people, 
waiting, and tell them to come back when they adjudicate them? 
Aren't we an exception, for the most part, around the world?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we are not alone in some 
of the infirmities of the immigration system that we have.
    Mr. Issa. So, today, as the Chief Security Officer for the 
United States, would you say that it is reasonable to release 
people for months or years rather than adjudicating them 
immediately at the border? Isn't it true that, if we were doing 
our job in Congress, and you were able to do your job, people 
would be adjudicated before they came into the United States? 
Those found to be credible would be admitted; those not found 
to be credible would be discarded back to the countries they 
came from, as appropriate?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, in the absence of 
Congressional action, we have actually issued a regulation, the 
first of its kind, that has reduced the time between encounter 
at the border and the final adjudication of an asylum claim.
    Mr. Issa. OK. For the record, there has been, in fiscal 
year, let's say, 2020, you had three at the Southwest border 
encounters with people on the Terrorist Watchlist. So far this 
year, it's 140. Can you give us the whereabouts of those 140? 
Are they all incarcerated? Have they all been removed? Or is it 
a mixture of incarceration, removal, and release?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, let me say this: The 
safety and security of the American people is our highest 
priority--
    Mr. Issa. So, prove it to me. What is the status of those 
140?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Individuals who present a national 
security or public safety threat are detained and are priority 
removed--
    Mr. Issa. By definition, Mr. Secretary, if you're on the 
Terrorist Watchlist, you represent a threat. So, 140 people on 
the Terrorist Watchlist so far this year. For the record, would 
you please give us the status of each of those individuals, so 
we know what you did with people who were on a Terrorist 
Watchlist, who were apprehended--many got away--but were 
apprehended, where they are today? So that Congress can know.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I would be pleased to 
provide you with that information with respect to the 
individuals encountered at the service women.
    Mr. Issa. Thank you.
    I yield back.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman yields back, but could the 
Secretary answer that question? What is the status of those 
140?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chair, I communicated--
    Ms. Jayapal. Mr. Chair, what is the--
    Mr. Issa. Point of order.
    Ms. Jayapal. By what authority--or point of order.
    Chair Jordan. The gentlelady will State her point of order.
    Ms. Jayapal. Mr. Chair, under what authority are you 
speaking right now? Whose time? Whose time is it? Are you being 
recognized for five minutes?
    Chair Jordan. I was just asking what I thought would be a 
question--
    Ms. Jayapal. Mr. Chair, it's not, it's--
    Chairman Jordan. --every single Member of Congress would 
want to know.
    I'll do it on my time or some other time.
    Ms. Jayapal. Thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you.
    Mr. Issa. Point, point of, point of--Mr.--
    Chair Jordan. He had asked the question and there wasn't an 
answer to the status of the 140 people apprehended--
    Ms. Jayapal. Mr. Chair, he did--
    Chair Jordan. --on the Terrorist Watchlist--
    Ms. Jayapal. The witness provided an answer. If you want to 
use your five minutes--
    Chair Jordan. I don't think he did, but I'll do it on my 
time.
    Ms. Jayapal. I think that's great. Thank you.
    Chair Jordan. That's fine.
    We recognize the gentlelady from California.
    Ms. Jayapal. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Ms. Lofgren. Thank you, Secretary Mayorkas, for being here 
today and for your service to our country, first, as a U.S. 
Attorney and now as Secretary of Homeland Security.
    We all know that Congress has not acted in many, many years 
to update our immigration laws. In fact, it's been, really, if 
you want to take a look at it, we're still operating under the 
outlines of the 1965 Act, which no wonder it doesn't work that 
well for the United States of America in 2023.
    So, I'd like to ask, first, do you agree that it would be 
better to have a legal framework wherein people could actually 
enter the United States with visas, and the like, instead of a 
mishmash of asylum claims, and the like, at the border?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, I do. I see other 
countries with systems that are more advanced than ours that 
actually can match the need for labor with the supply for 
labor. In fact, Canada is one of those countries immediately to 
the North.
    Ms. Lofgren. I would just note that the Canadian government 
has now opened-up an official government effort to poach the 
most educated and the most talented postdocs and doctors in the 
technology field in Silicon Valley. Ten thousand of the best 
and the brightest applied on the first day. So, that is a loss 
to our country.
    I'd just like to note that we have a bill, bipartisan bill, 
called the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, that would 
streamline the
H-2A program and regularize the status as an agricultural 
worker visa for farm workers, half of whom are here without 
their papers.
    Do you think that would help regularize our situation at 
the border?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I do. I do, Congresswoman. There are 
approximately, I believe, 10 million open jobs in need of 
workers. I hear from executives across this country about the 
need for labor. It is proven that lawful labor pathways cause a 
reduction in the number of irregular arrivals at our border.
    Ms. Lofgren. I'd like to just touch again--the Ranking 
Member has mentioned the use of parole. It's one of the few 
tools that you have under the existing Immigration and 
Nationality Act. I note that it's been used by Presidents of 
both parties over many, many years.
    President Eisenhower oversaw parole of over 30,000 
Hungarian refugees escaping communism. President Ford and 
President Carter oversaw the parole of hundreds of thousands of 
Vietnamese fleeing the communists. We have used parole for 
people fleeing communism in Cuba, in fleeing communism in 
Nicaragua, and now, fleeing communism in Venezuela.
    Would you say that the use of parole today by category, but 
then, case by case, is any different than what prior 
administrations have done?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, we have used our parole 
authority consistent with the law and consistent with past 
practices of different administrations.
    Ms. Lofgren. I'd just like to note that the idea that we 
should cutoff this way to rescue to people who are trying to 
escape from communism today is completely wrong and contrary to 
our history as a country. We have always welcomed those who are 
fleeing from communist oppression, going back many decades. I 
will strongly object if we turn our back on those refugees from 
communism today. That would be very wrong.
    I just want to talk briefly about the refugee process. As 
we know, in the last administration, basically, the refugee 
program was destroyed. How are we doing in rebuilding the 
refugee processing, as well as the processing centers in the 
United States and the nonprofits who are helping refugees come 
into the United States? Can you tell us how we're rebuilding 
the refugee process?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, we, under the 
President's leadership, have recommitted ourselves to the 
refugee process. It is a process that benefited my family in 
fleeing the communist takeover of Cuba, and it's what drove me, 
quite frankly, to public service, the opportunities that this 
country provided for my parents, my sister, and me.
    Ms. Lofgren. I yield back, Mr. Chair. My time is expired.
    Chair Jordan. The gentlelady yields back.
    The gentleman from Colorado is recognized.
    Mr. Buck. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Secretary Mayorkas, last time you were here, I told you 
that my constituents consider you a traitor. Today, I'd like to 
explain why they believe this and ask you a few questions.
    I'd like to introduce, first, my constituent Stephanie 
Granados. She lives in Loveland, Colorado with her mother 
Monica and younger brother Axel. She is 24 years old, bilingual 
in English and Spanish, a Christian woman who works as a 
restaurant server, and is a loyal friend to those around her.
    Unfortunately, Mr. Secretary, that's only what I wish I 
could tell you about Stephanie. Stephanie is dead. A year ago, 
this young woman was poisoned. She never made it to age 24. Her 
mother's only glimpse of her now is in old photographs, and her 
brother misses his older sister.
    Stories like that are normal conversations in Colorado. 
Stories like this begin with fentanyl. Where does fentanyl 
begin? Many times, it starts among chemical manufacturing firms 
in China--companies like the recently indicted Hebei Sinaloa 
Trading Company from the Hebei Province in China.
    It manufactures and advertises the drug's ingredients to 
buyers in Mexico, using common mail and import fraud tools, 
like forged customs documents and falsely labeled packages. 
Firms ship the product, on purchase, to drug dens in cities 
like Guadalajara.
    After preparation, these facilities finish the product and 
smuggle it by truck, by car, and by humans across our Southern 
border--chopped into counterfeit pills that are pressed to look 
exactly like legitimate pharmaceuticals, are mixed with cocaine 
or other substances. Americans buy those drugs, and it's like a 
walking mine field. These illegal drugs are, then, used to kill 
American citizens.
    According to the CDC, over 150 people are dying every day 
because of synthetic opioids like fentanyl. The CDC's National 
Center for Health Statistics reported 79,770 opioid-involved 
overdose fatalities in 2022, and over 80 percent of opioid 
deaths are attributed to fentanyl.
    In my home State of Colorado, fentanyl deaths remain near 
record levels. According to The Denver Post, more Coloradans 
have died of ingesting the drug in 2022 than overdosed on all 
drugs in 2016.
    According to the Department of Justice's latest report on 
the subject, 64 percent of Federal arrests involve noncitizens 
committing crimes, despite them comprising only seven percent 
of the population.
    Secretary Mayorkas, I'm going to ask a couple of questions 
and answer them for you before I give you a chance to respond.
    Is China responsible--oh, I'm sorry. Recently, you spoke at 
the Aspen Security Forum and stated that China bears 
responsibility for this.
    Is China responsible for keeping the Southern border open 
to smugglers? No.
    Is China responsible for the Mexican cartels' emboldened 
attitude in the American drug trade? No.
    Is China responsible for the impunity of more and more 
illegal aliens committing crimes in America? No.
    Is China responsible for the record high 98 aliens on the 
Terrorist Watchlist crossing the Southwest border in 2022? No.
    Is China responsible for the 856 illegal aliens who died 
while crossing the Southwest border last year? No. That's more 
than 300 deaths, by the way, in 2021, and more than three times 
as many in 2020.
    Is China responsible for the 9,200 aliens with criminal 
convictions crossing the border illegally just this year to 
date? No.
    Is China responsible for the estimated 1.5 million illegal 
alien gotaways that crossed the border undetected under your 
watch? No.
    Is China responsible for the 1.2 million removable aliens 
who have been told by a judge that they must leave the U.S., 
but insist on staying?
    Secretary Mayorkas, it is your responsibility to secure our 
border against fentanyl trafficking. The fentanyl killing 
thousands of Americans every year is a direct result of your 
dereliction. When people die of fentanyl poisoning, it is your 
fault.
    What would you say to Stephanie Granados' family if they 
were here right now?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we grieve the loss of any 
life as a result of the toxicity, the devastation of fentanyl. 
The challenge of fentanyl is not new. It has been escalating 
for more than five years. I believe there were more than 50,000 
overdose deaths from fentanyl in 2020.
    This is a scourge that all of us have to work together to 
combat. We in the Department of Homeland Security, with our 
Federal partners, are taking it to the traffickers to an 
unprecedented degree through innovative operations targeting 
criminals.
    I stand by my statement at Aspen that China does bear 
responsibility, because many of the precursor chemicals and the 
pill press equipment that are used to manufacture fentanyl does 
originate from there.
    This is a complex problem. We are taking it to the 
criminals, and I look forward to working with you, Congressman, 
to address this challenge, which has been only building over 
many years in this country.
    Mr. Buck. I yield back, Mr. Chair.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman yields back.
    The gentlelady from Texas is recognized.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Good morning, Mr. Secretary.
    You have repeatedly been before us and indicated your 
humble beginnings and the passion and commitment in which you 
serve America and take very seriously your job here as 
Secretary of Homeland Security.
    On that basis, I have a number of quick questions, and I'm 
going to ask for a sense of urgency in wrapping this, so that I 
can assure that all have been answered.
    First, I want to make clear that this is an oversight 
hearing, not an impeachment hearing. This is a hearing to 
address the questions of the work that has been done.
    So, to that end, just as a factual basis, there's been a 
lot of hollering about the entry on the border, operational 
control. I'm asking for--a brief question: We know that the 
Federal Government ended Title 42. Have crossings gone down?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes, they have. The approach that we 
have taken, Congresswoman, of expanding lawful pathways, safe, 
orderly, and lawful pathways for individuals, and at the same 
time delivering consequences to those who do not take advantage 
of those lawful pathways has been working.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Part of that--
    Secretary Mayorkas. The challenge, of course, remains.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. My numbers suggest 70 percent that they've 
gone down. It also suggests that the Biden Administration has 
put in stricter requirements for asylum, is that correct?
    Secretary Mayorkas. We did. We are delivering consequences 
for those who do not take advantage of the lawful pathways.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. You still believe in the humane 
infrastructure of America that started with the Statue of 
Liberty, and realizing people flee persecution, political 
dynasties, if you will, that cause violence and the forcing of 
leaving. Is that, is that part of our thinking here in the 
country?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, our laws, our refugee 
laws, our asylum laws, are one of our proudest traditions as a 
country of refuge.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. So, would you say, having been asked this 
over and over again, that the United States, the President of 
the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and all 
the hardworking men and women at the border have operational 
control or have a form of presence that they are aware of 
what's going on at the border, and that they're working to 
secure the border every single day?
    Secretary Mayorkas. As we define that term, Congresswoman, 
we do.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. CISA has been called all things, maybe 
even not American. Is it an important element of securing 
elections, as it did in the 2020 election and 2022?
    Secretary Mayorkas. The security of elections, our election 
system is a component of our country's critical infrastructure. 
To protect the safety, security, and integrity of the election 
process is a significant priority of this government. The 
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency works very 
closely with election officials in State and local 
jurisdictions to ensure the safety and security of the election 
system.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. I have two more questions, and I must 
quickly move forward.
    The ADL has indicated that there have been 3,697 
antisemitic incidents, a 36 percent increase, from 2021. What 
is your Department doing to protect the Jewish community, and 
within the New U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, 
what kind of commitments have you made?
    I have another question, but I think this is extremely 
important.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, there has been a rise in 
antisemitism in this country, the rise in other ideologies of 
hate. Our responsibility, as the Department of Homeland 
Security, is when there is a connectivity between an ideology, 
whatever that ideology might be, and violence. It is the 
prevention of violence that really prompts our engagement with 
local communities around the country.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Thank you. I want to keep in touch on 
those issues. We all face communities who are, certainly, 
targets of that kind of violence.
    I want to suggest that immigration is a national and 
Federal authorized responsibility. We see States like Texas and 
Florida that have spent billions in Texas; that have bused 
individuals to the Vice President's home and to other places.
    Can you tell me how detrimental and questioning States 
getting involved in immigration issues, and how confident you 
feel that you are protecting the American people?
    Incidents like that, including incidents at the border--
which I'll put in the record, ``Texas Trooper Alleges Inhumane 
Treatment of Migrants by State Officials along the Southern 
Border.''
    How are you responding to that responsibility that you 
have?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, the safety and security 
of the American people is our highest priority. Law enforcement 
is most effective when it is executed collaboratively in 
cooperation.
    Chair Jordan. The time of the gentle--
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Wait. I'd like to ask unanimous consent, 
Mr. Chair, to place into the record the CBS News, July 18, 
``Texas Trooper Alleges Inhumane Treatment of Migrants by State 
Officials along the Southern Border.''
    Chair Jordan. Without objection.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. The Washington Post, ``Southern Border 
Eerily Quiet after Policy Shift on Asylum Seekers.'' I ask 
unanimous consent to place that into the record.
    Chair Jordan. Without objection.
    Chair Jordan. The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from 
Florida for five minutes.
    Mr. Gaetz. Two million encounters and releases under your 
watch. So, not including the Title 42 expulsions, not including 
violent criminals, of those two-million-plus that you've 
encountered and released, how many have you told to go home?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, individuals who are 
released are placed in immigration enforcement proceedings 
under the law, where they can make their claim for relief. If 
their claim for relief is not satisfied, they are subject to 
removal from the United States--
    Mr. Gaetz. Right. ``Subject to removal'' sounds very 
different than actually removed. So, I'm not interested in the 
process. I'm not interested in what people are subject to. Two 
million people encountered and released--not the expulsions 
under Title 42, not the criminals--how many of those people 
have you deported?
    Secretary Mayorkas. So, Congressman, a few points. No. 1--
    Mr. Gaetz. Just how many of the people? I just want to know 
how many. Just a number.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we are dealing with a 
completely broken immigration system.
    Mr. Gaetz. I get it. No, no, Mr. Secretary, I'm not going 
to let you burn my five minutes.
    Do you know the answer? Do you know the number of people, 
out of that two million, that you've removed that aren't 
criminals?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I do know that we have removed more 
aggravated felons than--
    Mr. Gaetz. Right. I'm not asking about them. I've caveated 
that away.
    Because here's what I'm sort of getting and what your 
nonresponsiveness is demonstrating. The Mayorkas doctrine is 
this: If you show up at the border and get released into the 
country, if you don't commit a specific aggravated felony--
which, by the way, doesn't include a lot of assault and 
battery; doesn't include a lot of bad domestic violence--but if 
you're not one of the people who commit those crimes, you get 
to stay forever. Is that a fair characterization of your 
doctrine?
    Secretary Mayorkas. No, that is false.
    Mr. Gaetz. Then, tell me how many you're sending home.
    Secretary Mayorkas. No, that is false.
    Mr. Gaetz. OK, well, but you don't know the number of how 
many you've sent home.
    Here's another number: 1.2 million people today have been 
through your entire process, right? They've been through what 
you call a removal proceeding. It's just an amnesty dance. 
Because after the 1.2 million people get an order from the 
judge saying that they don't have a basis to be here, you still 
don't remove them. Like what's your plan to remove those 
people?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, that is false.
    Mr. Gaetz. OK. Well, how many of them then? Just give me 
the number.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, in this country--in this 
country--there are between 11-12 million undocumented--
    Mr. Gaetz. Right, but I'm asking about a subset that you 
won't send home. The reason you're smirking about it, and the 
reason you won't answer my question, is because everybody gets 
the joke. The sad thing is it's not just us here. It's the 
cartels who get the joke, too.
    So now, what you've done to execute this Mayorkas 
doctrine--where so long as you don't commit a crime, you get to 
stay here and burden our hospitals, burden our schools, burden 
our social services, burden our jails--you've sent the message 
to the cartels, and then, you've taken this app and you've 
digitized illegal immigration and you've scaled it to the moon.
    Like this app that you've got everybody downloading is like 
the Disney FastPass into the country, never to be subject to 
actual removal; just removal proceedings, as you call them. 
That app doesn't do any search of their criminal history in 
their home country, does it?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I disagree with everything 
you have said.
    Mr. Gaetz. Well, I'm sure, but just answer the question: 
Does the app that you are out there promoting do any search of 
people's criminal history in their home country?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, Customs and Border 
Protection screens and vets individuals whom they encounter 
early--
    Mr. Gaetz. Your app, it either has the functionality to 
test their criminal history in their home country or it 
doesn't. By the way, if it did, you would have already told me. 
It doesn't.
    Then, the other epic failure of this that's empowered the 
cartels is that, in these processing centers you've set up in 
other countries--so, just wave them all in at a rapid pace--
you've had to shut them down in Nuevo Laredo because the 
cartels were standing outside extorting people. Isn't that 
right?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, that is false.
    Mr. Gaetz. Oh, really? So, why did you shut down that 
facility in Nuevo Laredo?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Understand that the point of safe, 
orderly, and lawful pathways is to reduce the number of 
encounters at our Southwest border--
    Mr. Gaetz. Wait a second. You've just shifted those 
encounters. Because, right now, for the first time in modern 
history, more people are showing up at the ports of entry than 
running through some bush in Yuma, Arizona. The reason they're 
showing up at the ports of entry is because you've got the 
turnstile open--where, so long as they've gone and downloaded 
this app, you just let them in.
    I've got one final question for you, and it's an important 
one. Is Mexico an ally in this fight against illegal 
immigration?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes, it is.
    Mr. Gaetz. So, it's hilarious and somewhat troubling that 
you say that, because, like, I'm looking at the El Chapo trial, 
where President Nieto took a $100 million bride from the 
Sinaloa cartel. Do you think that the subsequent Presidents 
following Nieto weren't offered a bribe by the cartel, or 
didn't take the bribe?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I disagree with everything 
you have said.
    Mr. Gaetz. Right, but--
    Secretary Mayorkas. I have worked--
    Mr. Gaetz. You can disagree all you want, but what you 
won't provide is any number. When you sit there and just kind 
of ostensibly disagree without any facts, it shows people what 
the real gig is.
    The Mexican government is captive to the cartels. They are 
doing the bidding of the cartels, and based on your response 
today, so are you.
    Mr. Cohen. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Welcome, Mr. Ambassador. Appreciate your service and 
appreciate your testifying today.
    Last week Director Wray sat in the hot seat. By the way, is 
it still warm or did you bring some potholders?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I am prepared to answer the questions 
of this Committee--
    Mr. Cohen. Thank you, sir.
    Secretary Mayorkas. --Congressman.
    Mr. Cohen. Director Wray testified that a lot of the animus 
that has been conjured up against government, in this Congress 
particularly, but around the country, have given White 
supremacists of the belief that their actions may be justified, 
and it has hurt morale at his agency, and it has jeopardized 
the lives of some of his agents. A situation in Cincinnati 
where a man went out and--he didn't kill anybody, but he tried 
to; was going to go to the Cincinnati base. There have been 
others. Has your division of government, Homeland Security, 
been affected, the employees' morale been affected by these 
White supremacist threats and statements and have you been 
the--any of your agents and sites been the victim of violence?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, it is the antigovernment 
sentiments and their connectivity to violence that is the 
subject of my discussions with many of our front line 
personnels--personnel and the threats that they have 
encountered as a result.
    Mr. Cohen. Has there been any violence directed at any of 
your sites?
    Secretary Mayorkas. There has. We have an agency within the 
Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Protective 
Service; remarkable men and women in uniform who protect 
Federal facilities and the personnel who work in them.
    Mr. Cohen. There was a court ruling yesterday, and I didn't 
get into depth, but I believe it suspended a program that the 
President; and that includes you, tried to have for border 
entry and who could come to this country and seek asylum and 
limit it to some extent. It was stayed I believe by a court. Is 
that correct?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes, Congressman. It's the 
Circumvention of Lawful Pathways Regulation that we promulgated 
as part of our process to expand lawful pathways for 
individuals and at the same time deliver consequences for those 
who do not use those pathways.
    Mr. Cohen. Were there similarities to the program that 
President Biden and you had stayed that President Trump had 
also tried to implement, or did implement?
    Secretary Mayorkas. It is a different program than the one 
that President Trump implemented, Congressman.
    Mr. Cohen. OK. Did it have any parts of it?
    Secretary Mayorkas. No, the--and I will not speak much 
about this, Congressman, because the matter is the subject of 
litigation, but President Trump issued a transit ban on 
individuals, and our regulation is not a ban. It shifts the 
evidentiary burden. It raises it and creates a rebuttable 
presumption, which is quite distinct from a ban.
    Mr. Cohen. Could you say that was a middle ground between 
what President Trump had and what the Court maybe wanted 
because the Court stayed it and didn't allow it to occur?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I'm able to comment any 
further given the fact that it's a matter of pending 
litigation.
    Mr. Cohen. Thank you, sir. I have had a problem which is 
more local in nature, I guess, constituents who have complained 
that the opportunity to get certified by the Global Entry 
Program in Memphis, Tennessee has been thwarted, that they have 
been told they need to go to Jackson, Tennessee. Memphis is a 
city of over a million people. Jackson is a city of about 
100,000. Why our folks would have to go to Jackson to get their 
global entry form is hard for me to comprehend. They said they 
had to travel there.
    We tried to get in touch with the people at Global Entry. I 
think we got a phone call Friday. We found it very difficult to 
get in touch. The phone number that we were given by some 
people with TSA as a kind of speedy number, the number we need 
to get action. My staff said that they--the phone was hardly 
ever answered. They mostly stayed on hold.
    Could you ask the folks, because they come under you, at 
Global Entry to look into why citizens in Memphis have to go to 
Jackson? They were told it was because some of their people 
have to work to help FedEx. Everybody should help FedEx. 
Besides that, they need to help the citizens of Memphis get 
their global entries as well. So, can you look into that for 
me?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I will, Congressman. The Global Entry 
Program is one of two trusted traveler programs. Global Entry 
is under U.S. Customs and Border Protection and PreCheck is 
under the Transportation Security Administration. Those are two 
very successful trusted traveler programs that enhance the 
security of travel in the United States, as well as facilitate 
that travel. I'd be pleased to look into that issue.
    Mr. Cohen. Thank you, sir. Are you from Miami?
    Secretary Mayorkas. No, I was born in Cuba and fled the 
communist takeover of Cuba to the United States.
    Mr. Cohen. You didn't come to Miami at all?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I did. We lived in Miami for a couple 
years before my father found work elsewhere.
    Mr. Cohen. Thank you. Well, I am in the same status except 
I didn't go to Cuba first. I did go to Miami and then my father 
found better employment elsewhere. Thank you and appreciate 
your work. Yield back.
    Mr. Issa. Mr. Chair, I would ask unanimous consent that the 
regs of the Secretary's agency dated March 29, 2022, be placed 
in the record in which a quote contained says,

        Full 83 percent of the people who were subject to removal 
        between 2014-2019 were referred to an immigration judge and in 
        fact were not found to have a credible fear.

So, when the Secretary said that I was wrong about the 
majority, he was wrong. It is 83 percent according to his own 
documents in the period 2014-2019. Perhaps it is improved, but 
I doubt it. Yield back.
    Chair Jordan. Without objection.
    Chair Jordan. The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from 
Louisiana.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. Secretary Mayorkas, we have the 
frustrating responsibility on this Committee of providing 
oversight of your agency, but I have to be honest and tell you 
I am not sure exactly what you do at the Department of Homeland 
Security other than great harm.
    On your watch the data is pretty clear. We have had record 
levels of illegal immigration, a rapid decline in deportations, 
skyrocketing fentanyl deaths across our country. The Secret 
Service, which is a DHS component, can't determine who left 
cocaine at the White House.
    In the middle of all this you created the Cybersecurity and 
Infrastructure Security Agency, CISA, which is a division of 
your--of DHS. It is one of the Biden Administration agencies 
that colluded with and coerced the social media companies to 
censor Americans' protected free speech online. That is 
specifically detailed in a 155-page Court Opinion that came out 
of the Federal court in Louisiana in the landmark litigation of 
Missouri v. Biden.
    Have you read that Court Opinion?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I have not. The 
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency does not 
censor speech.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. OK. Well, the court found 
otherwise. It is really curious to me--actually it is quite 
alarming that you haven't read the opinion because your agency 
is listed in this opinion. The Federal court looked at volumes 
of evidence over months of litigation and they determined, 
among other things, that if the allegations made the 
plaintiffs, the States in this case, are true--and hold on. The 
preliminary injunction was granted against your agency, sir, 
and other Biden Administration agencies, including the DOJ and 
FBI. The court said it involves the most massive attack against 
free speech in United States history. You are telling me this 
opinion issued July 4th has not reached your desk? No one has 
briefed you on it?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I have been briefed on the Missouri 
litigation.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. OK. You haven't taken the time to 
read it yet?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman--
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. No, hold on. Have you read it or 
not?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I have read parts of it, Congressman.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. Oh, parts of it? Did you read the 
parts where it said that this is Orwellian and dystopian and 
that your agency is involved in a massive coverup of 
specifically conservatives' free speech online?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, the Cybersecurity and 
Infrastructure Security Agency is not involved in such conduct.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. OK. Well, the court found 
otherwise. You stand here under oath and you give us these 
answers that we know are not true, because this is demonstrably 
untrue. I am suggesting to you that you are saying things to us 
under oath that are proven by the record to be untrue.
    Let me ask you about this specifically: CISA was created 
to--we call it the Misinformation and Disinformation 
Subcommittee of CISA. Are you familiar with that?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman--
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. MDM. The MDM Subcommittee. You 
are familiar with that?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I am very well aware of 
the threat of disinformation emanating from adverse Nation 
States.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. Are you familiar with the 
Subcommittee? Just answer the question.
    Secretary Mayorkas. I am.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. OK. Does it still exist?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, are you speaking of the--
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. Does the MDM Subcommittee still 
exist?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I would have to get back to you on 
that.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. OK. All right. Kind of a big deal 
in your agency. I am kind of shocked that you don't know the 
answer to that.
    Can you define what misinformation is?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, misinformation is false 
information that is disseminated to--
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. Excellent. Who determines what is 
false?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, our focus--
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. No, who determines what is false 
in your agency?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman--
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. If you are going to pull 
something off the internet and collude with a social media 
platform to make sure Americans don't see it, who determines 
what is false?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we don't do that.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. That is not true. That is not 
true. That is not what the court has found. This is not a 
Republican talking point. This is what the documents show. We 
have had people testify under oath that say--and you just 
defined the term. You are telling me that you don't know who 
determines what is false?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, what we do at CISA, the 
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, is identify 
the tactics that adverse Nation States use to weaponize 
disinformation--
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. OK. What is disinformation? What 
is disinformation?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Disinformation is inaccurate 
information--
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. Who determines what is 
inaccurate? Who determines what is false? You understand the 
problem here? The reason the Framers of our Constitution did 
not a create an exception for, quote, ``false information'' 
from the First Amendment is because they didn't trust the 
government to determine what it is. You have whole committees 
of people in your agency trying to determine what they 
determine, they define as false or misinformation.
    Secretary Mayorkas. That is not true.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. Well then what is true?
    Secretary Mayorkas. What we do--
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. Please enlighten us.
    Secretary Mayorkas. --is what we do is we disclose the 
tactics that adverse Nation States are utilizing to weaponize 
disinforma-tion.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. No, sir. No, sir. The court found 
specifically--it is a finding of fact that is not disputed by 
the government defendants: The Biden Administration, your 
agency, the FBI, or DHS. Not in the litigation. They determined 
you made--you and all your cohorts made no distinction between 
domestic speech and foreign speech. So, don't stand there and 
tell me under oath that you only focused on adverse adversaries 
around the world.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman--
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. Foreign actors. That is not true.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, the Missouri case, the 
litigation to which you refer, is the subject of continuing 
litigation.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. The facts were not disputed. I 
so, so regret that I am out of time. I hope I get some more 
yielded. I yield back.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman yields back.
    The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.
    Mr. Johnson of Georgia. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    I don't trust the government of Florida to tell teachers 
how to teach history, particularly Black history, wanting to 
put a revisionist idea that somehow slaves benefited from being 
slaves. I don't think that that is the truth, but I will tell 
you my friend Donald Trump will have his folks thinking that 
that is the truth.
    At any rate, MAGA Republican extremists want to sell us on 
an apocalyptic fantasy. They want the American people to 
believe that the border is out of control, that drugs are 
flowing in freely, that September 11th-style terrorists are 
infiltrating with impunity, and that Latino immigrants are 
coming to rape, rob, and murder our families. In reality the 
greatest threat facing our homeland is White nationalist 
ideology that lies beneath such rhetoric.
    Experts agree that dangerous speech from elected officials 
creates a climate that foments violence and threatens public 
safety. Republicans in the 118th Congress have amplified the 
White nationalist invasion conspiracy theory over 80 times in 
their official capacity. Eleven Members of this very Committee 
pedaled this dangerous anti-Semitic, racist conspiracy theory.
    Dr. Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against 
Hate and Extremism, has said, quote,

        When migrants are described as invaders, that leads to violence 
        because how else does one stop an invasion.

    Mr. Secretary, as the Ranking Member mentioned, next month 
is the anniversary of the El Paso shooting. The shooter was 
inspired by White nationalist theories like the great 
replacement theory and claimed that there was a Hispanic, 
quote, ``invasion.'' He drove hundreds of miles to, as he 
admitted, target Hispanics and to murder 23 people. He is far 
from the only person inspired to kill as a result of these 
theories.
    In October 2018, a domestic terrorist infiltrated the Tree 
of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and murdered 11 
congreg-
ants during Shabbat services. That man targeted Jewish--he 
targeted a Jewish community because he believed in the great 
replacement theory. Unfortunately, this has become a repeated 
pattern which includes the attack in Poway and Buffalo. 
Regardless of political views we should all stand for the 
principle that hate is unacceptable.
    Mr. Secretary, what kind of impact does this White 
nationalist rhetoric of invasion or replacement have on 
minority communities?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, when an act of hate 
occurs, it's not just the community that is impacted. The 
adverse impact is felt across this Nation. One of the most 
prominent terrorism-
related threats that we face in the homeland is what we term 
domestic violent extremism. It is--
    Mr. Johnson of Georgia. It is White nationalist extremism, 
is it not?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, there are diverse 
ideologies that underlie the acts of violence. White 
nationalism is one of them. We do not focus on the ideology 
itself. We focus on its connectivity to violence and our effort 
to prevent that violence. We see a diverse range of ideologies 
of hate. Antigovernment sentiment, personal grievances, false 
narratives fuel acts of violence in this country. It is the 
connectivity to violence.
    Mr. Johnson of Georgia. Well, when elected officials repeat 
great replacement rhetoric, including the language of invasion, 
are they putting a target on the backs of immigrants and people 
of color?
    Secretary Mayorkas. It certainly fuels the threat landscape 
that we encounter in the--
    Mr. Johnson of Georgia. What kind of dangers does this 
rhetoric impose on law enforcement?
    Secretary Mayorkas. We have seen the number of ambushes of 
law enforcement officers increase year over year recently. I 
could provide that data to you.
    Mr. Johnson of Georgia. Thank you. My time is about to 
expire, and I will yield it back.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman yields back.
    The gentleman from Arizona is recognized.
    Mr. Biggs. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Secretary, who must take responsibility for the creation of 
the Disinformation Governance Board, you as the Secretary of 
Homeland Security or President Biden?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, the Disinformation 
Governance Board, which has been mischaracterized--
    Mr. Biggs. So, did President Biden tell you to do it or did 
you guys decided to do it? Did you take responsibility for 
creating that?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, it is my responsibility, 
and I will share with that--
    Mr. Biggs. Very good. So, the last four days 5,300 people 
have been encountered in the Tucson sector. Last four days. 
Fifty-three hundred. In the last week over 9,000 in the Tucson 
sector. That is not my made-up numbers. That is from Sector 
Chief Modlin. Who must bear responsibility for that? You or 
President Biden?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, our approach--
    Mr. Biggs. Is it you or President Biden? Who made the 
policies that--let's get there. Did President Biden tell you to 
open-up the border or did you?
    Secretary Mayorkas. The border is not open, Congressman.
    Mr. Biggs. Oh, so that is why there is 5,300 in the last 
four days that illegally tried to enter the country?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman--
    Mr. Biggs. That doesn't include the got-aways in that 
sector, which is the No. 1 sector three to one. You are saying 
it is somebody else's fault. It is not open.
    Well, let's talk about this then: Recently retired CBP 
Chief Raul Ortiz has testified under oath that the U.S. does 
not have operational control of the border as required. Is it 
your responsibility or President Biden's responsibility to make 
sure there is operational control?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman--
    Mr. Biggs. These are not hard questions. It is either your 
responsibility or President Biden's. Whose is it?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, the men and women of the 
Department of Homeland Security work tirelessly--
    Mr. Biggs. So, look, I am going to tell you I get down to 
the border. I love the CBP agents. You know what they keep 
saying? We just want to enforce the law. So, who is preventing 
from enforcing the law? Is it you or President Biden? It is 
that simple. Because your policies are allowing millions of 
people to get through, across this border. So, since January 
20, 2021, millions of illegal aliens have cross the Southern 
border and have been released by DHS into the interior of the 
U.S. Did you implement this catch and release program or was it 
President Biden?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, individuals who pose a 
public security--
    Mr. Biggs. So, look, you and I have had this song and dance 
before. You never want to answer the question. You never want 
to answer the question. Look, there is a whole side over there. 
They want to feed you pablum so you can say whatever you want, 
but I think the American people know it is either you or 
President Biden. I want to know is President Biden giving the 
directions on the implementation of these policies or are you 
the one that is creating this?
    So, let's go to some of this stuff that you have written. 
September 30, 2021, you issued guidance that we had a Senior 
DHS official come and tell this Committee that your guidance 
from September 30, 2021, led to ICE officers not submitting, 
quote, ``through their chain of command as many cases as they 
would have submitted previously.'' It was under your name. Did 
President Biden tell you to write that memo or is that your 
policy?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, the memo that you refer to 
is the Enforcement Priorities Memo.
    Mr. Biggs. Did you--
    Secretary Mayorkas. Priorities that--
    Mr. Biggs. Is that your policy then or is that President 
Biden's?
    Secretary Mayorkas. The priorities that we established in 
that memo--
    Mr. Biggs. I will take it that it must be yours I guess 
that is all we can take then.
    OK. So, since we have been sitting here, since 10, that is 
the number of drug overdoses due to fentanyl in the country. 
So, my question for you is who is responsible? Is it Joe Biden 
as President of the United States or is it you as Secretary of 
Homeland Security for the open border where fentanyl is coming 
across and we have American citizens dying? That is since 10 
a.m., Eastern Time.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, the border is not open. 
The challenge of fentanyl is one that has been escalating for 
more than five years.
    Mr. Biggs. Look, let's just--you cited a figure that was 
50,000. Since you came in it has been more than double every 
year. Who is responsible for that? Is it you and your policies 
or is it President Biden? It is a simple thing. You don't want 
to answer it because you know it is you. You know it is your 
policies. You are driving it. On October 27, 2021, you issued 
guidance that restricted the ability of ICE officers to arrest 
aliens in protected areas such as courthouses where they knew 
aliens to be. That has made it more difficult and dangerous for 
ICE officers to go and enforce the law. These are people had 
already had--generally, many of them had already had their day 
in court. Did President Biden order you to issue that guidance?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, our policies are driven to 
protect the American people, safeguard--
    Mr. Biggs. Who issued that policy? Was it the President? 
Were you following the President, or did you create the policy?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman--
    Mr. Biggs. Or will you ever give us an answer?
    Secretary Mayorkas. --that is a policy--
    Mr. Biggs. Yield back. Disgusting.
    Mr. Johnson of Georgia. Mr. Chair--
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman from--
    Mr. Johnson of Georgia. --I have a unanimous consent to 
enter into the record.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman is recognized.
    Mr. Johnson of Georgia. Thank you. Data from the U.S. 
Sentencing Commission which shows that 88 percent of the people 
conflicted for fentanyl trafficking crimes are United States 
citizens, not immigrants crossing the border.
    Charm Jordan. Without objection.
    The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from California.
    Mr. Schiff. Mr. Secretary, welcome to the Committee. It is 
wonderful to see you. You and I served together in the U.S. 
Attorney's Office in Los Angeles now some 30 years ago. I had 
great admiration and respect for your integrity and your work 
ethic then and I do today. I am grateful for you taking on what 
may be the most difficult job in the U.S. Government today. So, 
thank you for being here. My colleagues have a lot of questions 
for you, but they don't seem to want to give you the time to 
answer them.
    I would like to ask you about the Cyber Information--
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. In 2016, the 
Russians intervened heavily in our election to try to elect 
Donald Trump. They intervened with a massive social media 
campaign run out of St. Petersburg. They intervened by hacking 
the Democratic Party and its emails and releasing them through 
cut-outs.
    In 2020, the Cybersecurity Agency, having learned from the 
experience of 2016, I think did an admirable job in protecting 
our elections infrastructure. Its primary sin, although the 
Republicans won't say it, is that its then Director asserted 
after the election that it was the most secure election in our 
history. That was the sin of the agency, doing its job and 
doing it well.
    As we look forward to the next Presidential election, I 
want to ask you about what you see as the threats to our 
elections infrastructure or the threats of misinformation/
disinformation from whatever source.
    I am particularly concerned about YouTube's recent 
decision--I think the Republican badgering has had an effect 
and this is part of the effect. YouTube recently decided to, 
quote,

        Stop removing content that advances false claims that 
        widespread fraud, errors, or glitches occurred in the 2020 and 
        other past U.S. Presidential elections.

    YouTube has not decided it is not going to remove content 
it knows to be false. Other social media platforms like Twitter 
have decided to fire those that would be in the business of 
security or looking for misinformation/disinformation campaigns 
from whatever sources.
    So, in light of that changed environment what do you see as 
the principal threats to our elections in 2024?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I would identify at least 
three threat streams:

        (1)  The threat of disinformation propagated by the Nation 
        states of Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.

        (2)  Would be the cybersecurity threat, something that we are 
        always vigilant in guarding against. It is because of that 
        threat that we seek to build redundancies in our election 
        systems to best protect them.

        (3)  Third is something that we saw manifested last year, and 
        that is the threat of physical intimidation of individuals at 
        the voting booth.

    Those are three threat streams that I can identify right 
off the bat. We are very focused on each of them. Of course, 
the physical security is not something that we ourselves 
provide but work in collaboration with local jurisdictions and 
give them advice as to how they can best secure the facility 
and the integrity of the voting process.
    Mr. Schiff. Today you may have seen it was reported that 
Rudy Giuliani has acknowledged in a court filing that the 
statements he was making about these Georgia election workers 
were just patently false. Those election workers' lives were 
put at great risk. Some of your own personnel, their lives have 
been put at great risk by those who would attack our elections 
or attack efforts to prevent misinformation and disinformation.
    What efforts can you make to protect election workers and 
your own staff from these relentless falsehoods advanced to 
facilitate the campaigns of some of my colleagues' Presidential 
hopeful?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Some of the things that we do, 
Congressman, is we provide information to State, local, Tribal, 
territorial, and campus law enforcement with respect to the 
threat streams that we are observing. We also have protective 
security advisors in each State that give advice to local 
communities about how best to secure facilities and make them 
safe areas for people to vote. Those are two examples of the 
work that we perform.
    Mr. Schiff. I appreciate what you do, Mr. Secretary, and I 
hope that these constant and unfounded attacks on you, on your 
agency, on the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency 
don't make your work that much more difficult. We are grateful 
to you. With that, I yield back.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman yields back.
    The gentleman from Wisconsin is recognized.
    Mr. Tiffany. Mr. Chair, I want to issue a quick correction 
here. As we started it was mentioned earlier that Congress has 
not acted in decades to security the border. This House of 
Representatives in this session of Congress did act. We passed 
H.R. 2 to secure the border.
    How many Afghans, Mr. Secretary, have been admitted to the 
United States through parole since the fall of Kabul two years 
ago?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I would be pleased to 
provide you with that data. I don't have it--
    Mr. Tiffany. There were 70,192 Afghans that were brought 
into the United States. They were brought here on parole for 
two years. Will you be reviewing each individual status on a 
case-by-case basis as this expiration happens?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, you're referring to what 
we termed Operation Allies Welcome, a program that we are very 
proud of that we instituted to provide refuge for individuals, 
many of whom--
    Mr. Tiffany. Will you be reviewing those--they came in on 
parole. Will you be reviewing them on a case-by-case basis?
    Secretary Mayorkas. We reviewed them on a case-by-case 
basis. When those parole periods are subject to renewal, we 
will do so again.
    Mr. Tiffany. The commander down at Fort McCoy in my State, 
when I interviewed him two years ago, he said they were not 
interviewed on a case-by-case basis. In fact, in the terror 
hotbed of the world, Afghanistan, which should have a special 
immigrant visa process--the previous administration used that 
to make sure to fully vet--not one of those people that came in 
from Afghanistan were sent through the special immigrant visa 
process. They were simply given parole.
    Do you know how much damage was done to Fort McCoy during 
that period when those 12,000-plus Afghans came in?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, the individuals who 
benefited from Operation Allies Welcome were indeed screened 
and vetted by government personnel.
    Mr. Tiffany. They were brought in categorical parole, Mr. 
Chair.
    There was $145.6 million of damage that was done to Fort 
McCoy. Did you realize that?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we're very--
    Mr. Tiffany. The place was virtually destroyed.
    I want to move on. The poster behind me. We are seeing all 
sorts of very serious, very serious criminal threats that come 
from across the border. That was two weeks ago from FBI 
Director Wray, in other words saying the border is out of 
control. You say it is under control. Who is lying, you or FBI 
Director Wray?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we are very proud of our 
efforts to secure the border. We are relentless in our efforts 
to strengthen--
    Mr. Tiffany. FBI Director Wray said it is becoming more and 
more of a priority for us, under oath, just two weeks ago. Who 
is lying to us, Director Wray or you?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we work very closely with 
the FBI to ensure the safety and security of the American 
people. That is your highest priority.
    [Video plays.]
    Mr. Tiffany. Cartels are the winners. Sheriff Mark Dannels 
under questioning here a few months ago before this Committee, 
Cochise County down on the border of Arizona, he said the open 
border has led to a significant increase in the amount of 
fentanyl coming into this country. Do you agree with his 
assessment?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we have taken it to the 
cartels--
    Mr. Tiffany. Do you agree with his assessment? He said the 
amount of fentanyl has gone up significantly as a result of the 
open borders policy implemented by this administration January 
20, 2021. Is he lying to us? Did Sheriff Dannels lie to us?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I respectfully disagree 
with Sheriff Dannels, whom I know well. I can say--
    Mr. Tiffany. So, Sheriff Dannels is lying to us?
    Secretary Mayorkas. That is not what I said, Congressman, 
and let me share with you--
    Mr. Tiffany. Someone is not telling the truth here, Mr. 
Secretary. Someone is not telling the truth. It is either 
Dannels or it is you.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we have interdicted more 
fentanyl at the ports of entry than in the prior 
administration.
    Mr. Tiffany. Mr. Chair, I will go to close here.
    The most urgent lethal threat in America was in this man's 
testimony. There is one person in America who can reduce the 
number of fentanyl deaths in America. By the way, the term 
fentanyl overdoses are used. That is not the case anymore, is 
it? It is fentanyl poisonings. We have had them here. The 
Rachwal family from my State of Wisconsin.
    When you hear of fentanyl poisonings here in America, there 
is one person that can do something about it, and he sits right 
before us today.
    You, sir, are responsible for reducing fentanyl deaths in 
America. Will you ever do anything about it. I yield back.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman yields back.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, I have got a unanimous 
consent request quickly.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman from Louisiana.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. Two things actually: I wanted to 
enter into the record a report, a Fox News report, April 27, 
2022, which details the testimony of Mr. Mayorkas that created 
the Disinformation Governance Board within DHS to combat 
alleged disinformation and misinformation, terms that he is not 
able to explain here.
    The second document is the public statement on the Hunter 
Biden emails with the 51 former intel agents. That has now been 
debunked, but they also refer to misinformation. So, it is an 
important term. Enter those into the record.
    Chair Jordan. Without objection.
    The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from California.
    Mr. Lieu. Thank you, Chair Jordan.
    The House Judiciary Committee is responsible with helping 
to ensure the rule of law. Unfortunately, the Chair of this 
Committee ignored a bipartisan Congressional subpoena. The 
actions of the Chair have undermined the credibility of all 
Congressional Committees in seeking information from witnesses 
and damaged the rule of law.
    Secretary Mayorkas, thank you for your public service. I 
would like to discuss with you the history of the Southern 
border. In September 1969, a few years before Watergate 
consumed this Presidential Administration, the President 
launched Operation Intercept which basically shut down the 
Southern border. Less than three weeks later that operation was 
stopped because it largely failed to address the issues at the 
border.
    Secretary Mayorkas, who was the Republican President in 
1969?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I have to think back 
sequentially in reverse chronology, but I'm sure you know the 
answer--
    Mr. Lieu. He resigned.
    Secretary Mayorkas. --immediately.
    Mr. Lieu. I will give you a hint: This Republican President 
resigned.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I know the President, 
President Nixon.
    Mr. Lieu. Thank you. After Nixon resigned in 1974, his Vice 
President became President, but the issues at the border 
continued, and in 1976 the President stated, quote, ``80-90 
percent of the heroin that comes into the United States today 
comes across from our Southern border.''
    Secretary Mayorkas, who was the Republican President in 
1976? The Vice President to Nixon.
    Secretary Mayorkas. I'm sorry?
    Mr. Lieu. He was the Vice President to Richard Nixon.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Gerald Ford are you speaking of?
    Mr. Lieu. Yes, that is correct.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes, I'd--
    Mr. Lieu. Then--
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I'd prefer not to answer 
questions of history right now. My focus is on the--
    Mr. Lieu. Right. I am going to help you with it.
    Secretary Mayorkas. --work of the Department of Homeland 
Security.
    Mr. Lieu. I am going to help you with this. In the 1980s 
the Republican President had promised morning in America again, 
but the issues at the Southern border continued prompting him 
to offer a partial shutdown of the border in 1985. This 
operation aptly named Operation Intercept II was stopped after 
only a few days because it also failed to address the issues at 
the border. This was a President that knew about these issues 
because he was a former of Governor of California.
    Secretary Mayorkas, who was the Republican President in 
1985?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Ronald Reagan, Congressman.
    Mr. Lieu. Thank you. The border issues continued into this 
century. In 2006, the President, who was also familiar with the 
border because he was a former Governor of Texas, declared 
that, quote, ``for decades the United States has not been in 
complete control of its borders.''
    Secretary Mayorkas, who was the Republican President in 
2006?
    Secretary Mayorkas. President Bush, Congressman.
    Mr. Lieu. OK. In the prior administration the Republican 
President tried to solve the issues at the border and he 
failed. I would now like to show a video of what was actually 
happening during the prior administration in 2018.
    [Video plays.]
    Mr. Lieu. In May 2019, the situation got even worse. 
Politico published an article on June 5, 2019 that was titled, 
``Border Arrests Rose to Nearly 130,000 in May as the Border 
Surge Continues.''
    Secretary Mayorkas, who was the Republican President in 
2018 and 2019?
    Secretary Mayorkas. President Trump, Congressman.
    Mr. Lieu. Now we are here in 2023. Secretary Mayorkas, last 
month in June border crossings declined to the lowest level in 
over two years, correct?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I'm sorry. Can you repeat the--
    Mr. Lieu. Border crossings last month declined to the 
lowest level in over two years, correct?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
    Mr. Lieu. OK. Politico published an article last week that 
stated approximately 99,545 individuals were apprehended last 
month, the first time the figure dropped below 100,000 in more 
than two years. That data is largely correct, right?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I believe so, yes, Congressman.
    Mr. Lieu. All right. So, based on the facts that you have 
testified to here is this chart. Shows that under Trump there 
were 130,000 border apprehensions in May 2019, and last month 
under the Biden Administration there were less than 100,000 
border apprehensions. The facts show the Southern border is 
doing better last month than it was under Trump in May 2019.
    Thank you, Secretary Mayorkas, for your public service. Now 
that the Republicans want to impeach you, good luck with that 
one. I yield back.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman yields back.
    The gentleman from Texas is recognized.
    Mr. Roy. I thank the Chair.
    Secretary Mayorkas, on April 28, 2022, I asked you, quote, 
``Will you testify under oath right now do we have operational 
control, yes or no?'' You responded with, quote, ``Yes, we 
do.'' I then asked we have operational control of the borders? 
You responded, quote, ``Yes, we do.''
    Followed up. I read to you the definition of operational 
control. I actually held up this chart. Operational control as 
defined under the Secure Fence Act. Put it for plain reading, 
plain as day. I put up the second part of the same statute 
which defines operational control. Means the prevention of all 
unlawful entry into the United States including entries by 
terrorists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, 
narcotics, and other contraband.
    I said to you do you stand by in your testimony that we 
have operational control in light of this definition? You 
responded with, quote, ``I do.''
    Earlier you testified I didn't give you a chance to finish, 
yet you specifically when asked--and held up a statute defining 
exactly what operational control meant under the Secure Fence 
Act you said, quote, ``I do.'' I believe that was purposeful. I 
believe you want the American people to believe we have 
operational control of the border when we very clearly do not. 
Less than a month later in Homeland Security you testified, 
quote, ``Under that strict definition this country has never 
had operational control.''
    This year House Homeland Security. Then Border Patrol Chief 
Raul Ortiz testified before the Homeland Committee that DHS did 
not have operational control of the border either by the 
statutory definition or not. Now, that is an honest answer.
    In the Senate Judiciary Committee shortly thereafter you 
testified with respect to the definition of operational 
control, I do not use the definition that appears in the Secure 
Fence Act. The Secure Fence Act provides statutorily that 
operational control is defined as preventing all unlawful 
entries into the United States, and by that definition no 
administration has ever had operational control.
    If you will recall when you testified here in front of me, 
when I asked that question, when you very clearly stated we do 
have operational control. When presented with the actual 
definition of operational control, you didn't hesitate. You 
said I do. You, in fact, then referred back and said I believe 
that my predecessors would have said the same thing.
    I asked Chad Wolf that question in this room and Chad said,

        Well, no, we didn't use that framing to say we have operational 
        control. We are striving to achieve operational control.

You didn't do that. You looked straight at the American people, 
straight at me, straight at every person on this Committee, and 
said, ``we have operational control.'' Why?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, two points: (1) You did 
not let me complete my answer.
    Mr. Roy. Hold on. Or give me your second point. Go ahead.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you. (2) The Secure Fence Act 
defines operational control as not a single individual crosses 
the border--
    Mr. Roy. I am aware. I read it. I read it to you. You read 
it. In fact, you said, ``I do.'' You didn't hesitate. You 
didn't say I do. I need to explain what I mean by I do. You 
said I do over and over again.
    Here is the problem with that: This is a pattern. Did you 
lie another time when you said on September 24, 2021, at a 
press conference, quote,

        We know that those images painfully conjured up the worst 
        elements of our Nation's ongoing battle against systemic 
        racism.

    When responding to the alleged whipping incident by the 
bipartisan agencies who report to you, when in fact on October 
22, 2022, it was reported that 2\1/2\ hours before that press 
conference Marsha Espinosa, Assistant Secretary of DHS Public 
Affairs emailed you and CC'd other DHS leadership alerting you 
all that the photographer who took the images did not see any 
whipping occur invalidating the initial claim?
    It wasn't until May of this year that you corrected the 
record to say well, let me just correct you right there because 
actually the investigation concluded the whipping did not 
occur.
    Don Rosenberg in this very room testified a few weeks ago 
that you lied. It is a perpetual pattern. The fact is, there 
are real people that are impacted by that.
    We have now since you testified, we have had something like 
200 people a day dying from fentanyl death, which would amount 
to 90,000 people. I showed you before when you were here the 
lost voices of fentanyl, the hundreds, the thousands of 
Americans that continue to die. Ninety thousand since you came 
into this Committee and lied to us saying we have operational 
control. I yield back.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman yields back.
    The gentleman from California is recognized.
    Mr. Swalwell. Mr. Secretary, you have a serious job and 
occasionally you have to deal with some very unserious MAGA 
colleagues of mine. Your serious job is to secure the border of 
the greatest country in the world, a country that is neighbor 
to some of the most violent and economically insecure countries 
in the world where people are willing to risk everything to 
come here. Somehow you have to secure the border, but also make 
sure we are not pushing little girls back into the river so 
they can drown.
    It is a hard job. If it was an easy job, we wouldn't have 
asked you to do it, but you were asked to do it because you are 
qualified, you are competent, you care, you show compassion, 
and you show up every day and you deal with this.
    Frankly, sir, I think sometimes you are too nice because if 
I had a Chair who failed to honor his own lawful subpoena about 
500 days after it was submitted to him, I would say catch me 
when you are serious. Come talk to me when you are going to 
follow the law about whether you think I follow the law. That 
is not how you are. You take your job seriously even in front 
of a lot of unserious people.
    In fact, the Chair that you are sitting in, you may not 
know this, but the last person who sat in that Chair was called 
by the Chair an anti-vaxxing, anti-Semitic witness, in RFK, Jr. 
So, you have brought immediate credibility to the Chair that 
you are sitting in by just being here.
    They are not serious people. They chide people for their 
pronouns, they obsess and display in this Committee and other 
Committees a private citizen's nonconsensual nude images. We 
are not talking about serious people. We are not talking about 
people who are on the level.
    So, what do we want to do? We want to acknowledge the 
seriousness of your job and hopefully one day in the majority 
give you the tools to deliver on what we believe ultimately can 
put us in the most secure place, which is comprehensive 
immigration reform.
    In the spirit of that I want to as you, because I believe 
in that and my colleagues believe in that, in January, DHS 
established a new set of processes for lawful entry of Cubans, 
Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans that drastically reduced 
encounters of those nationals at the Southern border. This 
freed up department resources to combat drug trafficking and 
other cartel crimes. Democrats applauded the measure while 
Republicans scrambled to find a new way to turn it into 
campaign fund raising emails.
    Last Congress Democrats proposed increases to funding for 
CBP personnel to patrol the Southern border and investments in 
technology to interdict smuggling through ports of entry. 
Again, my Republican colleagues failed to support common-sense 
measures to secure the homeland. My colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle, they don't have solutions. They want the 
chaos.
    So, Mr. Secretary, they have put forth proposals to defund 
the CBP One app, which has helped alleviate strained manpower 
at the Southern border. What impact would that have on our 
homeland security?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, the CBP One app is one 
element of our approach of building and expanding lawful 
pathways for people to reach the United States in a safe, 
orderly, and lawful way, as well as delivering consequences at 
the border for those individuals who do not use them.
    The CBP One app,

        (1)  Reduces the number of irregular encounters at our Southern 
        border.

        (2)  Critically, cuts out the smuggling organizations that 
        impose such tragedy and trauma on vulnerable individuals purely 
        for the sake of profit.

        (3)  Allows us to screen and vet individuals before they arrive 
        at our border.

It is of tremendous utility to us, and its results have proven 
productive.
    Mr. Swalwell. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. As I said, you have 
a serious job. Border crossings are down despite my MAGA 
colleagues constantly saying we have an open border which only 
invites people South of the border to believe that they should 
try and come here. They are rooting for that chaos. You are 
trying to bring solutions to stop that. Fentanyl seizures are 
up. Congratulations to the brave men and women who wear the 
badge every day and walk the beat at CBP. That should be 
celebrated, but rather it is used by my MAGA colleagues as a 
political weapon to suggest that they would rather the fentanyl 
get past CBP, past the ports of entry and into our schools and 
our communities. You have got a tough job, you are a serious 
person, and we are grateful that you are doing it. I yield 
back.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman yields back.
    The gentleman from Kentucky is recognized.
    Mr. Massie. I thank the Chair.
    Secretary Mayorkas, the Department of Homeland Security 
issued a national terrorism advisory system bulletin this year 
in February. It said the United States remains in a heightened 
threat environment fueled by several factors including an 
online environment filled with false or misleading narratives 
and conspiracy theories and other forms of mis-, dis-, and 
malinformation. Can you define malinformation for us?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we're dealing with false 
information that is used for a particular purpose.
    Mr. Massie. Isn't malinformation actually true information 
that may be inconvenient to the establishment orthodoxy?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I'm sorry, Congressman.
    Mr. Massie. Isn't malinformation a made-up word that refers 
to information that is actually true, but just inconvenient to 
the government narrative?
    Secretary Mayorkas. That is not true, Congressman.
    Mr. Massie. Let me ask you this: You said that the 
proliferation of false or misleading narratives sow discord and 
undermine public trust in U.S. Government institutions. Is it 
illegal to undermine public trust in U.S. Government 
institutions?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we become involved as we 
believe in the First Amendment right, and we have safeguards to 
protect it. We actually have a statutorily created Office for 
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. We become involved not with 
respect to a particular ideology. We are ideology-neutral. It's 
the connectivity to violence.
    Mr. Massie. Isn't larger government an ideology, the bigger 
government? Let me ask you my original question: Is it illegal 
to undermine public trust in U.S. Government institutions?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we understand First 
Amendment principles. We embrace and protect them.
    Mr. Massie. Doesn't the--
    Secretary Mayorkas. Individuals can espouse whatever 
ideology they believe it.
    Mr. Massie. So, it is--
    Secretary Mayorkas. That is a--
    Mr. Massie. So, let me ask you the question. If you would 
just answer it directly. Is it illegal to undermine public 
trust in U.S. Government institutions? Isn't that in fact what 
we are doing here today when we point out that you have 
released a million or two million people into this country 
without trying to deport them? Are we in fact undermining trust 
in U.S.--in your institution? Aren't we doing that? Isn't that 
actually healthy when we point that out?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, may I share with you what 
the Department of Homeland Security does with respect to 
ideologies?
    Mr. Massie. I need to ask you another question since you 
haven't answered any of these yet.
    You say that there is widespread online proliferation of 
false or misleading narratives regarding COVID-19. Is the claim 
that natural immunity is real--is that a false or misleading 
online narrative?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we do not evaluate 
particular ideologies or particular narratives. We're focused--
    Mr. Massie. How about the claim that vaccines don't stop 
the spread of the virus? Was that a false or misleading COVID 
narrative?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, what we do is we are 
involved when there's a connectivity between an ideology, 
whatever that ideology--
    Mr. Massie. I am not talking about ideology. I am talking 
about COVID-19. Is the notion that masks were ineffective in 
stopping transmission--was that a false or misleading 
narrative?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, allow me to repeat. What 
we engaged in is a connectivity to violence. It is our 
responsibility to prevent violence from occurring. We work very 
closely--
    Mr. Massie. I want you to give me an example of a false or 
misleading narrative that encouraged violence. You say that 
there were grievances associated with these themes inspired 
violent extremist attacks during 2021. Did hydroxychloroquine--
did that inspire violent extremist attacks? What are you 
talking about in this document when you say that false or 
misleading narratives about COVID-19 inspired violent extremist 
attacks during 2021? Can you give us a single example? I have 
given you some questions. Was it the narrative that this may 
have leaked from a lab in China? Was that the thing? If so, 
what did it inspire? What is the violence?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, would you like an example?
    Mr. Massie. Yes.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes. COVID-19 is caused by 5G cell 
towers, an attack on a cell tower. That attack on a cell tower 
triggers the involvement of the Department of Homeland 
Security. That is an example. It is the connectivity to 
violence. We do not condone violence--
    Mr. Massie. You think COVID-19 caused attacks on cell 
towers?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, that is a--
    Mr. Massie. I think you are chasing ridiculous things.
    Mr. Schiff. Mr. Chair?
    Mr. Massie. People watching this at home--
    Mr. Schiff. Mr. Chair?
    Mr. Massie. --they have got to be just amazed that you 
would espouse this.
    Mr. Schiff. Mr. Chair, can the witness be allowed to 
answer?
    Mr. Massie. He is not--he said that false or misleading 
narratives about COVID-19 need to be censored. He is implying 
that they need to be censored because getting out this 
information--free speech is somehow dangerous to our country--
    Mr. Nadler. Mr. Chair, he didn't say that.
    Mr. Massie. --in the context of COVID-19. I completely 
disagree. He didn't give us an example.
    Mr. Schiff. Mr. Chair, can he answer--
    Mr. Massie. I yield back the balance of my time.
    Mr. Nadler. Mr. Chair, can he answer the question because 
he is being misquoted.
    Chair Jordan. The time belongs to the gentleman. He has 
yielded back. The time now goes to--and before I yield to the 
gentlelady from Washington, I am sure she will be willing to 
yield to you, Mr. Secretary.
    We have been going almost two hours. If you need a break, 
just let us know, but we will keep going.
    I will yield to the gentlelady for her five minutes. If you 
want to respond to Mr. Massie in that five, go right ahead. The 
gentlelady from Washington is recognized.
    Ms. Jayapal. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Mr. Secretary, thank you for coming here today. I am going 
to give you a brief opportunity, because I have a full five 
minutes, but a brief opportunity to respond to the gentleman.
    Secretary Mayorkas. I don't even know where to begin with 
the grotesque distortion of information. I just don't even know 
where to begin.
    Ms. Jayapal. Mr. Secretary, I want to thank you for your 
service, for your leadership. I am sorry what you are--for what 
you are experiencing today. As the Ranking Member of the 
Immigration Subcommittee, I want to take a step back and just 
remind everyone of the mess that you inherited from the 
previous administration and the steps that your department 
under your leadership is taking to move us in the right 
direction.
    Let's be really clear: The Trump Administration considered 
every undocumented immigrant a priority for removal. The Trump 
Administration separated children from their parents. Perhaps 
what escaped attention the most was that the Trump 
Administration simply did not believe in legal immigration. The 
previous administration enacted over 400 changes designed to 
shut down legal immigration.
    The truth is that it is our job in Congress to fix this. We 
have not updated the immigration system in over three decades. 
In that time America's population has grown by 80 million 
people. The economy is five times larger. Our inability to 
modernize American laws, immigration laws has resulted in 
record-level backlogs for the legal immigration system making 
it nearly impossible to come to the United States.
    A decade ago, the U.S. Senate passed with 68 bipartisan 
votes a comprehensive immigration reform bill only to be 
stymied by Republicans in the House who refused to bring it up 
for a vote because they knew that it would pass if they did. 
Today, thanks to a concerted Republican strategy to vilify 
immigrants, it is hard to imagine a bill like that garnering 
that kind of bipartisan vote in either chamber.
    So, given that the Republican-controlled House will not 
move forward meaningful reform, Mr. Secretary, you and the 
Biden Administration have used your legal authorities granted 
by Congress to add additional legal pathways. Much to some of 
my colleagues' chagrin, with much success. You are working to 
provide order and relief to immigrants.
    The administration announced the opening of regional 
processing centers across the Western Hemisphere that will 
allow migrants to have their protection and benefits claims 
assessed in a humane way without having to make the dangerous 
journey to the U.S.-Mexico border.
    The administration has embraced the use of parole following 
a bipartisan tradition of Presidential Administrations going 
back 70 years. In addition, the administration also formally 
announced new family reunification parole processes for El 
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Columbia. These are modeled 
after the Cuban family reunification process which Republicans 
have supported in the past.
    In addition, you have increased the number of appointments 
that will be available under the CBP One app, which, while far 
from perfect, will increase CBP's ability to process more 
migrants.
    As you know, Mr. Secretary, I have serious concerns about 
some policies including a new asylum regulation which was just 
declared unlawful in Federal court that I fear undermine due 
process and right to seek asylum. Despite that, despite that I 
am very clear about the Republican opposition to any sensible 
and humane immigration system and who the good guys are in this 
situation.
    That is you, Mr. Secretary. The good guys are you, the 
Democrats, and this administration who understand the great 
importance of immigration to America on every level and are 
determined to take steps to expand pathways for entry and move 
us forward. For that I am tremendously grateful to you and I 
thank you for your service and for your leadership.
    Now, Mr. Secretary, Republicans projected terrible things 
after Title 42, but in fact Politico has called it the migrant 
crisis that still hasn't arrived.
    Mr. Chair, I seek unanimous consent to enter an article 
into the record with that exact title.
    Chair Jordan. Without objection.
    Ms. Jayapal. Can you talk about the administration's 
attempts to expand legal pathways and why you think it is so 
important?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, our approach is to 
expand lawful pathways so that individuals who qualify for 
relief under the laws of this Congress do not have to place 
their lives and their life savings in the hands of unscrupulous 
smugglers who only exploit them for profit, to bring greater 
security and strength to our border, and to allow our agencies 
to screen and vet individuals before they arrive here in the 
United States. Those are three very significant benefits of our 
lawful pathways.
    I know you and I disagree on the other element of our 
approach, which is to deliver consequences for those who do not 
use those lawful pathways.
    Ms. Jayapal. I thank you, Mr. Secretary. I hope we always 
hold up the Constitution and I thank you for your service.
    I yield back, Mr. Chair.
    Chair Jordan. The gentlelady yields back.
    The Chair recognizes himself.
    Mr. Secretary, you know what the number is, don't you, the 
number that Mr. Gaetz was trying to get an answer--get a 
response from? You know what that number is, right?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I would--
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I would be pleased to 
provide this Committee, you, Mr. Chair, with--
    Chair Jordan. You don't know now? You don't know what that 
is? I mean, again just to--because what Mr. Gaetz is trying to 
get at, I think what the country would like to know is, we know 
that there's been an influx of people coming in, over two 
million encountered in our Southern border, inadmissible aliens 
on our Southern border.
    We know that number has come in since Joe Biden has been 
President. We know it's a big number. All he was asking was: 
How many of that two-point something, over two million, how 
many have went through the adjudication process and actually 
been removed?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chair--
    Chair Jordan. You're telling the Judiciary Committee today 
you don't know what that number is?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chair, what I am sharing with you 
is that we will provide you with whatever data you request.
    Chair Jordan. No, no, that's not what--I want to go right--
that's a simple--we've had kind of two simple questions that 
you didn't get an answer to. I just want to know--give you a 
second chance here if you'll do it. What is that number out of 
that two-point something universe of inadmissible aliens 
encountered on our Southern border who have come into the 
country, been released in the country. How many have gone 
through the adjudication process and then been removed?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chair, I'd be pleased to provide 
you with that.
    Chair Jordan. Can you guess?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chair, it is--
    Chair Jordan. Can you give an estimate?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chair, I will not--
    Chair Jordan. Why will you not give an estimate to the 
American people? Because they would like to know because that 
sort of frames it. Here's what's come in. Here's who you've 
allowed in since Joe Biden has been President. Here's the ones 
who've actually been removed.
    Secretary Mayorkas. I would say two things, Mr. Chair. 
First, I will provide that data to you. We will do so.
    Chair Jordan. You're not really good at that because you've 
said that other times here, and you don't give us the data. We 
asked that information about the disinformation governance 
board and all we get is redacted documents. So, you're not 
really good about that.
    It's a simple question and frankly a question we ask you to 
be prepared for. We wrote you two letters in the last several 
weeks to be prepared to answer that kind of question. I think 
probably that specific question, and you won't give us an 
answer.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chair--
    Chair Jordan. So, the fact that you won't is bad, and the 
fact that you don't know is just as bad because it's the one 
question the country kind of would like to know what's really 
happening. When you say all these pathways and things and 
border security and all the things you say, we kind of like to 
know what's really happened with the two-point something 
million people who've been released into the country since Joe 
Biden has been presented. How many have gone through the 
adjudication process and been removed?
    Secretary Mayorkas. So, now I--
    Chair Jordan. Simple question.
    Secretary Mayorkas. So, now I have three points.
    (1) We will provide the data to you.
    Chair Jordan. God bless you.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Two--
    Chair Jordan. God bless. I hope you do it this time.
    Secretary Mayorkas. (2) We have been cooperating with this 
Committee. We have made countless documents and people 
available to you. We have provided briefings.
    Chair Jordan. Yes, and here's what those--by the way, just 
so you know, I'll let you finish with your third point. Here's 
what those documents look like. Here's the one you sent to us. 
It's Policy and Responsibilities in the Departments, 
Information Manipulation Mission.
    That sounds scary enough, Information Manipulation Mission. 
It's all redacted. This is the kind of stuff you gave us when 
we were trying to figure out who was responsible for putting 
together the Disinformation Governance Board and I think my 
colleague, Mr. Johnson, was asking.
    Now, we're asking a simple question about a number. The 
fact that you won't give it to us or don't know it is a concern 
for all of us. I would say both sides because the Democrats 
probably want to know too. That's something that should be so 
obvious, and you won't communicate it. Make your third point.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chair, we'll provide that 
information to every Member.
    Chair Jordan. Will it be like this or will be a real 
number? Will be like that? Will it be a real number?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chair, the third point I--
    Chair Jordan. Let me ask really quick. Can you get that 
number to us, like, tomorrow? Or do you have to go back and is 
it going to take weeks and months and haggling back and forth 
and all the letters we do? Congress writes letters to agencies, 
and we haggle back and forth, all that dance we have to do. Or 
can you just get us the number?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chair, we'll provide that data to 
you as promptly as possible.
    (3) Would be the most fundamental point of all when we 
speak of immigration. We are dealing with a fundamentally 
broken system. We have between 11-12 million--
    Chair Jordan. OK. I've got 50 second. So, I appreciate 
that. You've said that before, so I got that point. Don't mean 
to cut you off, but I got to get this.
    Now, in your testimony, you said you've arrested 14,000 
smugglers. Seems like a big number to me. What happened to 
those guys?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Those individuals, Mr. Chair, are, if 
the evidence so supports, prosecuted for smuggling.
    Chair Jordan. You've referred them to DOJ. You've arrested 
them. You've given them over to DOJ. What's happened to them? 
Have they been indicted, taken to trial, found guilty? Are they 
in prison somewhere? What's the status?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Let me--
    Chair Jordan. That is a huge number, 14,000 smugglers. God 
bless you for getting them. I'd like to know what happened to 
them.
    Secretary Mayorkas. I'm very pleased to provide that data 
to you. Let me provide some examples.
    Chair Jordan. You just told us a couple minutes ago you 
work closely with the FBI. We'd like that information, too. 
That's important. Have you arrested any of them multiple times?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I'll provide that 
information.
    Chair Jordan. You think there's a possibility some of those 
smugglers you've arrested more than once?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, when I prosecuted 
immigration crimes in the 1990s, we saw individuals who had 
repeated violations of criminal laws of the United States and 
repeated removals from the United States and prosecuted--
    Chair Jordan. You think a smuggler, you catch someone 
smuggling people, smuggling drugs, you wouldn't--that guy would 
be prosecuted, and you'd think you would again know that answer 
too.
    Ms. Jayapal. Mr. Chair--
    Chair Jordan. We hope you get those answers to us. I yield 
now to--
    Ms. Jayapal. Unanimous consent request, Mr. Chair.
    Chair Jordan. Oh, gentlelady from Washington is recognized.
    Ms. Jayapal. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I wanted to ask 
unanimous consent to enter into the record The New York Times 
article called, ``Burning Cell Towers Out of Baseless Fear They 
Spread the Virus.'' This is a conspiracy theory linking the 
spread of the coronavirus to 5G wireless technology that 
spurred more than 100 incidents in just one month.
    Chair Jordan. Without objection.
    Ms. Jayapal. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Chair Jordan. The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from 
California.
    Mr. Correa. Thank you, Mr. Chair and Secretary. Welcome. 
Thank you for a good job. I really believe you have a thankless 
job. You've done a hell of a job.
    When I became Ranking Member of the Homeland Security 
Border Subcommittee, I made it my priority to visit every major 
port of entry on the Southern board. I visited, met with men 
and women and uniform, both blue and green uniforms. Wanted to 
see what the job was about, what the challenges were.
    Mr. Secretary, let's talk refugees. COVID-19 has changed 
the world. Today, we're probably seeing the biggest movement of 
refugees in recent history, if not in the history of the world.
    Title 42, when Title 42 was about to be lifted, everybody 
was expecting total chaos at the border. A week before that, a 
few days before that event, I went to San Ysidro, myself and 
the Border Port Director, visited Mexico. We met with Mexican 
officials, Federal, State, local, as well as Mexican 
stakeholders interested in making sure everything went well at 
the border.
    Everybody expected chaos. Title 42 was lifted, no chaos. 
Everything went unexpectedly well. I think you were the 
architect of that policy, carrots and sticks. You made sure 
that people had a pathway, had incentives to come legally. You 
also put criminal sanctions on those that would break those 
laws.
    Of course, you also worked with some of our partners South 
of the border to make sure that this job was not just United 
States, but that the burden was shared with other people like 
Mexico, Columbia, and other Nations around the world. Mr. 
Mayorkas, you're doing a good job. So, my question to you today 
is how can we, U.S. Congress, assist you in doing a better job 
for the United States?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, thank you. We are taking 
the actions that we think will strengthen the security of our 
border, uphold our values as well to the best of our abilities, 
operating within a broken immigration system. The most 
fundamental benefit that we could receive from Congress is 
legislative reform.
    Mr. Correa. I'd like to see us move to immigration reform. 
You were trying to say earlier we have 12 million undocumented 
workers working in this country, some having been here for 10, 
20, or 30 years. No hope of an adjustment of status. We have 
another 10 million job openings in this country today.
    Let's quickly, my last minute or two, talk about fentanyl. 
It's ruining Main Street back home, deaths. The 80-90 percent 
of the fentanyl comes through our ports of entry, yet right now 
you only have enough funding to maybe inspect two percent of 
the vehicles coming through our ports of entry. Does that sound 
about right?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we have harnessed advanced 
technology, most notably the nonintrusive inspection 
technology, to be a force multiplier for our personnel. We rely 
on funding from Congress for not only that technology but also 
the personnel who operated the extraordinary people of U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection, both our Border Patrol agents 
and our Office of Field Operations personnel and--
    Mr. Correa. Mr. Secretary, if we wanted to stop more 
fentanyl from coming into the country, I'd say you need more 
personnel, more technology, more of those drug sniffing dogs 
that are so effective. You need more funding. You want to go 
from two percent of inspections to 4-10 percent of those 
vehicles being inspected. You need the funds.
    Secretary Mayorkas. We do, Congressman. It is a two-part 
challenge. It is addressing the supply which your question is 
focused on, of course. We also have to address the issue of 
demand in this country.
    The scourge of drugs has been a long enduring one. I will 
say I prosecuted many narcotics trafficking cases in my time as 
a prosecutor. The toxicity of fentanyl is something I've never 
seen before.
    Mr. Correa. Mr. Secretary, thank you very much for your 
good work. We want to partner with you to make sure we protect 
America on those negative elements coming into this country. 
Mr. Chair, I yield.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman yields back. The gentleman from 
North Carolina is recognized.
    Mr. Bishop. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Secretary, let me 
focus on CISA a moment and something very specific. Jen 
Easterly, the Director of CISA, testifying before an 
appropriation's Subcommittee here in the House earlier this 
year said, quote,

        We don't flag anything to social medial organizations at all. 
        We are focused on building resilience to foreign influence and 
        disinformation.

Is that true or false that CISA does not flag anything to 
social media organizations at all?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I believe that is true, Congressman. I 
will verify that, but I believe that is true.
    Mr. Bishop. Are you familiar with Brian Scully. Do you know 
who that is?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I do not, Congressman.
    Mr. Bishop. He was, the MDM--person responsible for MDM as 
you call it. He testified about switchboarding, that CISA was 
engaged in switchboarding, in which, for example, it was 
essentially an audit official to identify something on social 
media that they deemed to be disinformation aimed at their 
jurisdiction. They could forward that to CISA, and CISA would 
share that with the appropriate social media companies.
    Now, that was a quote from his testimony. That sounds like 
flagging to me, flagging to social media companies, and all his 
testimony was of similar import. How does that reconcile with 
what you just said Ms. Easterly correctly answered before the 
appropriations Subcommittee?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, a few points on switch-
boarding.
    Mr. Bishop. No, no, no, no, no. Would you--
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes?
    Mr. Bishop. Would you reconcile those two statements, 
please?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
    Mr. Bishop. I don't really have enough time to go from 
dissertation.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes, I will.
    Mr. Bishop. OK.
    Secretary Mayorkas. If you'll allow me.
    Mr. Bishop. Quickly, thank you.
    Secretary Mayorkas. That practice--my understanding is that 
practice was in 2018, in 2020 is no longer employed by CISA. 
What it amounted to was serving as an intermediary between 
election officials and social media companies. We were not 
making a judgment. Back in 2018 or 2020--
    Mr. Bishop. I get your point. I get your point. I know you 
were going to elaborate, and I appreciate that. I think the 
point you just said, and I'd like to inquire further, you said 
is no longer the practice. When did it stop?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I'd be pleased to provide that 
information to you, and I will defer to the Director Easterly. 
We will provide that information to you.
    Mr. Bishop. You do not know when they stopped doing it?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I do not.
    Mr. Bishop. You have said in your testimony here today 
several times that we are taking it to the cartels to an 
unprecedented degree dismantling those criminal organizations. 
Those are two things you said. Have Mexican drug cartels become 
stronger or weaker during your tenure as Secretary?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we are taking it to the 
cartels to an unprecedented--
    Mr. Bishop. You already said that. In fact, I just repeated 
it to you. Have they become stronger or weaker on your watch?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, the cartels have been a 
challenge for not only this country, but many countries around 
the world.
    Mr. Bishop. Are you not able to say whether they're 
stronger or weaker on your watch?
    Secretary Mayorkas. We through our efforts, our efforts 
have weakened those cartels by the investigations and 
prosecutions that we have conducted with our international--
    Mr. Bishop. The cartels are weakened under your tenure?
    Secretary Mayorkas. When we--
    Mr. Bishop. Is that what your testimony is, sir?
    Secretary Mayorkas. When we disrupt a cartel, when we 
arrest an individual with our partners, we have weakened them. 
That is what the men and women of the Department of Homeland 
Security are dedicated to doing.
    Mr. Bishop. How much revenue have the cartels received 
during your tenure?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I don't have that data.
    Mr. Bishop. You have no estimate about that whatsoever that 
you bear in your mind what revenues Mexican drug cartels have 
received during your tenure as Secretary?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, the cartels are very 
profitable. They were very profitable three years ago, and they 
were very profitable six years ago.
    Mr. Bishop. Are they making more or less revenue under your 
tenure now that under previous administrations?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I will tell you this, that we are 
unrelenting in our attack against the cartels.
    Mr. Bishop. More or--I understand your effort, sir. What 
I'm talking about are your results. Are they making more or 
less revenue under your tenure than your predecessors?
    Secretary Mayorkas. We have arrested more criminals 
involved in cartel activity than in the prior--
    Mr. Bishop. Do you not know whether they're making more 
revenue? Or are you simply evading my question?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I believe I answered your 
question that I do not have that data.
    Mr. Bishop. Our drug deaths--
    Secretary Mayorkas. I will say this.
    Mr. Bishop. --due to penetrating the Southern border the 
United States increased or reduced during your 30-month tenure 
over prior periods?
    Secretary Mayorkas. The cartels outside of the United 
States have also stretched their jurisdiction to other 
countries around the world.
    Mr. Bishop. How does your record on achieving operational 
control compare to other administrations, worse than any other?
    Secretary Mayorkas. No, Congressman. The approach that we 
are taking, expanding lawful pathways--
    Mr. Bishop. You've had larger numbers of entries in 
violation of that statutory definition, have you not, sir?
    Chair Jordan. The time of gentleman--
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, the approach that we are 
taking of expanding lawful pathways and delivering consequences 
for those who do not use them are proving results. It continues 
to be a challenge as the border has been in the absence of 
legislative action. We are achieving results.
    Mr. Bishop. I yield back, Mr. Chair.
    Chair Jordan. Gentleman yields back. Mr. Secretary, we'll 
go a few more rounds, if that's all right, then we'll get a 
break.
    Mr. Gaetz. Mr. Chair, I have unanimous consent.
    Chair Jordan. Unanimous consent from gentleman from 
Florida.
    Mr. Gaetz. Yes, from Reuters, ``U.S. Suspends Asylum 
Appointments in Texas Border City After Extortion Reports.'' 
From U.S. News & World Report, ``U.S. Halts Online Asylum 
Appoints at Texas Crossing After Extortion Warnings.'' The 
Associated Press, ``U.S. Halts Appoints Using Migrant Phone App 
at Texas Border Crossing,'' seems to be in direct contradiction 
of the Secretary's testimony. I seek unanimous consent to enter 
it.
    Chair Jordan. Without objection. The Chair now recognizes 
the gentlelady from Pennsylvania.
    Ms. Scanlon. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Secretary 
Mayorkas, for being here. As you well know, immigration and 
border security are complicated issues that require 
comprehensive solutions to address national security, 
humanitarian concerns, workforce issues, gun and drug smuggling 
in both directions, and fidelity to the rule of law which is, 
of course, the foundation of our country.
    Our colleagues across the aisle have made clear with their 
tone and questions today that their primary interest is in 
scapegoating you and the Biden Administration for the 
consequences of Congress failing for decades to address either 
the root causes of immigration at our Southern border, 
including climate change, corruption, and poverty, or the 
underfunding and all but complete collapse of the U.S. 
immigration system which hasn't been updated for decades to 
respond to current conditions. Instead of investigating and 
proposing real solutions to these immigration issues, our 
colleagues prefer to push and sometimes create apocalyptic 
scenarios to scare Americans. So, chaos, anger, and fear with 
heated rhetoric and political theater designed to cast blame 
rather than solve problems.
    So, this is allegedly an oversight hearing, and there's an 
issue I would like to address. First, I appreciate your clarity 
and your nuance even when responding to some of the more 
outrageous rhetoric from our colleagues. Can we just clarify 
one more time in case it's gotten lost? Have you or the Biden 
Administration ever tries to adopt an open border policy?
    Secretary Mayorkas. No, we're not.
    Ms. Scanlon. OK. I didn't think so. Just wanted to make 
sure we were clear there. In the interest of conducting actual 
oversight and finding solutions, I'd like to turn your 
attention to an issue that I've been following since I first 
participated in a multi-year ABA investigation on the topic 
almost 20 years ago, and that's access to counsel by immigrants 
when they're seeking legal entry into our country.
    It's critical to ensuring the fidelity of our country to 
the rule of law as well as improving functioning of the asylum 
system. Studies have consistently shown that access to counsel 
is critical to successfully navigating our laws. Those seeking 
asylum are often unable to access counsel even if they can 
afford a lawyer or volunteers are willing to take their cases. 
This past spring when your agency launched expedited asylum 
screenings at Border Patrol facilities, a commitment was made 
to provide access to such counsel to all immigrants.
    According to recent reporting by advocates, that promise 
has remained unfulfilled. The thousands of migrants screened at 
these facilities, only a small number have been able to 
consult, however unpredictably, with attorneys by phone. Even 
fewer have been able to complete formal legal representation.
    So, I know that the failure to ensure uniform or consistent 
access to counsel when available is not a new issue. The 
problem appears to be worsening despite commitments to do 
better. So, moving forward, is your agency able to better 
guarantee attorney access for asylum seekers screened at Border 
Patrol facilities or held in detention facilities?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, when we built this 
approach of lawful pathways and the delivery of consequences, 
one element of it was the screening of individuals in Border 
Patrol facilities. A sub-element of that effort was, in fact, 
to safeguard access to counsel. I have visited the border 
approximately 20 times.
    My last visit, I saw the consultation booths that we 
developed, we built in a Border Patrol processing facility 
deliberately to provide that access to counsel. I am aware of 
the concerns that some have raised with respect to our success 
in ensuring access to counsel. We are reviewing those concerns.
    Ms. Scanlon. I appreciate that, and I echo Mr. Correa's 
offer to please let us know how we can assist you in making 
sure that your efforts are more effective and what we as 
Congress need to do at this belated time to help address the 
issue at the Southern border. Mr. Chair, I would request 
unanimous consent to insert into the record an article from The 
New York Times titled, ``Lawyers Say Helping Asylum Seekers in 
Border Custody is Near Impossible.''
    Chair Jordan. Without objection.
    Ms. Scanlon. Thank you. I yield back.
    Chair Jordan. Gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from 
Texas, Mr. Gooden.
    Mr. Gooden. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Countless NGO's, 
nongovernment organizations, provide ways and means to illegal 
immigrants to cross the border and stay here indefinitely. Some 
of the ones that we are most familiar with because they're the 
biggest and have the largest presence are Jewish Family 
Services, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, and 
Catholic Charities.
    Secretary, you've often spoken about your partnership with 
these NGO's. Many of these are activity encouraging and 
enticing poor illegal immigrants to cross our border with the 
promise of assistance. They promise to provide financial, 
logistical, and transportation assistance in the form of money, 
food, lodging, and transportation to anywhere in the country.
    I've seen this with my own eyes. I've been to these 
organizations, facilities, and our borders. They are welcoming 
folks and sending out the message that the border is open and 
that we'll provide assistance. Their help comes even with legal 
guidance and cheat sheets for what to do when they get to 
wherever it is they'd like a free plane ticket to. My question 
to you, since they seem to not be interested in respecting our 
laws, are you aware of who's funding them?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, the pernicious enticement 
of individuals to come to the border at great danger is 
perpetrated by the smuggling organizations. They are the ones 
that traffic in misinformation and seek to exploit vulnerable 
people exclusively for profit.
    Mr. Gooden. So, you didn't open-up an operation where 
you're saying if you get here, we'll pay for your way to 
wherever you want to go? We'll put you up in a hotel. We'll 
give you debit cards with money on it. You don't think that's 
an enticement?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I believe that you are 
mischaracterizing the work of nonprofit organizations.
    Mr. Gooden. So, they don't do that. So, is it your 
testimony that nonprofit groups at the border do not provide 
financial assistance? They do not provide transportation across 
the United States, and they don't put them up in housing?
    Secretary Mayorkas. That is not my testimony, Congressman. 
As I have said--
    Mr. Gooden. OK. So, you agree that they do. Let me go back 
to my original question which was who's paying for this? Are 
you aware of who's funding these NGO's?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, to what NGO's do you 
refer? Because if--
    Mr. Gooden. I'll give you an example, Catholic Charities, 
Jewish Family Services, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee 
Services. My question is are you aware of who is funding them 
and their operations at the border?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we are grateful--
    Mr. Gooden. Are you aware of who's funding them was my 
question.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes, and I'm answering your question.
    Mr. Gooden. OK. Who's funding them?
    Secretary Mayorkas. We are grateful for the appropriations 
that Congress have issued.
    Mr. Gooden. So, the United States taxpayer is funding them 
is what you're saying. Just to be specific, Catholic Charities 
received over 1.4 billion dollars from the United States 
taxpayers for their operations encouraging illegal immigration. 
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services reported it received 
179 million dollars in U.S. Government grants.
    That makes over 80 percent of their total support. So, let 
me ask you this question. Since they're receiving this money, 
do you believe the number of grants and contracts awarded to 
NGO's is something that should be made known to the American 
taxpayer? Should that be public information? Should we know how 
much money they're receiving for their operations?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we do make that 
information public. What we do is when an individual makes a 
claim of credible fear under the asylum laws of the United 
States--
    Mr. Gooden. So, the American should know how many grants 
and contracts are awarded to the NGO's. That's a fair request, 
right?
    Secretary Mayorkas. As I mentioned, we do make that 
information--
    Mr. Gooden. So, the American taxpayer should be aware of 
that information, right?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
    Mr. Gooden. OK. Let me ask you this. If I wanted to know 
where these NGO's are sending illegals that coming across that 
they're helping facilitate with financial support, is that a 
fair ask? Is that something the American people should know, 
where these folks are going?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, you are 
mischaracterizing--
    Mr. Gooden. No, no. I'm not characterizing anything. I'm 
asking a question. Should the American people, should we know 
where they're being sent when they're entered into these 
organizations that are providing the assistance? Is that a fair 
ask?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, your question misstates 
the underlying facts. If I can explain what occurs.
    Mr. Gooden. Let me explain to you what occurred. I have 
requested for years, over two years, this information from 
Homeland. I've requested this information from Catholic 
Charities, Jewish Family Services, Lutheran Immigration and 
Refugee Services, FEMA, three different airlines, and even 
hotels.
    Each request has gone unanswered. It seems to me that if 
our taxpayer dollars are being used to fund an operation 
whereby we're encouraging illegal immigration, we're 
encouraging through funding these organizations people to make 
these deadly treks across our Southern border, it seems to me 
that we should be able to get some answers to questions. I'm 
really disappointed that I can't get answers to those 
questions. I can't even get acknowledgment from you about 
what's happening there when you've stated that you're partners 
with these organizations, and I yield back.
    Chair Jordan. Gentleman yields back. If you can, Mr. 
Secretary, we'll go two more fives and then we'll take a break 
if that's OK with you guys? So, let's go--I think the 
gentlelady from Pennsylvania is next.
    Ms. Dean. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that. Thank 
you, Secretary Mayorkas. Please express my thanks to all the 
good people under your watch and under your guidance in the 
Department of Homeland Security for what you do to keep us 
safe.
    Three hundred people a day, in this country on average, 300 
people a day die of overdose. We know that 80 percent of those, 
fentanyl poisoning. We have a serious problem.
    I thank you for taking it seriously and doing what you can 
to interrupt and interdict the poisoning of Americans and 
interdict illicit drugs coming across our country. It wasn't so 
long ago; it was back in May that I joined Representative 
Escobar at the border in El Paso. Got to meet with really 
terrific folks doing this work. What I'd like to say is we have 
a serious problem. We don't have folks on the other side of the 
aisle serious about solving it.
    When they blame you, you are responsible for every one of 
the fentanyl deaths, what a disservice and a disgrace to the 
families in my district have lost children and who will lose 
children to this fentanyl poisoning. It is a disgrace for folks 
to just demonize you, demonize those coming across our border 
seeking refuge. Can you tell us on average what are the facts 
about what's coming across our border through ports of entry in 
terms of illicit drugs, specifically fentanyl?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, the U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection data evidence shows that more than 90 percent 
of the fentanyl that is brought into this country is trafficked 
through the ports of entry which is why we have surged 
operations to those ports of entry to increase the interdiction 
of fentanyl that is causing so much death and destruction in 
our country.
    Ms. Dean. Who is bringing it across?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I believe the data suggests that 
approximately 70 percent of the people arrested are U.S. 
citizens.
    Ms. Dean. Which makes perfect sense. Would you put your 
resource for the cartels and those who are selling this? Would 
you put that resource on the back of a migrant likely not to 
make it across so that you would be able to sell this valuable 
deadly resource?
    It makes perfect sense coming mostly through ports of 
entry, coming mostly by way of Americans, American citizens. 
It's shocking. The seriousness that is lacked on the other 
side, they don't want to hear the facts. They don't want to 
solve this problem.
    They don't want to save lives because if they did, they'd 
stop demonizing you and they'd stop demonizing the migrant. Can 
you tell us about what you said in your testimony? In your 
words, you said fentanyl is one of the most urgent and lethal 
threats to American communities today. Could you tell us about 
Operations Blue Lotus and Four Horsemen that stopped nearly 
10,000 pounds of fentanyl from entering the U.S.?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, these operations reflect 
a surge of personnel and technology to enhance or interdiction 
capabilities and to arrest the perpetrators of this 
trafficking. I served as a prosecutor for 12 years. I 
prosecuted cocaine traffickers, methamphetamine traffickers, 
and even black tar heroin traffickers.
    We have not seen a drug as dangerous as fentanyl and other 
synthetic opioids. Their toxicity makes it extraordinarily 
challenging as well as the profitability and ease of 
manufacture. It is because of the extraordinary work of U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection personnel, Homeland Security 
Investigations personnel, other personnel throughout the 
Department of Homeland Security working with our law 
enforcement and international partners that we have been able 
to enhance and increase our interdiction and arrest 
capabilities. We are seeing the results.
    Ms. Dean. I'd like to say again on the topic of 
seriousness, if my friends on the other side of the aisle were 
serious about saving lives from this fentanyl crisis, they 
would've voted for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, 
which included 430 million dollars of investment to modernize 
our ports of entry and to help improve CBP. Maybe they 
would've--not a single person on the other side of the aisle 
voted for the 2023 Omnibus Bill, all House Judiciary 
Republicans opposed. It funded additional staffing for CBP's 
ports of entry.
    They're not serious people. They don't want to solve this 
problem. I wear this band for Jake, the son of a friend of mine 
who died from fentanyl poisoning. They said, ``please do 
something about it.'' I thank you for what you and your Members 
are doing about it.
    Chair Jordan. The gentlelady yields back. The Chair 
recognizes the gentlelady from Indiana.
    Ms. Spartz. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll be brief and yield 
my time since kind of wasting my time here. I'll be honest with 
you. Secretary Mayorkas, do you take full responsibility for 
all decisions of action or inaction made at your agency? Do you 
personally take full responsibility for all the decisions made 
at your agency?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I am the Secretary of the Department.
    Ms. Spartz. So, that means yes.
    Secretary Mayorkas. I bear ultimate responsibility for the 
decisions made.
    Ms. Spartz. So, yes. Yes, OK. So, you mentioned earlier 
that in your definition, you have operational control of the 
border. Can you define what you mean by that?
    Secretary Mayorkas. What we mean because under the Secure 
Fence Act, it means that not a single individual would cross 
the border under that definition. No administration has 
operational control.
    Ms. Spartz. So, what number do you have, five million, 10, 
less than five or 10 or let a couple hundred thousand get away? 
What is your definition?
    Secretary Mayorkas. What we do, Congresswoman, is we--
    Ms. Spartz. Do you have a number?
    Secretary Mayorkas. What we do is we look at the resources 
that we have available to us and ask ourselves, are we 
deploying those resources to achieve the most effective results 
for the American people. That is what we do, and we are hopeful 
working with you and other Members of this Committee to 
increase the funding for the Department of Homeland Security--
    Ms. Spartz. I've been at the border, and you've been at the 
border too. How would you grade your job on a scale of zero to 
ten? How would you grade yourself?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, I am immensely proud--
    Ms. Spartz. How would you grade yourself?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswomen, I am immensely proud to 
work with the men and women of the Department of Homeland 
Security.
    Ms. Spartz. No, yourself, your job. Not all the women. I'm 
sure there are a lot of great men and women in your department. 
How would you rate your job as a head of your agency?
    Secretary Mayorkas. It is the honor of my life--
    Ms. Spartz. From zero to ten. So, you can't grade it. How 
about grade your preparedness to this Committee meeting on a 
scale from zero to ten. We ask information. You--all these 
promises.
    I'm not wasting my time. I'm sorry. I don't want to use bad 
word, what you can do with all this status because we keep 
giving money and sending lad. You tell us BS back. So, how 
would you rate yourself, your preparedness to this Committee?
    Secretary Mayorkas. It is the honor of my lifetime to work 
with the men and women--
    Ms. Spartz. From scale zero to ten, how will you say how 
prepared you came to this hearing?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I will repeat what I said.
    Ms. Spartz. You're not answering any questions. You're not 
answering any Republican question. Is it something that your 
intent to not respond to any questions of Republicans? You came 
with that intent.
    Secretary Mayorkas. That is incorrect, Congresswoman.
    Ms. Spartz. You're not answering any questions.
    Secretary Mayorkas. It is--
    Ms. Spartz. Every time I hear, you say, we will, we will, 
we shall, yes, I don't know. You don't know any numbers. You 
don't even know how many people you actually prosecuted, how 
many people you deported. You have nothing. How can you say you 
know how your department is run? As an Executive, you don't 
know those numbers?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, let me share with you--
    Ms. Spartz. You haven't shared anything useful here.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Let me share with you--
    Ms. Spartz. I'm sorry to tell you, I'll yield to Chair 
Jordan because I'm not going to waste any time with this 
charade and circus. You do not have an intent to do that, and 
it is a serious national security issue. This border and 
cartels are stronger.
    A lot of money, NGO's are making who knows what and 
probably a lot of corruption over there. We have a national 
security crisis. You sit here and say looking at us with a very 
smiley face. It's unacceptable, but I yield to Chair Jordan.
    Chair Jordan. I thank the gentlelady for yielding. Mr. 
Secretary, the 140 illegal aliens you've encountered who are on 
the terrorist watch list, again, this is Mr. Issa's question 
earlier in the day. What is the status of those 140 
individuals?
    Secretary Mayorkas. First, let me allow the record to 
reflect that I'm not smiling, nor have I smiled. Mr. Chair, 
will you repeat your question, please?
    Chair Jordan. The 140 individuals who've been encountered 
on the border who are on the terrorist watch list, what's the 
status of those individuals?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I believe that question already has 
been posed. I mentioned to the Chair that we will provide that 
data to you.
    Chair Jordan. Have any of them been released I guess is 
another way of framing that?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chair, let me say this. Individuals 
who pose a threat to public safety or national security are 
detained pending their removal.
    Chair Jordan. Well, that's not what the Inspector General 
said. He said, CBP released a migrant on the terrorist watch 
list and ICE faced information sharing challenges planning and 
conducting the arrest. This is from Mr. Cuffari, the Inspector 
General, DHS. Do you disagree with Mr. Cuffari?
    Secretary Mayorkas. We respectfully do.
    Chair Jordan. You do? OK. I would yield my time to the 
gentleman from Louisiana.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. I've only got 25 seconds. I'll 
just say I don't have time for a question because you'll be 
illusive. Just for the record, since we're stating things for 
the record, I've been in Congress seven years.
    I think you're the most dishonest witness that has ever 
appeared before the Judiciary Committee. I think I speak for a 
lot of my colleagues. This is such a frustrating exercise for 
us because our constituents want answers. They're tired of the 
open border. They're tired of people dying from fentanyl 
overdoses and it's your fault.
    Mr. Ivey. Mr. Chair.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. It's my time.
    Mr. Ivey. Mr. Chair, point of order.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. No, there's no point of order in 
the middle of this. This is my opinion. I think it's shared by 
millions of American people.
    Mr. Ivey. Based on the standard that Chair set out in 
previous hearings. Calling a witness dishonest is over the line 
that you drew at a previous hearing.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. I'm not pulling the words down. 
That speaks for the American people.
    Chair Jordan. The Chair now recognize--is said to the 
Secretary we would go five more minutes and then give you a 
break. I know you've been at this 2\1/2\ hours. I believe the 
gentleman from Florida is recognized for five minutes.
    Mr. Ivey. I don't have a winter house yet, Mr. Chair.
    Chair Jordan. I knew it was Maryland.
    Mr. Ivey. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Secretary Mayorkas, I want 
to thank you for being here today. I do want to say a couple of 
things, though. I'm not trying to get too deep into this.
    I know this is an oversight hearing. Unfortunately, the 
larger picture is this is really about the effort to impeach 
you. I also serve on the Homeland Security Committee.
    One of the Members of that Committee talked explicitly 
about the Republican effort to impeach you, working--the two 
Committees working in coordination. He said something about, 
pay attention. We can get the popcorn and watch this because 
it's going to be a lot of fun.
    Unfortunately, you've been sort of thrust into the middle 
of that and it's not your doing. That's where we are. There are 
also efforts obviously to impeach President Biden.
    I've seen Articles of Impeaching with respect to that. The 
articles--the first articles to impeach, you came out two years 
ago. I'm not even sure you started unpacking in your office 
yet. I do appreciate the fact that you're doing a very tough 
job under very difficult circumstances.
    I want you to continue working forward on that. There's a 
couple of things that I hadn't really wanted to get into. My 
Republican colleagues have made so much about it, and that's 
this disinformation issue.
    I know there are differing views about that. We've done 
this on Homeland Security as well. I do want to point out that 
I think there's an important role for the Federal Government to 
play in dealing with disinformation.
    By that, I mean false information. The Republican election 
deniers including former President Trump, that's disinformation 
that needs to be addressed by the government. Not just to deal 
with it in the past, but because of upcoming elections.
    I know there are election officers across the country at 
the State and local level who have been trying to put together 
a plan to deal with these issues. A lot of the disinformation 
comes from overseas, but we get some of it here in the United 
States even by national elected officials. Some are Members 
here in the Congress.
    I think it's important for us to address that to make sure 
that the elections that are done in 2024 and are done in a way 
that's consistent with the law and it allows people to base 
their decisions on real information. Also, I want to say this 
too. The election deniers and the false information that's been 
put out there has put a lot of individuals at risk.
    Sometimes their lives have been threatened. These people 
are volunteer election judges, the State and local level across 
the country. Some of them have had to move. There was one in 
Arizona I read about who his life had been threatened.
    It's not just the election workers either. Nina Jankowicz 
who actually worked at DHS briefly got the same kind of 
treatment. So, she came under attack again by in some instances 
Members of the House Republican Caucus to the point where she 
ended up having to not only resign her job, but she had to hire 
a consultant to help her with personal protection, and this is 
while she was pregnant.
    She had to go to some of her appointments with her doctor 
in disguise because her life had been threatened to such an 
extent. I'll close with this. I think that there are a lot of 
things that I would love to see this Commission address.
    I made a personal appeal several months ago to my 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle about gun violence. I 
think you mentioned an aspect of that which is domestic 
terrorism that's in some instances let the lone wolves 
committing mass killings. We've got a larger problem with it 
than that.
    I can't get anybody to help me with the ghost guns issue. 
I've got a bill about raising the age for assault weapons from 
18-21 which I thought would be a reasonable place to go since 
we already have the raise the age place for handguns from 18-21 
in the previous Congress that got bipartisan support. It would 
be important, too, to look at some of the other critical issues 
the country is facing.
    Cybersecurity, if we're going to dabble in the Homeland 
Security world, China just hacked our Commerce Secretary. In 
May, CISA was breached, Microsoft, and the NSA. So, these are 
very important issues to the American people.
    I hope we can take a look at these. One last point on the 
immigration piece. I was in a meeting on Friday with a venture 
capitalist in New York.
    One of the things he said was that he's having trouble 
getting the visas taken care of to bring Talon over from 
overseas. These are high tech jobs, engineers, and the like. 
So, since he can't get it done in the United States, he's now 
setting up offices in Canada because they can get the job done 
there.
    I would love to see us address the immigration issue in a 
comprehensive way. So, I mentioned H.R. 2 earlier which I 
thought was kind of funny because Senate Republicans were 
telling us that was going to be DOA when it got over there. So, 
we know that's not a real solution. With that, I yield back.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman from Maryland yields back. Mr. 
Secretary, we don't have to take a break unless you want it. If 
you want to keep going, we'll keep going. If you want a short 
break, we'll take a break.
    Secretary Mayorkas. I defer to the Chair.
    Chair Jordan. OK. Well, we can sit right there and take 
questions. We appreciate that. The gentleman from Wisconsin is 
recognized for five minutes.
    Secretary Mayorkas. May I reserve my right to be seated?
    Chair Jordan. Of course.
    Mr. Fitzgerald. Mr. Secretary, I want to go back to the 
operational control issue that came up first by the Ranking 
Members when Congressman Nadler brought it up. You've addressed 
it. I know that Mr. Roy worked through that again. It's so 
important. I think it's such a source of frustration because 
every time you turn on the TV, there is this imagery that 
continues which is people coming across the border.
    Whether I was in McAllen or in San Diego Sector, wherever I 
was, when you talk to Border Patrol or you talk to your 
employees, Homeland Security, none of them say, yes, everything 
is going well and there is certainly an operational control in 
place. So, even by the definition which you brought up a couple 
times, the Secure Fence Act, I don't think anybody asked you 
again today directly. Do you believe that we have operational 
control at the border right now?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Under the statutory definition.
    Mr. Fitzgerald. Right, under the statutory definition, do 
we have it?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Under the statutory definition, 
Congressman, not a single individual can cross the border if 
one has operational control. Last year, approximately 1.7 
million people crossed the border. We provide that information 
to Congress on a monthly basis.
    Under that definition, no administration has had 
operational control. What we do is ensure that the resources 
that we have are deployed most effectively to gain the greatest 
amount of control that we can. I will tell you that the 
greatest resource that we have are the men and women of the 
Department of Homeland Security.
    Mr. Fitzgerald. What I think I just heard you say was right 
now. I heard about the previous administrations. You already 
established, I guess, that there was not operational control. 
So, right now, we do not have operational control of the 
border. Can you tell me that right now in this Committee?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Under the definition of the Secure 
Fence Act--
    Mr. Fitzgerald. Right.
    Secretary Mayorkas. --we do not, and no administration has 
because that means that not a single individual crosses the 
border.
    Mr. Fitzgerald. OK, OK. So, we established that we do not 
have operational control right now.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Under the definition of the Secure 
Fence Act.
    Mr. Fitzgerald. All right. So, let me ask you a couple 
other questions because I think there's an--certainly, we're 
acquiring numbers right now that I think are changing the 
dynamic of where we're at. Are unlawful entries between the 
ports of entry down right now do you believe? Or are they being 
measured differently than they had been prior to Title 42?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Prior to Title 42, the numbers are 
down, Congressman. That is a function of the approach that we 
have taken to expand lawful pathways and then deliver 
consequences for individuals who do not avail themselves of 
those pathways.
    Mr. Fitzgerald. So, is that number only migrants stopped by 
Border Patrol agents? Is that the number that you're focused 
on? Or is it a number of individuals beyond those that even 
have contact with Border Patrol?
    Secretary Mayorkas. When we speak of, for example, the two-
weeks--let's just pick a period of time, the two-weeks 
immediately preceding the end of Title 42 on May 12th. When we 
take those two weeks and we compare the numbers that we are 
experiencing now, we include not only the apprehensions in 
between the ports of entry, Congressman. We also include 
individuals who are entering through the ports of entry using 
one of the critical lawful pathways that we include.
    Mr. Fitzgerald. Found inadmissible at any ports of entry. 
Categorical parole, illegal aliens would also be part of that 
group. Is that not accurate? Then finally, gotaways. So, 
there's three categories of individuals as well.
    Secretary Mayorkas. We don't--our parole authority which is 
a discretionary authority codified in statue in the Immigration 
and Nationality Act is a discretionary authority that we employ 
on a case-by-case basis. What we do is we define categories of 
individuals who can access that. We make the parole decisions 
on a case-by-case basis.
    Mr. Fitzgerald. Then so the actual total, these are the 
numbers that have been presented, 294,000 or 9,500 roughly a 
day right now are coming across. So, do you think at any point 
that that number is being padded? I don't know how else to 
describe it. Maybe that's not the best term. It's changed 
significantly than the way things were being counted prior to 
Title 42.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we don't pad numbers. We 
provide numbers. We act to the Department of Homeland Security 
with integrity and honor.
    Mr. Fitzgerald. I yield back.
    Chair Jordan. Gentleman yields back. The gentlelady from 
Texas is recognized.
    Ms. Escobar. Mr. Secretary, thank you for your honorable 
and selfless public service to our Nation. As the only 
representative on this Committee who was born, raised, and has 
lived on the border her entire life, I can say with absolute 
certainly that if we want to blame anyone for our broken 
immigration system, we should blame Congress. Those who yell 
the loudest about this issue in Congress need to take a long, 
good look in the mirror.
    For 37 years, Congress has failed to address our country's 
need for comprehensive immigration reform. Instead, we have 
followed the Republican playbook which focuses on immigration 
solely as a border issue. We've spent hundreds of billions of 
dollars securing the border, and it has been an expensive 
failure.
    Amidst an historic hemispheric refugee crisis coupled with 
Congressional inaction, the situation has only grown more 
challenging. The longer we wait to pass comprehensive 
immigration reform, the more challenging this issue will 
become. It doesn't have to be this way.
    Over the past three decades, the Federal Government has 
chosen to narrow and limit legal immigration pathways which has 
shifted the pressure to the border and communities like mine. 
The Biden Administration has proven, however, that when we open 
up legal pathways for asylum seekers and other migrants, the 
border can be better managed. The proof is in the data.
    The problem we face today is that the majority of my 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle are only interested 
in performance, which is why they yell so loudly and try to 
turn the Nation's attention away from their own lack of 
solutions. That's what this hearing is ultimately about. While 
this is an oversight hearing, we know that the spectacle you're 
seeing on the other side is part of the Republicans ultimate 
distraction strategy, impeachment.
    They aren't just focused on impeaching you, Mr. Secretary, 
despite the fact that apprehensions at the border are down by 
70 percent. They have also promised the extremists in their 
party that they will impeach Attorney General Merrick Garland 
and even President Biden. In fact, from the complaints we hear 
about Catholic Charities, I'm surprised that they aren't trying 
to impeach the Pope.
    Secretary Mayorkas, I'd like a simple yes or no, if 
possible, on the following questions. I have a chart here from 
the American Immigration Council that uses CBP data, historical 
data on border apprehensions. Isn't it true, Mr. Secretary, 
that according to CBP data, apprehensions of families started 
significantly climbing around January-February 2019 during the 
Trump Administration?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes, Congresswoman. They did.
    Ms. Escobar. Isn't it true according to CBP data that after 
a drop of apprehensions that were largely a result of COVID 
closures in 2020, apprehensions began increasing again 
significantly around May 2020 after the Trump Administration 
initiated the use of Title 42?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, I would have to defer to 
Customs and Border Protection--
    Ms. Escobar. Well, I have it right here. Actually, I'd like 
to enter into the record the American Immigration Council's 
data, border apprehensions, October 2015-June 2023.
    Chair Jordan. Without objection.
    Ms. Escobar. Isn't it true--and for the record, May 2020 
when we began seeing an increase once again post-COVID, that 
was a full six months before the 2020 general election, before 
President Biden's victory, and eight months before President 
Biden's inauguration. Isn't it true, Mr. Secretary, that 
opening-up legal pathways as DHS has done via the CBP One app 
that that has proven successful in helping manage the border?
    Secretary Mayorkas. It is one element of an approach that 
has proven successful, Congresswoman.
    Ms. Escobar. Isn't it true, Mr. Secretary, that the one 
legislative body that can further open-up legal pathways to 
best manage the border is Congress?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes, Congresswoman.
    Ms. Escobar. My Republican colleague, Maria Salazar, and I 
introduced the Dignity Act which is a bipartisan comprehensive 
immigration reform bill. I'd encourage my colleagues who are 
seeking a true solution to join our effort to address our 
broken system. Anything short of that is a dereliction of 
Congress' responsibility and obligation. All this scapegoating 
on the Biden Administration and on you, in particular, Mr. 
Secretary, is nothing but performance. Mr. Chair, I yield back.
    Chair Jordan. Gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from 
Oregon is recognized.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chair, may I impose and accept your 
kind offer for a brief break.
    Chair Jordan. Oh, sure, sure, sure, sure.
    Chair Jordan. We'll take a brief five-minute break. We're 
trying to go as quickly as we can because we got votes and 1:30 
p.m. and we'd prefer not to come back. I'm sure that's the same 
with you. If we have to, we'll come back. So, we'll take a 
five-minute recess now, and then we'll be back in action.
    [Recess.]
    Chair Jordan. The Committee will come to order.
    The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas for five 
minutes.
    Mr. Moran. Mr. Chair, I yield my time to the gentleman from 
Oregon, Mr. Bentz.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman is recognized.
    Mr. Bentz. Thank you, Mr. Moran.
    Mr. Secretary, before I start, I just want to talk briefly 
about what I heard earlier. One of my colleagues from across 
the aisle suggested that we Republicans were somehow 
manufacturing outrage. The phrase was ``right-wing outrage 
machine,'' was the phrase that he used.
    I thought, what? Are the folks across the aisle not 
outraged about the millions of people that are coming across 
the border under, of course, your watch, most of whom probably 
don't qualify for asylum?
    Yes, don't you think that all of us should be outraged 
about the thousands dying from fentanyl that's coming across 
the border under your watch?
    Don't you think that we should be outraged about cartels 
moving into American cities on this side of the border under 
your watch?
    Don't you think we should be outraged about the billions of 
dollars the cartels are raising from the most unfortunate and 
vulnerable from Central America and other places under your 
watch?
    Don't you think we should be outraged about the hundreds 
dying in the desert?
    It's hard to argue that we're manufacturing outrage when we 
look at these incredible, sad things happening under your 
watch.
    Now, I want to go how we can fix, perhaps, some of that 
which you've been talking about for the last couple of hours. 
Because you said earlier, in response to a question from 
Congressman Issa, that we, the USA, is not, quote, ``alone in 
some of its infirmities in its immigration system.'' I'm just 
quoting from you. I scribbled it down quickly. ``infirmities in 
our immigration system.'' What? Give us a couple.
    Secretary Mayorkas. I'm sorry, Congressman--
    Mr. Bentz. ``Infirmities in our immigration system,'' is 
how you put it when you were comparing our immigration system 
to others across the world. Just share two.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Let me give you one example in the 
economic arena: That the market needs of our country, the 
economic needs of our country, are not taken into account when 
we admit economic migrants. We have statutory caps, statutory 
limits on the number of people we can admit, despite perhaps a 
greater need at a particular time. We do not calibrate the 
number according to need.
    Mr. Bentz. Right.
    Secretary Mayorkas. So, for example--
    Mr. Bentz. That's--and I understand what I actually 
understand what you're saying. Forgive me for cutting you off, 
but it leads very nicely to how we might address immigration as 
a comprehensive system.
    Don't you think that, politically at least, a secure border 
is an essential prerequisite to any comprehensive solution? 
Because what you were just starting to talk about was one of 
the adjustments, we might make to our visa systems.
    By the way, I'm enthusiastic about trying to improve those 
visa systems. I will tell you this much: If I go back home to 
all my constituents, as I'm going to be doing this Friday--and 
I'm going to be talking to them on Monday at a Chamber of 
Commerce meeting--guess what? They're outraged about the things 
I mentioned earlier, and they're not going to want to listen to 
me talk about the details that you just suggested.
    So, tell me, how do I--what can we do? Those infirmities, 
do they include anything when it comes to fixing the border, so 
it works better?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
    Mr. Bentz. Tell me.
    Secretary Mayorkas. So, for example, Congressman, one of 
the measures that we have taken to address this infirmity is to 
issue a regulation that empowers our asylum officers to make 
the ultimate asylum adjudication and shrink the time in between 
an encounter at the border and the ultimate asylum 
adjudication. That duration now, historically, has been six-
plus years.
    Mr. Bentz. Thank you for your thoughts on it.
    Secretary Mayorkas. That is an eternity.
    Mr. Bentz. Thank you for your thoughts on that. I'd like to 
followup with you on it, if you would. I'm serious. Share with 
me your thinking on that issue.
    Isn't it correct, as we heard--I've been to the border 
three times. The folks down there suggest that the cartels are 
extracting between $3-$5 thousand, maybe more, per person that 
presents illegally at the border. Is that true?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes, Congressman.
    Mr. Bentz. So, that would mean, as the millions of people 
come in, we can multiply that times four or five thousand, is 
that correct?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, that is correct, which is 
precisely why one of our efforts is to cut the smugglers out of 
the equation, because of the profits they make; because of 
their ruthlessness; because of their criminality. So, while--
    Mr. Bentz. Forgive me for cutting you off, but I agreed to 
yield the balance of my time to the Chair, Mr.--
    Chair Jordan. I appreciate the gentleman yielding.
    Mr. Secretary, is the number of people removed and through 
adjudication--
    Ms. Ross. Objection, Mr. Chair. This isn't Mr. Bentz's 
time.
    Chair Jordan. That's right.
    Ms. Ross. It was yielded to Mr. Bentz.
    Chair Jordan. I know. I thought we could get away with it 
because it was an important question.
    [Laughter.]
    Ms. Ross. Well, Mr. Chair, you can have the next person 
yield.
    Chair Jordan. We're going to do that, yes. All right.
    The gentleman yields back.
    The Chair now recognizes the gentlelady from North 
Carolina.
    Ms. Ross. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and that was not done with 
any ill will. It was out--
    Chair Jordan. No, I knew that from the get-go.
    Ms. Ross. Yes.
    Mr. Secretary, I know it's been a long day already. I want 
you to know that I'm here today to use my five minutes in 
support of a group of 250,000-plus young people in our country 
who are referred to as ''the documented dreamers.'' They are a 
too often forgotten population of talented young adults who are 
American in every way, except on paper.
    As I'm sure you're aware, since we've talked about them a 
few times, the documented dreamers are dependent children of 
long-term employment visa holders who are brought to the United 
States with documentation when their parents move here to work.
    Often, these children come to the United States when 
they're still babies, but because they were not born here, they 
don't have citizenship or a real path to citizenship before 
they become 21.
    While many of these young adults are in line for green 
cards with their parents, the backlog at USCIS is so long that 
they often face a decades-long wait. As a result, they risk 
having to self-deport when they turn 21 and age out of their 
dependent visas, if they cannot find another status to stay in 
the United States legally.
    I have a bipartisan, bicameral bill to provide these 
children and young adults with a pathway to permanent residency 
protections for aging out of the immigration system. I'm 
working hard to get that through the House and Senate. We got 
it through in two different forms last Congress, through the 
House.
    However, today, I want to hear about what your Department 
is doing to protect these deserving young people and enable 
them to stay here. We've educated them using our tax dollars, 
which their parents pay. They often self-deport to countries 
that compete with us at age 21, after having a few years of 
college. So, I'll get into at least one of my questions.
    In a 2014 decision on whether the Child Status Protection 
Act requires a priority date for retention for children who 
have aged out of their visa, the Supreme Court deferred to 
agency interpretation of CSPA, which does not provide for a 
priority date retention for most individuals who turn 21 while 
waiting for green cards sought by their parents.
    However, Justice Kagan, writing for the plurality, 
emphasized that CSPA permits, not that it requires this narrow 
interpretation of the statute that USCIS currently holds. 
Allowing documented dreamers to retain their original priority 
date and keep their place in line after they age out of their 
dependent visas could significantly improve the lives of this 
population.
    Why has USCIS not adopted a priority date retention for 
these individuals, given that the Supreme Court determined that 
the agency possesses this authority?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, I will consult with the 
Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and 
get back to you. I'm not familiar with that precise issue.
    Ms. Ross. OK.
    I only have about a minute left. So, when I met with the 
documented dreamers, which I do quite frequently because they 
have learned how to petition the government for redress of 
their grievances, I am struck by the love of the country, of 
this country, and their eagerness to contribute to all our 
welfare. Their stories are some of the most compelling that 
I've heard during my time in Congress.
    Does your Department have any plans to protect these 
deserving young adults who have done everything right, been 
here legally, and are losing their ability to live in this 
country through no fault of their own?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, I share your concern for 
these individuals who have, indeed, contributed so much to this 
country and who know no other country, but this one. I can 
assure you I will followup with vigilance on the questions that 
you have posed and respond as promptly as possible.
    Ms. Ross. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
    Thank you, Mr. Chair. I yield back.
    Chair Jordan. The gentlelady yields back.
    The gentleman from Oregon is recognized.
    Mr. Bentz. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I yield my time to you.
    Chair Jordan. I thank the gentleman.
    Mr. Secretary, is the number greater than zero? Can you 
tell us that? The number of people who have been encountered on 
the border, over the two million number encountered on the 
border, put in removal proceedings, adjudicated, and then, 
removed, is that number greater than zero?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
    Chair Jordan. Is it greater than a hundred?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
    Chair Jordan. Greater than a thousand?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman--or Mr. Chair, forgive me--
Mr. Chair, as I have stated before, the data that you wish to 
have we will provide to you as promptly as possible. What I 
don't want to do is misspeak when it comes to data. I do not 
want any--
    Chair Jordan. I can appreciate that, but we have a history 
where we've asked questions before in a hearing, and you told 
us the same thing, and you don't get it back to us. So, we're 
trying to get as much as we can on the record in a public 
hearing. You've now told me it's greater than a hundred, but 
you don't know if it's greater than a thousand out of the 2.1-
something million who've come to the country, been encountered, 
and put in removal proceedings. So, we know it's greater than a 
hundred. You say you're going to get back with us, but the 
history has been not too good on your part in getting us those 
answers.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Mr. Chair, of course, it's more than a 
thousand, but what I want to assure you of, because--
    Chair Jordan. Is it more than 100,000?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Because, quite frankly, Mr. Chair, we 
have been cooperative with this Committee.
    Chair Jordan. No, you haven't.
    Secretary Mayorkas. We have provided you with documents. We 
have provided you with data.
    Chair Jordan. I can keep putting up the redacted documents, 
but you have not.
    I would yield back to the gentleman--I appreciate the 
time--so, he can yield to another Member.
    Mr. Bentz. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    I yield my time to Mr. Johnson from Louisiana.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. Thank you.
    Mr. Mayorkas, in answer to my questions earlier today, you 
defined misinformation and you acknowledged that CISA created, 
in 2021, the Misinformation and Disinformation Committee.
    On April 27, 2022, you testified in the House 
Appropriations Committee that your Department created, then, 
another agency, or another subdivision, the Disinformation 
Governance Board, and you said under oath it was to combat 
misinformation ahead of the 2022 elections.
    Earlier this month, the Federal Court in the landmark case 
of Missouri v. Biden affirmed lengthy findings of fact to 
justify its preliminary injunction, and in the ruling found at 
page 94, the White House and your agency pressured and 
encouraged social media companies to suppress free speech that 
you determined--you and your employees determined--to be 
misinformation.
    However, a couple of hours ago, when I asked you about 
this, you said under oath, ``We don't do that.'' Which time 
were you telling the truth, today or on April 27, 2022?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we do not suppress free 
speech.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. Did you or anyone working for you 
work with the social media companies prior to the 2022 election 
to pull things off the internet, suppress things off the 
internet, that your folks determined to be false or 
misinformation?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Not to my knowledge, Congressman.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. So, you had no idea what the 
Misinformation and Disinformation Committee was doing during 
that period?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I have answered that 
question previously. Let me assure you that we safeguard the 
First Amendment rights of individuals. That is what we do.
    Let me explain to you what the Cybersecurity and 
Infrastructure Security Agency--
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. I know all about CISA. What I'm 
concerned about is this Committee and dystopian Disinformation 
Governance Board and put Nina Jankowicz in charge of for about 
three weeks, until the public blew their tops over that, and 
you--that suddenly disappeared and she resigned.
    How were you--how did you instruct Nina Jankowicz to 
discern what is misinformation and false information that the 
government should pull off the internet?
    Secretary Mayorkas. You are assuming facts that actually 
did not exist.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. Tell me what the facts are. What 
guidance did you give her?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, the reality is that 
disinformation is a tool that adverse Nation-States use to 
undermine our democracy.
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. OK.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Four adverse Nation-States include--
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. No, no. Hold on.
    Secretary Mayorkas. --North Korea--
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. Hold on. Don't talk about foreign 
adversaries because the court and the witnesses on your behalf 
in the court testified under oath different than what you're 
saying today; that they made no distinction between foreign 
people who put things on the internet and domestic voices. Do 
you disagree with that statement?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, can you share with me the 
context of that statement?
    Mr. Johnson of Louisiana. It would be awesome if you had 
read the Federal Court opinion that directly says that your 
agency is involved in the greatest coverup of free speech in 
U.S. history.
    I'll tell you what the court says. It says people involved 
with your agency were meeting regularly with the social media 
platforms and giving them lists of persons and information that 
they said should be pulled off the internet, suppressed. That 
means turned down, volume censored, so no one saw it.
    The court said millions--millions--of free speech protected 
postings where not seen by the American people prior to the 
2022 election because your employees subjectively determined 
that they shouldn't see it. That's the problem.
    The idea that you would sit here in front of us and pretend 
like you don't know that was happening is just alarming. I'm 
out of words to describe how frustrated we are with you and 
your department.
    I'm out of time.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman from Oregon yields back.
    The gentlelady from Georgia is recognized.
    Ms. McBath. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Good afternoon, Secretary Mayorkas. It's a pleasure to have 
you with us today. Thank you so much for your time. We 
appreciate your patience and your testimony.
    Mr. Secretary, as you know, DHS is responsible for the 
public safety of the United States of America, and the men and 
the women at DHS work very hard every day, so that Americans 
can pursue the freedoms of their everyday lives. The mission of 
DHS is somewhat ubiquitous; be it at airports or disaster 
sites, that many overlook the fact that much of it is the same 
Federal agency.
    In addition to these crucial areas, DHS has also been 
active in combating America's gun violence epidemic, which, of 
course, I am extremely invested in. It's an issue that is very 
important to me, as many other survivors around the country as 
well.
    Studies have shown that between 70-90 percent of weapons 
recovered from crime scenes in Mexico can be traced back to the 
United States of America. With weapons of war commercially 
available at low levels of individual scrutiny, gun traffickers 
have been taking immense advantage of our guns lack--our 
Nation's gun laws, which are very lax, to arm drug cartels that 
also fuel a lot of organized crime.
    In addition, we have seen that payment for these gun 
traffickers has at times resulted in opioids that have helped 
our communities be torn apart as well.
    DHS has been swiftly, as you have mentioned over and over 
again today, combating this kind of illicit dealings through 
its joint efforts with the ATF-led Operation Southbound. Mr. 
Secretary, DHS has taken a collaborative approach with the ATF-
led Operation Southbound. Can you tell us just a little bit 
more about this operation? I believe a lot of people don't 
really know that it exists and DHS's role in it. We'd like to 
hear about that and the results of this operation.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, one of the concerns that 
law enforcement has is that the firearms that are in the hands 
of the transnational criminal organizations just South of our 
border actually emanated from the United States. We in the 
Department of Homeland Security, through our Homeland Security 
Investigations, working in collaboration, as you have noted, 
with other Federal agencies, are conducting operations to 
interdict the flow of firearms outside--from within the United 
States external, to external countries, and to prevent them 
from reaching the hands of criminals.
    I would be very pleased, given the law enforcement 
sensitivity of the operations, to provide you with greater 
details about how we are accomplishing that objective.
    Ms. McBath. Thank you so much.
    With weapons of war, such as high-capacity automatic 
firearms easily available in far greater quantities in the 
United States than ever before, can you illustrate how these 
firearms trafficking--how the firearm trafficking contributes 
to organized crime and gun violence in the United States?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Well, the trafficking in the guns 
themselves is a criminal activity that is a for-profit 
activity. So, when the criminal organizations gain greater 
profits, they only, tragically, expand their criminality.
    In addition, the transnational criminal organizations that 
receive the weaponry from the United States conduct violent 
acts that impact individuals who seek to enter the United 
States, as well as Americans themselves.
    Ms. McBath. Thank you.
    Can you tell us a little bit more about how the export of 
these weapons of war directly relate to the opioid crisis in 
our communities in the United States?
    Secretary Mayorkas. The criminality of these organizations 
is inextricably intertwined with one another. They conduct 
their operations by protecting themselves and addressing law 
enforcement through criminal means. That includes violent acts, 
and those violent acts are perpetrated with firearms. Sometimes 
those firearms originate from the United States.
    It is a web of criminality, and we are unrelenting in our 
efforts to disrupt and dismantle every aspect of that 
criminality. I'm intensely proud of the men and women who 
dedicate their lives to their effort in the Department of 
Homeland Security and throughout our law enforcement partner 
community.
    Ms. McBath. Well, thank you so much. We appreciate your 
dedication and those that serve right along with you in this 
manner. We really appreciate you.
    I yield back.
    Chair Jordan. The gentlelady yields back.
    The gentleman from Virginia is recognized.
    Mr. Cline. Thank you.
    Mr. Secretary, I have rarely been more gobsmacked by the 
lack of cooperation and information from a witness than I have 
by you today. It is truly appalling when you consider that 
lives are at stake--the lives of children being trafficked 
across this border who are being sacrificed on an altar of 
radical policies being pushed by your Department.
    You talked about it. You threw out a good one-liner in your 
testimony about child sex trafficking, human smuggling. Do you 
know what does immense damage to our efforts to combat human 
trafficking, sex trafficking, and child sex trafficking? A 
porous border. Your policies have directly led to that porous 
border, Mr. Secretary.
    This is ridiculous that I have had to sit here and listen 
to you and your denials, your deflections, and your 
obfuscations. The mendacity that I am hearing from you is not 
just appalling to me; it is appalling to my constituents.
    I echo the comments from across this country, Members who 
represent people from across this country, over the last two 
hours-plus, really echoing their constituents and the 
frustration that they have actually shown and talked to them 
about.
    Back in April, we had a Committee hearing where there was a 
witness, a whistleblower, who said that the U.S. Federal 
Government has, essentially, become a middleman in a 
multibillion dollar human trafficking operation targeting 
unaccompanied minors at the Southern border. I'm sure that that 
makes you upset. It sure as heck made me upset.
    But when U.S. Customs and Border Protection encounters 435 
unaccompanied minors per day, drug cartels and traffickers 
exploiting 60 percent of these children in prostitution, forced 
labor, and child pornography--to make matters worse, in June, 
the Biden Administration released 344 children to nonrelated 
adults in the United States, most of whom already had multiple 
children in their care.
    These children are prime targets for traffickers for sex or 
for labor. In fact, a February The New York Times article 
published showing migrants found laboring, in violation of 
child labor laws--notably, half of the U.S. Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement's most wanted criminals for child 
trafficking, guess where they come from? Mexico. Imagine that.
    So, when you actually take actions that reduce operational 
control of the border, these are actions that are taken in 
contradiction of your official duty to execute the laws enacted 
by Congress and your oath to support and defend the 
Constitution. You have abandoned the successful border policies 
of the previous administration. You've ignored laws requiring 
detention of certain aliens; reduced detention capacity; ended 
migrant protection protocols; halted border wall construction; 
diverted Border Patrol from law enforcement duties; encouraged 
a mass illegal immigration with the use of easily exploitable, 
credible fear processes; illegally expanded parole; reinstated 
catch and release and provided illegal aliens valid work 
permits and public benefits during an economic downturn.
    You should be ashamed. More so, you should be held 
accountable. This Committee will do just that, and I am 
committed to making that happen as well.
    With that, I'm going to yield the remainder of my time to 
the Chair.
    Chair Jordan. I appreciate that, the gentleman yielding. I 
would yield--well, actually, Mr. Cline, can you yield to Mr. 
Roy, and then, maybe to Mr. Bishop?
    Mr. Cline. I'll yield to Mr. Roy.
    Mr. Roy. I thank the gentleman from Virginia.
    Despite enormous levels of encounters--I believe last month 
it was about 146,000, far, far exceeding what Obama DHS 
Secretary Jeh Johnson said that crisis of being a thousand a 
week--we can agree, I think that it's possible there may be a 
decrease from Fiscal Year 2022 to Fiscal Year 2023 for total 
Border Patrol encounters, right? They're going down maybe 20 
percent, according to data I see, at current levels. Does that 
sound right?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I think they, Congressman, I think 
they're going down further, in light of the approaches that we 
implemented in a post-Title 42.
    Mr. Roy. OK. Well, assuming they're going down, and 
accepting that they may be going down by Border Patrol 
encounters, hasn't there simultaneously been a significant and 
continuing increase at the ports of entry, which more than 
offset the reductions and illustrate the shell game?
    OFO encounters from Fiscal Years 2022-2023, the data I 
have, at current pace, is a 100 percent increase; Fiscal Years 
2020-2023, a 356 percent increase from 241,000 to 1.1 million.
    In other words, the American people need to be told the 
truth about what's actually happening. The total numbers, if 
you look at the nationwide encounters, Fiscal Years 2020-2021, 
a 202 percent increase; Fiscal Years 2020-2022, a 328 percent 
increase; Fiscal Years 2020-2023 at current pace, a 364 percent 
increase. In the last 24 hours, for Border Patrol alone, 
nationwide encounters are 6,000.
    That's the data I have. Is that correct?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, our approach of expanding 
lawful pathways and delivering consequences is working.
    Mr. Roy. Is that data, correct? Are those the numbers?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I'd have to confirm the numbers that 
you have cited.
    Mr. Roy. Well, those are the numbers that we have, and this 
is what the American people are tired of.
    I yield back.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman yields back.
    The Chair recognizes the gentlelady from Missouri.
    Ms. Bush. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Thank you for being here, Secretary Mayorkas.
    St. Louis and I are here today, as always, to ask hard 
questions about real issues. Secretary Mayorkas, I'm concerned 
that the department, and the Office of Intelligence and 
Analysis, in particular, encourages the targeting of 
protesters, activists, incarcerated people, and progressive 
moments.
    For example, in 2020, under the prior administration, 
Intelligence and Analysis individuals--or labeled individuals 
protesting police brutality and racial injustice after the 
killing of George Floyd as domestic violent extremists, and 
Department leadership instructed officials to create and share 
intelligence dossiers about, quote, ``everyone participating in 
Portland protests,'' as part of a discredited effort to link 
protesters to a nonexistent terrorism plot. These issues still 
continue to this day.
    Secretary Mayorkas, do you acknowledge that the department 
has referred to opponents of the Atlanta Public Safety Training 
Center, or what we call ``Cop City,'' as alleged domestic 
violent extremists and militants, comprising violent far-left 
occupation? That's a yes or no.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Well, Congresswoman, a few things I 
must say.
    First, I'm immensely proud of the men and women who work in 
the Office of Intelligence and Analysis under the superb 
leadership of Kenneth Wainstein. They do tremendous work in 
making sure the American people are safe and secure.
    I am familiar with activities in Atlanta that are lawful, 
and I am also familiar with activities to which you refer that 
are unlawful. We do not condone violence. We do safeguard and 
protect the free expression of speech.
    Ms. Bush. So, what you're saying is that this alleged 
domestic violent extremist or militants that you're saying that 
you condemn that language, and you condemn--I'm just, I'm just 
trying--
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman--
    Ms. Bush. --to be clear because we can't ``both sides it'' 
when people are actually being hurt. I can speak to it as an 
actual activist myself, and I've been there. I've seen what 
actually happens to protesters and what actually makes the 
media, and what actually makes the reports.
    So, I just want to make sure that we're saying that we, 
that you're--are you saying you--domestic violent extremists, 
because I have the report here. Are you saying that you condemn 
that or that this is part of the work?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, lawful protest is a 
proud tradition in this country. There cannot be a connectivity 
between an ideology and the expression of that ideology through 
violent means. That is when we get involved to prevent 
violence.
    Individuals are free to express their ideologies, whatever 
we might thing of those ideologies.
    Ms. Bush. OK, OK.
    Secretary Mayorkas. I cannot express any--
    Ms. Bush. Let me--I have limited time--let me reclaim my 
time. Let me just go to my next question.
    So, are you aware that Georgia law enforcement officials 
have used those characterizations to support their charges of 
domestic terrorism against opponents of Cop City?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I am not, Congressman. I can't speak to 
State activities, State law enforcement. What I can do is speak 
of what we in the Department of Homeland Security do.
    Ms. Bush. Because when we don't call it out, when we don't 
address it, that's what happens. I get it; you're not a part of 
the State and you can't tell the State what to do. Or you're 
not as intricately involved in that. When we don't speak up to 
it, and we know it's happening, then they are able to do those 
things. That's what this report is about, and it actually 
affects real people.
    Let me just, also, say the people that show up to protests 
are usually the ones that care about the issue and are trying 
to save lives. Folks don't show up to protests, usually, unless 
they are sent there, and I know that happens, too. Generally, 
the people that are at the protest, we care. Those folks are 
showing up because they want to see something done about 
policing in this community, in this country.
    They want to stop the fact that every single year we have a 
rise in police killings, and nobody is doing the actual work to 
fix it. So, by saying, ``Hey, we're going to show up and put 
our bodies on the line,'' and then turning that around to make 
as though those are the folks who are violent; those are the 
folks who are extreme--if you stop the police violence in this 
community, in this country, then nobody has to show up for a 
protest. Let me just say that.
    Last, I will say, that I'm concerned about the department's 
policies against, related to immigration enforcement. I will 
make sure that we get this documentation to you because I am 
out of time.
    Last, I would like, Mr. Chair, I ask unanimous consent to 
enter into the record all the documents that I just spoke of.
    Chair Jordan. Without objection.
    The Chair--the gentlelady yields back. The Chair now 
recognizes Ms. Lee, and then, we'll go to Mr. Van Drew.
    Ms. Lee. Secretary Mayorkas, Florida's Attorney General has 
sued the Department of Homeland Security in the Northern 
District of Florida, asserting that the policies of your 
administration violent existing Federal law. Federal Judge Alan 
Wetherell, who has heard evidence and testimony related to your 
policies, described your parole with alternatives to detention 
policy as follows:

        The evidence establishes that the administration have 
        effectively turned the Southern border into a meaningless line 
        in the sand and little more than a speedbump for aliens 
        flooding into the country, by prioritizing ``alternatives to 
        detention'' over actual detention and by releasing a million 
        aliens into the country--on ``parole'' or pursuant to the 
        exercise of ``prosecutorial discretion'' under a wholly 
        inapplicable statute--without even initiating removal 
        proceedings.

    Thereafter, after additional proceedings and evidence and 
testimony, the judge heard about your ``parole with 
conditions'' revision, which allows illegal migrants to be 
paroled into the U.S. under the expectation that they will 
``check in'' in 60 days and receive a Notice to Appear at a 
hearing, where we can initiate removal proceedings in court.
    There, the judge noted that, all totaled, only 18 percent 
of the aliens released under the parole with conditions policy 
after it was enjoined by the court have been issued a Notice to 
Appear and placed in removal proceedings. The additional 82 
percent are either awaiting an issuance of an NTA or their 
whereabouts are unknown.
    Secretary Mayorkas, can you tell us, as we sit here today, 
where are the people who have entered this country and been 
released under your, what you refer to as, ``a parole 
program''? Where are they today?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, the individuals who are 
released, because we do not have the detention capacity--we are 
not funded for the detention capacity to detain everyone. Let 
me assure you that individuals who pose a threat to--
    Ms. Lee. Do you know where they are, Secretary Mayorkas?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congresswoman, if I may, I want to 
assure you that individuals who pose a threat to public safety 
or national security are detained. That is how we prioritize 
our detention authorities. Otherwise, we place individuals who 
are not such a threat on alternatives to detention.
    Ms. Lee. Do you know where those individuals are?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Those individuals also--
    Ms. Lee. That would be a yes or no, Secretary Mayorkas.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Those individuals are supervised--
    Ms. Lee. I'll take it that, in this case, you do not.
    Now, about those who do not show up for failure to appear 
proceedings, for these notices to come to court, what are the 
consequences that those individuals face?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Those individuals face the consequence 
of apprehension and removal.
    Ms. Lee. Is it not true that it would be necessary to know 
who they are and where they are to actually initiate removal 
proceedings from the United States?
    Secretary Mayorkas. There are those individuals who we do 
know where they are, and we do initiate removal proceedings. If 
individuals abscond, which is a concern that long predates this 
administration, Congresswoman--we have had absconders for many, 
many administrations. We have between 11-12 million 
undocumented people. When those individuals are apprehended, 
they are also subject to immigration--
    Ms. Lee. Secretary Mayorkas, what I will note is this: In 
addition to it being clear that the department has failed to 
timely respond to requests for information and data about the 
policies of this administration and the status of all these 
individuals who have been released into our country, it is also 
clear, from reviewing a record of the proceedings in the 
Florida Federal Court that the department is failing to comply 
with orders of that court.
    With that, Mr. Chair, I yield the balance of my time to the 
Chair.
    Chair Jordan. Would the gentlelady--would the gentlelady 
yield to the gentleman from North Carolina?
    Ms. Lee. Yes, I will yield the balance of my time to the 
gentleman from North Carolina.
    Mr. Bishop. I thank the gentlewoman.
    Mr. Mayorkas, you've spoken a lot about lawful pathways 
you've created. I think you rely on your parole authority to do 
that, is that right?
    Secretary Mayorkas. That is one of the methods, yes, 
Congressman.
    Mr. Bishop. What other method besides parole? What other 
source of authority besides parole?
    Secretary Mayorkas. That is the primary, the primary--
    Mr. Bishop. Well, but what's the other one, then, if it's 
the primary one?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Well, refugee processing is a lawful 
pathway.
    Mr. Bishop. OK. That's established by statute, the refugee 
program.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes, and the parole authority is also 
codified in statute. It's a discretionary--
    Mr. Bishop. Right. So, here's what it says. It says,

        The Attorney General may in his discretion parole into the 
        United States temporarily under such conditions as he may 
        prescribe only on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian 
        reasons or significant public benefit any alien applying for 
        admission in the United States.

    You've spoken today--it was interesting; it really struck 
my attention--you spoke about case by case being an individual 
determination. What is the source of authority that allows you 
to define categories or classes to, then, operate to bring 
people in, and then, look at them case by case?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, as I've stated, we 
exercise that parole authority on a case-by-case basis.
    Mr. Bishop. You define these categories or classes. What 
allows you to do that? What authority do you rely on?
    Secretary Mayorkas. That defines the perimeter of 
individuals who may become eligible for the case-by-case 
adjudications.
    Mr. Bishop. It seems intentioned to me.
    I yield.
    Chair Jordan. Yes, good point.
    The gentlelady from Vermont is recognized.
    Ms. Balint. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Before I begin, I ask unanimous consent to request to enter 
into the record DHS data on U.S. Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement.
    Chair Jordan. Without objection.
    Ms. Balint. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for being here. Thank 
you for your public service.
    I'm going to just shift gears a little bit here. As you 
know, Vermont has recently experienced the worst flooding in 
our State since the 1920's. Farms, houses, apartments, mobile 
homes, businesses, and shared community spaces have been 
devastating, including nearly every single small business in 
our downtown of our State capital Montpelier. I've seen the 
destruction firsthand and can tell you the recovery is going to 
be long and hard.
    Related to this, a larger issue I'd like to highlight with 
my time today is the lack of options for small businesses that 
cannot take on additional debt to rebuild. SMA loans, of 
course, are a great help, but they are still loans. We are a 
rural State made up primarily of small businesses. Of the 
79,000 small businesses in our tiny State, 78 percent are 
independent contractors or nonemployer businesses.
    So, it is incredibly challenging for these small businesses 
to rebuild and take on more liabilities, but their presence in 
these communities is absolutely vital. We are a rural State 
made up of small cities and towns and villages--all in these 
little river valleys which are, essentially, isolated from each 
other. We need the ability to rebuild these small businesses.
    So, I've heard directly from these folks that they're 
having a really hard time imagining how they will rebuild. FEMA 
has been incredible. They were on the ground just a few days 
after the emergency. I was able to tour with FEMA leadership, 
as well as folks from Region 1. We are grateful for that help, 
but I want to make sure that over the long term we are 
committed to working with FEMA and DHS to make sure that we 
find some long-term solutions for small businesses, in 
particular, to fill in this gap in the recovery.
    Along these lines, Mr. Secretary, what can Congress do to 
aid DHS and FEMA in continuing to react to natural disasters 
like this, like the flooding in Vermont, which was supposed to 
be a 100-year flood cycle, and it happened as recently as 12 
years ago. So, what can we do to partner with you to be more 
prepared for these?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you very much, Congresswoman. I 
look forward to partnering with you and other Members of the 
Committee to address the challenges that our Nation faces.
    One critical need is, of course, funding for the disaster 
relief services and assistance that we provide, whether that is 
financial relief, so that businesses and individuals alike can 
rebuild and recovery. We also have critical grant programs that 
really contribute to the resilience of local communities. That 
is one very significant way in which we can partner together, 
and I very much look forward to working with you.
    Ms. Balint. Thank you.
    Just to put a finer point on it, I was speaking with FEMA 
Administrator Criswell when she came up to Vermont. Is it 
accurate to say that FEMA's primary funding source, the 
Disaster Relief Fund, is going to go into the red as soon as 
August? Is that correct?
    Secretary Mayorkas. That is correct, Congresswoman.
    Ms. Balint. Can you talk about the importance of DRF 
funding, especially as we prepare for another hurricane season 
and these increasingly intense storms that we are bound to see 
continually, as the air warms?
    Secretary Mayorkas. The Disaster Relief Fund is the nucleus 
of our efforts to assist communities in recovering from natural 
disasters, which are only increasing in frequency and severity. 
That is the core fund through which we provide such needed 
relief for communities across this country, whether it's for 
hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, flooding, the natural 
disasters that we are seeing more and more often.
    Ms. Balint. Thank you. Just two more questions.
    Is there a role for the agency in mitigating future 
disasters? We often move emergency supplementals after the 
fact. Is there value to more focused funding for pre-disaster 
work, and what would that look like?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Well, one of the takeaways that I had 
when I visited Mayfield, Kentucky with Congressman Comer 
following a devastating tornado is assisting communities in 
revising their building codes, so that they are ready for the 
weather that we encounter today and not the weather that we 
encountered 10 years ago. We really, as a Nation, have to 
reform our infrastructure architecture to be ready for the 
extreme weather events that we are encountering today and will 
encounter tomorrow.
    Ms. Balint. Thank you.
    I know I'm just about out of time. I just want to make the 
final point here, is that I think it's going to be important 
for all of us long term to think about how FEMA, also, can be a 
partner in dealing with the mental health consequences of these 
disasters, especially as they're happening more frequently.
    Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
    Chair Jordan. The gentlelady yields back.
    Mr. Secretary, we'll do one more, and then, we've got to go 
to votes on the floor, and then, we'll come back after that.
    Mr. Van Drew is recognized for five minutes.
    Mr. Van Drew. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Secretary Mayorkas, we stand here yet again to address a 
crisis that you've continued to make worse. As Secretary of 
Homeland Security, the American people have entrusted you with 
the security of their communities and the security of their 
Nation. You have failed them.
    Our Southern border has been turned into a revolving door 
for illegal immigration, drug trafficking, human trafficking, 
and threats to our national security. Is this the America we 
want--an America where every town is a border town? An America 
where our communities, infrastructure, and resources are 
strained under the weight of unchecked illegal immigration? We 
know the answer. Our constituents know the answer. The answer 
is no.
    The reality is that, under your leadership, you've created 
the largest border crisis in the history of the United States 
of America--a crisis so badly handled that the International 
Organization--and I want everybody to listen to this--the 
International Organization for Migration labeled our Southwest 
border as, quote, ``the deadliest land crossing in the world.'' 
Unbelievable for America.
    Are you aware of how many illegals have been encountered at 
our border and how many known gotaways have escaped into 
America? I just want the numbers.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, you speak of the Southwest 
border, and--
    Mr. Van Drew. Sir, I just want the numbers.
    Secretary Mayorkas. The challenge of migration that we face 
at the--
    Mr. Van Drew. Thank you. I appreciate your answer. It's 5.6 
million illegal alien encounters and 1.5 million known 
gotaways.
    How about the number of aliens on the terrorist screening 
data base who've been caught, not the ones who haven't been 
caught, but the ones who've been caught just in the last nine 
months? Do you know that number?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I'm very pleased to provide that to 
you--
    Mr. Van Drew. I do. It's 140. Thank you.
    How about the number of unaccompanied minors processed in 
Fiscal Year 2023? Do you know that number?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Similarly, Congressman, I'd be very 
pleased to provide--
    Mr. Van Drew. I thank you. I know that number myself. It's 
152,000.
    We have seen a continuous surge of fentanyl coming from 
China, being distributed by Mexican drug cartels, and 
destroying countless American lives. Are you aware of how many 
Americans died, how many Americans died in 2021 at the hands of 
fentanyl?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I am aware of those numbers, 
Congressman.
    Mr. Van Drew. Seventy-one thousand. Seventy-one thousand 
human souls.
    These numbers are staggering, and they are a direct result 
of your actions as Secretary--actions that have dismantled 
effective immigration policies and broken the rule of law; your 
lies to Congress and the American people that put American 
citizens in danger every single day, and in my mind this makes 
your actions criminal.
    All of us, all of this leaves us at a crossroads, a moment 
in time where our actions will define the future of the United 
States of America. This is a call to action; a call to restore 
sanity at our borders and safety in our communities; and a call 
to ensure that every town in America is no longer a border 
town.
    In the words of Ronald Reagan, quote, ``A Nation that 
cannot control its borders is not a Nation.''
    The time for action is now. Congress cannot stand by. So, 
we arrive at an inevitable conclusion that I do not take 
lightly. Secretary Mayorkas, you must resign. Will you resign?
    Secretary Mayorkas. No, I will not. I am incredibly proud 
of the work that is performed in the Department of Homeland--
    Mr. Van Drew. I understand. Secretary Mayorkas, if you will 
not resign, that leaves us with no other option: You should be 
impeached.
    I yield back to the Chair.
    Chair Jordan. We will stand in recess, Mr. Secretary, for 
approximately 30 minutes. So, I'd like to get started at 2:10-
2:15, and then, we have, I think, four, possibly five, more, 
but that should go pretty quick.
    I think we've got sandwiches and things back for you, if 
you need that.
    We'll back in approximately 30 minutes.
    [Recess.]
    Chair Jordan. Mr. Secretary--or the Committee will come to 
order.
    I apologize for the whole Congress; we're 10 minutes later 
than I wanted to be here.
    The gentleman from Texas is recognized for five minutes.
    Mr. Nehls. Thank you, Chair.
    Mr. Mayorkas, Members of this Committee, please turn your 
attention to the video screens.
    [Video played.]
    Mr. Nehls. Mr. Secretary, I can understand why you didn't 
stand with me and my colleagues and clap. You didn't want to 
clap at that because you and Joe Biden believe just the 
opposite of what President Clinton just said. You believe in 
open borders and complete chaos.
    Did you notice the bipartisan support in the chamber, as 
the video was played? Everybody was clapping in that chamber. 
If I were in Congress in 1995, I would have also stood. Because 
I wasn't, I stand here today.
    Other than President Donald J. Trump, the greatest 
President in my lifetime with the most safest and secure 
border, I believe President Clinton understood just how 
important border security is to our Nation.
    Boy, have times changed. Twenty-eight years later, the left 
has gone off the rails. They've gone completely nuts. They've 
done just the opposite of what the leader of the Democrat 
Party, President Clinton, stood for on border security in 1995.
    This Committee's Ranking Member, he was in Congress in 
1995. I assume he stood. I assume he stood. It seemed like the 
majority, if not all, of the entire chamber, they stood.
    Matter of fact, Mr. Clinton delivered his speech in the 
third year of his first term, and he was reelected in 1996. He 
beat Bob Dole, won by over eight million votes; won the 
Electoral College,
379-159. He had the support of the American people, and I'm 
going to assume the Ranking Member also voted for Bill Clinton 
in 1996.
    We have two other Members, Ms. Jackson and Ms. Lofgren, 
they were both freshmen at the time. I will assume they stood 
during that powerful speech as well.
    Do you know why they supported and voted? They voted for 
legislation in 1996 strengthening our immigration laws. I 
applaud them for that.
    So, what's changed, folks? What's changed with the 
Democratic Party? I'll tell you what's changed. If you wouldn't 
have heard President Clinton's voice or seen his face, you 
would have thought Donald Trump delivered that speech. I don't 
believe that President Clinton was called a racist, a White 
supremacist who hated immigrants, as the left and the dishonest 
media has painted Donald J. Trump to be.
    Mr. Mayorkas, there's a reason why you and Joe Biden have 
allowed 5.5 million people to cross our Southern border. This 
is about votes and elections.
    I have a report from the Heritage Foundation titled, 
``Tracking Movement of Illegal Aliens from NGO's to Interior of 
the USA.'' Why do you think NGO's have moved illegal immigrants 
to 431 of the 435 Congressional Districts? The truth is--hear 
me--it's because the Democrats' progressive policies are not 
acceptable to Americans.
    The Heritage obtained a sampling of approximately 30,000 
cell phones that were tracked to NGO's along border States. 
They tracked approximately 22,000 devices at 20 NGO locations 
in January 2022. The same devices were later traced to 431 
separate U.S. Congressional Districts, and of the 52 with the 
highest rate of tracked devices, 71 of them were Republican 
Congressional Districts. The report revealed that it's not a 
coincidence, folks.
    The flood of illegal immigrants means the continued rise in 
supply--surplus laborers. That surplus drives down the wages of 
existing middle- and lower-class job holders until they leave 
the job forces, and then, they're forced to go on welfare--with 
the hopes that they will become loyal supporters of the 
Democrats. That's what this is all about.
    If this isn't about votes, if this isn't about votes, one-
party rule, keeping the Democrats in power, I make this 
suggestion: If you put the American people first, you should 
refer back to Trump's border policies. You won't because you 
hate him. You despise the man.
    So, give Bill Clinton a call, and then, he can help you 
with the border crisis. As President Clinton stated, ``we are a 
Nation of immigrants, but we are also a Nation of laws.''
    You, sir, have betrayed Constitutional order, neglected 
your duty, and violated the trust of the American people. As a 
Nation of laws, I look forward to your impeachment.
    With that, I yield back.
    Mr. Moore. [Presiding.] The Chair recognizes the gentleman 
from California, Mr. Kiley.
    Mr. Kiley. Mr. Secretary, last year you testified before 
this Committee that this administration's policies were not 
responsible for the surge of illegal border crossings. Today, 
you've testified that this administration's policies are 
responsible for what you claim is a decline in illegal border 
crossings.
    So, why is it that you deserve credit when numbers go down, 
but not blame with numbers go up?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, two points. First, the 
approach that we are taking, expanding lawful pathways and 
delivering consequences for those who do not use them, is 
working. I want to communicate that the challenge remains. The 
challenge is a persistent one at our Southern border. It has 
been for decades. What we need is legislation--
    Mr. Kiley. OK, Mr. Secretary, you're speaking in general 
terms. I think this is why many of us on the Committee are 
frustrated with the lack of accountability, is that you have 
shattered all records in terms of illegal border crossings, 
which you say that has nothing to do with the dramatic change 
in policies you had. Then, there's a brief decline, and you 
cite that as evidence that you're doing a good job. I think 
that's why so many Americans have lost faith in this 
administration's ability to secure the border.
    I want to, actually, reference some remarks you made that I 
found somewhat encouraging. This was on the topic of detainers. 
You made these remarks early in your tenure, April 2021, at a 
UCLA discussion with the Immigration Law and Policy Center.
    You said this. You referred to an example of someone who 
crossed the border illegally and went on to commit sex 
offenses. You said, ``I do not believe that individual should 
be released into the community.'' You said, ``I think the 
State, the State facility should turn that individual over to 
ICE directly.'' You added, ``I think that is a public safety 
need.''
    You went on to say that, after such a person had served 
their sentence, if they were citizens, there might be no way to 
keep them out of the community. You said, ``I have a tool at my 
disposal with respect to an individual who unlawfully entered 
the country.'' You said, ``I feel strongly about this. This is 
a tool that I have at my disposal. It is a tool I feel 
obligated to employ. I am going to protect the public,'' you 
said.
    It's a very strong statement in favor of detainers. Yet, 
over the last couple of years, we have seen the actual use of 
detainers decline dramatically. Fiscal year 2021, there were 
65,000; Fiscal Year 2022, 78,000. That's about half the average 
during the Trump Administration, about \1/3\ the average during 
the Obama Administration.
    So, if detainers are such a powerful tool, why have you 
used them so sparingly?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, let me communicate a very 
important point; that individuals who pose a threat to public 
safety or national security are detained. That is the 
immigration policy of the Department of Homeland Security under 
my leadership.
    Mr. Kiley. Why are you detaining much less than your 
predecessor--
    Secretary Mayorkas. Individuals--well, (1) is our detention 
capacity is limited, which is why we prioritized public safety 
and national security threats.
    (2) Detainers are sometimes not honored by particular 
jurisdictions--
    Mr. Kiley. I want to move on to that in a second, but just 
briefly, has the White House directed you to limit the use of 
detainers?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman--
    Mr. Kiley. That's a yes-or-no question. Has the White 
House--
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, no, they have not.
    Mr. Kiley. OK. Thank you.
    So, on this topic of jurisdictions not honoring detainers, 
you have been critical of these so-called sanctuary 
jurisdictions. In a 2022 speech to the U.S. Conference of 
Mayors, you said,

        Some of your cities have declined to cooperate with immigration 
        authorities in the removal, the apprehension and removal of 
        individuals, even if those individuals pose a public safety 
        threat.

You said,

        I will be coming to you and asking you to reconsider your 
        position of noncooperation. The public safety, the public's 
        well-being, for which we are all charged, is, I think, at 
        issue.

So, Mr. Secretary, you agree that sanctuary policies threaten 
public safety?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, what do you mean by 
``sanctuary policies,'' because--
    Mr. Kiley. The definition that you gave right there where 
you said,

         . . . declined to cooperate with immigration authorities in 
        the removal, the apprehension or removal, removal of 
        individuals, even if those individuals pose a public safety 
        threat.

Are those sanctuary policies, as you define them, a threat to 
public safety?
    Secretary Mayorkas. So, sanctuary policies are defined 
differently by different communities--
    Mr. Kiley. To your definition?
    Secretary Mayorkas. If I may--
    Mr. Kiley. Is it a threat to public safety?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I do not consider it in the service of 
public safety to release an individual into the community when 
that individual can be released to Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement for prompt removal.
    Mr. Kiley. Thank you.
    Do you oppose State policies that forbid local authorities 
from cooperation, cooperating with ICE?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I am aware of some that I do oppose.
    Mr. Kiley. So, you oppose California's sanctuary State law?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I am not familiar with the particulars 
of that law.
    Mr. Kiley. Have you encountered California's restrictions 
on cooperation with local--with Federal immigration 
authorities?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I believe it is imperative 
that we cooperate with one another, jurisdictions cooperate 
with us, when it serves the public safety need.
    Mr. Kiley. Thank you. I'm out of time, but I would like to 
restate for the record that the policies you said that you 
oppose, overriding the ability of local jurisdictions to 
cooperate, that's exactly what California's sanctuary State law 
does.
    Thank you, and I yield back.
    Mr. Moore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Colorado, Mr. Neguse.
    Mr. Neguse. I thank the Chair.
    Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here. Thank you for your 
testimony. I know it has been a long day today and I am 
certainly grateful to you for your service to our country. I 
have some questions about FEMA. As you may recall, we have 
spoken previously with respect to some natural disasters that 
we have faced in the State of Colorado, which I have the honor 
of representing in the Congress, particularly wildfires, and 
have very much appreciated the partnership with the department 
and your subagencies.
    Before I do that, I just want to give you an opportunity; I 
know it has been a very contentious hearing, to the extent that 
you would like to clarify anything or perhaps expound on a 
prior answer that you didn't have ample opportunity to do so.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I very much appreciate the 
invitation. I can recall there were quite a number of times I 
have not been able to complete my responses, but I look forward 
to the opportunity to answer your questions.
    Mr. Neguse. I do think it is important for those Americans 
who are watching to perhaps provide them with some context 
about the various ways in which you have served our country. 
Maybe you could just talk a bit about--before you were 
appointed and confirmed as Secretary of Homeland Security what 
kind of work did you do?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I am in I think it's my 
22nd or 23nd year of Federal service. I joined the Federal 
Government because this country has given so much to my family. 
We came here seeking refuge from the communist takeover of 
Cuba.
    I began my Federal service as an assistant United States 
Attorney, as a Federal prosecutor. I worked in that capacity 
for almost nine years before I was appointed by President 
Clinton--
    Mr. Neguse. Fighting crime?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
    Mr. Neguse. Taking on organized crime, taking on cartels, 
taking on gang violence?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes. Smugglers. All sorts of crimes. It 
was the largest Federal judicial district in the country, the 
Central District of California. I was then nominated--appointed 
and nominated and Senate confirmed as United States Attorney.
    Mr. Neguse. On a bipartisan basis?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes, it was unanimous. I returned to 
Federal service in 2009 as the Director of U.S. Citizenship and 
Immigration Services and then moved from that position after 
approximately four years. I became the Deputy Secretary of 
Homeland Security. I returned to Federal service after that as 
the Secretary of Homeland Security. It's been about 22 years or 
so.
    Mr. Neguse. I will say, Mr. Secretary, what I said 
previously, we are grateful for your service in law 
enforcement. While we have many disagreements with my 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle from a policy 
perspective, perhaps ideological differences, I would hope that 
they would show the appropriate respect and recognition of the 
work that you have done as a law enforcement officer, someone 
who has worked in law enforcement for the last 25 years or so.
    I want to talk a bit about FEMA. As I mentioned, we had in 
Colorado some of the most destructive wildfires in our State's 
history; all happened in the last several years, and in 
particular in my district in Colorado, as you will well 
remember, the Marshall Fire, which was the most destructive 
wildfire in the history of our State, economically and 
tragically. We lost the lives of two community members.
    There have been recent concerning reports that FEMA's 
Disaster Relief Fund, the DRF, which is the main funding 
source, as you know, through which you provide support to 
State, local, and Tribal governments responding to natural 
disasters, is in danger our running out of funding before the 
end of this year, potentially even next month.
    I wonder if you can elaborate on what that shortfall is, 
when you predict it may run out of funding, and how that would 
impact the agency's ability to support communities in the event 
of a disaster. Because of course there are many of us in 
Congress, myself included, who are championing efforts to 
ensure that this shortfall doesn't happen.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, we are seeing an increase 
in both the frequency and severity of natural disasters: 
Hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, and floods. The Disaster Relief 
Fund that FEMA administers is the primary vehicle that enables 
FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security through FEMA, to 
distribute individual and public assistance to communities 
devastated by those natural disasters.
    If that were to run out, our ability to assist communities, 
our neighbors, our friends, our loved ones to recover from and 
rebuild after a natural disaster would be virtually eliminated, 
almost eliminated. We are hopeful that the Disaster Relief Fund 
will receive the requisite funding because the money we expect 
to run out as early as perhaps August.
    Mr. Neguse. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I couldn't agree 
more, and we will do everything in our power to ensure that 
this fund is replenished. On that you have my word.
    With that, Mr. Chair, I thank you for the indulgence and I 
yield back.
    Mr. Moore. Thank you, sir.
    The Chair yields to Ms. Hageman for five minutes.
    Ms. Hageman. Thank you.
    The First Amendment to the United States Constitution rests 
on the principle that no person or institution, including the 
government, has a monopoly on the truth and that viewpoint-
based suppression of speech by the government is dangerous and 
may even spell the death of a constitutional republic.
    Under the First Amendment the government has no power to 
restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its 
subject matter, or its content. As the Supreme Court has 
explained, if there is any fixed star in our Constitutional 
constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can 
prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, 
religion, or other matters of opinion.
    Labeling speech misinformation does not strip of its First 
Amendment protection. That is so even if the speech is untrue. 
As some false statements are inevitable if there is to be an 
open and vigorous expression of views in public and private 
conversation.
    In refusing to carve out a First Amendment exception for 
false speech, the Framers of our Constitution recognized the 
significant danger in making the government the ultimate 
arbiters of truth. It is axiomatic in the words of the Supreme 
Court that the government may not induce, encourage, or promote 
private persons to accomplish what it constitutionally is 
forbidden to accomplish.
    Secretary Mayorkas, it was reported in May that the DHS 
through the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant 
Program is funding groups targeting conservatives and equating 
them to domestic terrorists. Originally intended to combat 
foreign terrorist organizations' operations in the U.S., it has 
become yet another government tool weaponized against citizens 
to violate First Amendment protection--protected affiliations 
and speech.
    One grant to the University of Dayton for a program titled 
``PREVENTS-OH'' hosted a seminar titled, ``Extremism, Rhetoric, 
and Democratic Precarity.'' One of the speakers, a known Antifa 
member, as part of his presentation shared a pyramid of far-
right radicalization, which likened the Republican Party to the 
Heritage Foundation, the American Conservative Union, Fox News, 
Breitbart News, the National Rifle Association, Prager 
University, Tea Party Patriots, the MAGA Movement, and the pro-
police Blue Live Matter Movement, and the Christian 
Broadcasting Network as the first steps on path leading to 
Nazism and militant neo-Naziism, among other appalling 
ideologies and groups.
    This presenter reportedly also taught tactics on how to 
pressure the removal of conservatives from platforms and he 
even put it as saying a lot of things we are doing are illegal 
and a lot of involves breaking the law.
    Secretary Mayorkas, does the affiliation with conservative 
or Christian beliefs make someone a Nazi or a domestic 
terrorist?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Of course not.
    Ms. Hageman. OK. Then if that is so, why is your agency 
targeting Americans who are Christians and conservatives?
    Secretary Mayorkas. We are not.
    Ms. Hageman. OK. Secretary Mayorkas, when did you become 
aware that the University of Dayton was implementing your grant 
funding program to target conservatives and Christians?
    Secretary Mayorkas. It is my understanding that it is not.
    Ms. Hageman. When did you become--so you are not aware of 
that?
    Secretary Mayorkas. No, it is my understanding that it is 
not.
    Ms. Hageman. You are unaware of the information that has 
been produced? Have you even seen the pyramid that is up on the 
screen right now?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I learned about the individual 
speaker's comments with which I profoundly disagree.
    Ms. Hageman. OK. So, when did you find out about the 
speaker's comments?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I don't quite recall, Congresswoman.
    Ms. Hageman. All right. Well, you know what, Mr. Mayorkas, 
I actually really want to thank you as well for coming here 
today, for your performance. I have watched with absolute 
fascination as you have danced and dodged and lied. Yes, lied. 
We know you have lied. You know you have lied. More importantly 
the American public knows that you lied throughout your 
testimony today. Yet, you believe that you and your fellow 
architects of the censorship industrial complex think that you 
should be able to determine what is and isn't true, and what is 
and isn't untrue.
    You are the walking, talking epitome of the very tyrant 
that our Forefathers recognized would gravitate toward 
government service, and it is because of people like you that 
they drafted the First Amendment.
    I thank them for their foresight. I thank them for 
recognizing that you and people like you would do everything in 
your power to control speech, to control freedom, to take away 
our rights. They have written a document that isn't going to 
allow you to do that.
    Fortunately, we still have courts and judges who recognize 
that you don't have the power that you are attempting to take, 
that you do not have the right to limit our freedom of speech, 
our freedom of association, and our right to communicate. Thank 
God we have the First Amendment so that we can stop you from 
doing what you have been doing. With that I yield back.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Your accusations are false.
    Mr. Moore. Thank you. The Chair yields to Mr. Hunt from 
Texas for five minutes.
    Mr. Hunt. A country without borders, sir, is not a country 
at all. A home without a roof and a home without a door, sir, 
is not a home at all. I have three young children at my home. 
They are all under the age four years old. My home is secure 
because I lock it up every single night, because I care about 
their safety.
    Actually, the No. 1 role of our Federal Government is to 
keep our citizens safe. I am a combat veteran. I am willing to 
give my life for that. West Point guy. Flew Apaches in Baghdad. 
Safety is something that is paramount to me. It is actually the 
reason why I am in this room right now, is to figure out ways 
to keep our citizens safe.
    When you are at your home, sir, do you lock your doors?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, thank you very much for 
your service in the military.
    Mr. Hunt. Yes.
    Secretary Mayorkas. It's the highest form of service.
    Mr. Hunt. Thank you. Do you lock your doors at your home?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I take care of the safety 
of my family--
    Mr. Hunt. Understood.
    Secretary Mayorkas. --and we in the Department of Homeland 
Security work every day to protect the safety and security of 
the American people.
    Mr. Hunt. So, you would agree that the American public 
should be afforded the exact same level of safety and security 
that you provide for yourself and your own family?
    Secretary Mayorkas. That is what 260,000 people dedicate 
their careers to, Congressman.
    Mr. Hunt. Understood, sir. Can you tell me the number of 
unaccompanied minors who have crossed our Southern border 
during your tenure as secretary?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Very pleased to provide that data to 
you, Congressman.
    Mr. Hunt. OK. I have also heard that there are proponents 
of this administration that say that the fentanyl that is 
coming across our Southern border is coming through legal ports 
of entry. Does that mean that no fentanyl is being smuggled 
across our border other than legal ports of entry?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, the U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection data evidences that more than 90 percent of 
the fentanyl that enters this country is coming through the 
ports of entry.
    Mr. Hunt. So, that means that there are parts of the border 
where fentanyl is pouring into our country?
    Secretary Mayorkas. That is precisely why we have dedicated 
increased resources, both personnel and technology, to 
interdict more fentanyl in these past years and in prior years.
    Mr. Hunt. So, I hear that, but I am really speaking for the 
American public and the people that are in my district. That is 
not what we are seeing because we are seeing an increased 
number of people being murdered by fentanyl every single day. 
You understand these numbers, correct?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Well, I do. Congressman, those numbers 
have been escalating for more than five years.
    Mr. Hunt. They have escalated exponentially during your 
tenure. Chip Roy went through these numbers. I was sitting here 
watching him, actually appalled at just how much this has 
happened.
    Secretary Mayorkas. It is a tragedy, the devastation that 
fentanyl wreaks on our communities, and I look forward to 
working with you and with all the Members of this Committee 
addressing this challenge.
    Mr. Hunt. Understood.
    Secretary Mayorkas. This requires a united effort. This is 
not a partisan issue.
    Mr. Hunt. Unfortunately,--
    Secretary Mayorkas. This is a--
    Mr. Hunt. --sir, it has become a partisan issue. I feel 
like we on this side are the ones that are truly trying to 
defend the lives of our fellow Americans.
    Switching gears on this one: Sir, this woman is Kamala 
Harris. She is the current Vice President of our country. She 
is also the border czar. Now, that was dubbed by your boss. You 
see on March 21, 2021, President Biden tasked Vice President 
Kamala Harris with solving the border crisis and finding the 
root causes of illegal immigration because as Biden said, ``she 
is the most qualified person to do the job.''
    I would like to make a motion to submit the transcript of 
Joe Biden's March 24th Press Conference to the record, Mr. 
Chair.
    Mr. Moore. So moved.
    Mr. Hunt. It has been 855 days since Joe Biden named Kamala 
Harris the border czar. Has she solved the root cause of 
illegal immigration in your opinion?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, you have mischaracterized 
the Vice President's role. The Vice President is--
    Mr. Hunt. No, no, no. I have not mischaracterized. 
Actually, that was the job that was given to her by the 
President of the United States of America.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman--
    Mr. Hunt. How did I mischaracterize that?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, the Vice President--
    Mr. Hunt. OK. That is fine. So, she has not solved the 
issue. I think that is actually pretty clear and I think my 
colleague Chip Roy did a very good job of articulating that.
    I want to go to my next topic, and this is something that 
the American public is really frustrated with, because it has 
been brought to my attention, and I think I have known it for a 
very, very long time. For those who are not watching, the 
Secret Service is an agency that is within the Department of 
Homeland Security. This has been the case since March 1, 2003. 
Now, sir, I am assuming that you are aware that cocaine was 
found by the Secret Service in the White House a couple weeks 
ago. Is that right?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Yes.
    Mr. Hunt. According to the Secret Service marijuana was 
also found in the White House twice last year. Twice. We don't 
know who brought the drugs into the White House, which is the 
most secure building on earth. If we can't secure the White 
House, then how can we secure the border? Without proper 
leadership I am so fearful that we have turned our beloved 
White House into a trap house. The American public deserves 
more--far, far more than that, sir. Thank you for your time. I 
yield back the rest.
    Chair Jordan. [Presiding.] The gentleman yields back.
    The gentleman from South Carolina is recognized.
    Mr. Fry. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Mr. Secretary, I have listened both in here and in my 
office today your testimony before this Committee. I think the 
frustration that I have as the clean-up crew at the very end of 
this Committee is that you seem to answer very eloquently all 
the questions that the other side of the aisle pose, but when 
posed with questions, specific questions about the border on 
this side of the aisle, you seem to not have--you seem to dance 
and dodge, as Ms. Hageman talked about, the true answers, that 
you talk about--you filibuster, if you will, what people really 
are asking. These aren't questions that are hatched out of some 
think tank. These are questions that our citizens have, because 
they see what is going on.
    What is remarkable to me since day one of this 
administration, you have terminated construction of the border 
wall. You restricted the ability of immigration officers to 
deport aliens who violate U.S. law. You terminated the MPP, the 
Remain in Mexico Policy, despite people on the ground talking 
about how successful that it was. You abuse parole authority to 
release illegal aliens en masse into the United States and 
creating categorical parole programs in violation of the INA's 
case-by-case basis.
    You refuse to follow Federal law requiring aliens to be 
detained during the pendency of their asylum proceedings. You 
terminated asylum cooperative agreements with Guatemala, El 
Salvador, and Honduras. You refuse to comply with the 
provisions of the INA that require the detention of asylum 
seekers. You cut immigration judges, ICE attorneys, and the 
process of the asylum system itself. You support sanctuary city 
policies by giving them grants. You implemented until it was 
enjoined a 100-day moratorium on alien removals.
    You have misused, as has been talked about here, the CBP 
One app that has institutionalized mass parole and release 
policies in this country. It has been described as a shell 
game, pretty fairly stated, that you otherwise shift things 
around. You create definitions within your department that you 
think that are appropriate. You create law, which isn't your 
function. Then you come before Congress and you say that 
everything is fine.
    Well, we have been to Yuma, Arizona, sir, and we have seen 
the devastation down there. We have talked to people. Seventy 
sheriffs just last year said that there is no border at all. We 
simply have no border left in Arizona, New Mexico, Southern 
California, and Texas. That is the National Sheriffs 
Association.
    You have been held to account by courts. Texas v. Biden. 
DHS' position, quote,

        Position that the crisis at the border is not largely of their 
        own making because of their more lenient detention policies is 
        divorced from reality and belied by the evidence.

Florida v. The United States in the Northern District of 
Florida, quote,

        The Biden Administration have effectively turned the Southwest 
        border into a meaningless line in the same and little more than 
        a speed bump for aliens flooding into the country by 
        prioritizing alternatives for detention over actual detention 
        and by releasing more than a million aliens into the country.

Really quick let's play a video.
    [Video playing.]
    Mr. Fry. So, the numbers don't lie; 5.6 million illegal 
immigration, or illegal alien encounters; 1.5 million known 
gotaways; more than 2.2 million illegal immigrants--aliens into 
this country, meaning that 3.6 million illegal aliens are in 
this country since the start of your tenure. That is 
astronomical. A hundred and sixty countries--the people on the 
terror watchlist that we know about, 140 just this year. It is 
at an all-time high.
    So, look, this doesn't lie. These are the stats, Mr. 
Secretary. So, you come up here and you blame the former 
President and you say that they have gutted the immigration 
system. You blame Congress for not acting. These numbers 
weren't here for Obama. They weren't here for Trump. They seem 
to be here for you. So, you like to blame other people for your 
failures in not doing your job. Quite frankly, the American 
people want to know how qualified are you to even carry out 
your mission?
    Because everybody else seems to indicate, from local law 
enforcement, to sheriffs, to ranchers, to farmers, to citizens 
on the border, when I ask them is the border more secure, they 
say resoundingly no. That is on your watch, sir. I yield.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman's time is expired. The 
gentleman yields back.
    The gentleman--if we could maybe just wait until the sign 
is taken down there, Mr. Moore, and then we will let you have 
your five minutes with the Secretary.
    The gentleman from Alabama is recognized.
    Mr. Moore. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for being here today. I am 
certainly appalled at what is happening at the Southern border 
and I know my constituent are, too. Your border policies make 
every State a border State. I said my constituents are appalled 
about what is happening, but I know a family who has personally 
been suffering the consequences of your actions.
    In my district, the Second Congressional District in 
Alabama, the Autauga County Sheriff's Department arrested Grevi 
Zavala, a 29-year-old illegal alien from Honduras, for the rape 
of a teenage girl in Prattville, Alabama in a restaurant. The 
interesting thing is that Mr. Zavala identified I guess as a 
minor, is what I am being told, but he was a 29-year-old.
    Mr. Secretary, why do you think it is; and I have been to 
the border a few times myself, that we are finding so many IDs 
thrown down South of the border? Just it is almost like if 
these people are coming here for--to apply for asylum, they 
would want us to know who they were and what they were up to. 
For some reason ID after ID are just piling up South of the 
U.S. border. Why do you think that might be?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, first, I am very sorry of 
course to learn of the tragedy that occurred, that was 
inflicted on a constituent of yours.
    Mr. Moore. I understand that, Mr. Mayorkas. Let me say 
this, sir: We have been apologizing to a lot of people for a 
long time, at least in the last few months, the last few years, 
even when the other party was in charge. They have the White 
House, the House, and the Senate. We are continuing apologizing 
to parents for losing their children to fentanyl and for people 
getting raped in restrooms, and for DUIs or people who are 
killing people with cars who have no driver's license. I 
understand the apologies, but my people, the constituents in 
this country are getting tired of apologies and they want 
action.
    So, who is responsible for the death--or let's say the rape 
of this 14-year-old? Is that you, Mr. Mayorkas, or is that 
President Biden, or is it Congress? Who is responsible for 
that?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, the criminal who committed 
the act is responsible. I look forward to working with you to 
address the scourge of fentanyl that is causing so much 
devastation and death. I look forward to working with you to 
fix what has long been a broken immigration system.
    Mr. Moore. I hear you, but let me say this, sir; and you 
are aware of this, too. This administration has created two 
things on the Southern border: Drug mules and human 
trafficking. It is the policies of this administration. Because 
we talked about it earlier in here and you said $4,000-$5,000. 
Yes, that is just South of the U.S. Southern border. In Yuma, 
Arizona there is 109 different countries came through that 
small town. Further South of the border they are paying he 
cartels $7,000-$8,000. Syrians are paying $19,000. So, the 
cartel is getting rich, and the American people are paying the 
price in the form of crimes and drug deaths.
    So, we can sit here and talk and--for four hours now, three 
hours, however long this has gone on--there are a lot of 
apologies, but not a lot of answers. We need answers for the 
American people. I think you are to be held responsible for 
that. Believe me, it is not fun to have parents in here telling 
us how they lost their child to fentanyl poisoning, but it is 
on your watch, sir. It is on our watch. We have a 
responsibility to do something about that.
    So, it just--again the policies, we are turning a blind eye 
and people are pouring in here. Sheriff Dannels said himself in 
testimony a few months ago--he said the safest he has ever seen 
the U.S. Southern border; he has four decades on the U.S. 
Southern border, was around 2018. He said the worst he has ever 
seen is now. So, we have a responsibility to these people.
    Let me ask you another question. This is an individual--I 
just got this information. Reports in November 2021, DHS 
encountered Esem Basi, an alien on the terror watchlist. Now, 
``Mr. Basi, despite,'' quote, from the FBI, ``highly derogatory 
information''; this was in the FBI's data base,

        DHS decided to release him into the U.S. because he was 
        overweight and may have been susceptible to the COVID-19.

Are overweight terrorists not a threat to the U.S.?
    Secretary Mayorkas. I'm sorry, Congressman?
    Mr. Moore. Are overweight terrorists--we turned Mr. Basi 
loose because he was overweight was afraid he might get COVID. 
He was on the FBI's list. So, are they a threat, overweight 
terrorists?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, individuals who pose a 
threat to national security or public safety are detained. That 
is the policy--
    Mr. Moore. Unless they are overweight?
    Secretary Mayorkas. --of the Department of Homeland 
Security. That is false.
    Mr. Moore. Well, that is what the report is.
    Secretary Mayorkas. I'm not familiar with that report. I 
look forward to reading it. Congressman, the weight of an 
individual is not relevant to their profile as a threat to the 
United States, to the American--
    Mr. Moore. It is to catching COVID though, apparently.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, allow me to repeat myself. 
Individuals who pose a public safety threat or a national 
security threat are priorities for detention. That is the 
policy of the Department of Homeland Security.
    Mr. Moore. Who is to blame for the flood gates being opened 
on the Southern border, Mr. Mayorkas?
    Secretary Mayorkas. Congressman, I look forward to working 
with you to fix what is clearly a broken immigration system. 
The issue of migration, the increase in migration is not 
exclusive to the United States. During World War II, there were 
60 million displaced people around the world. Now, there are 
over 117--
    Mr. Moore. We just had a report earlier today. Somebody 
said that there is no border anywhere in the globe that is more 
porous, if you will, than the United States border, and more 
unsecure. It is on your watch, sir.
    With that I will yield back, Mr. Chair.
    Chair Jordan. The gentleman yields back.
    Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Just a couple things to remind 
you. I know you have some sharp people there sitting behind you 
who work at the department. There are a number of things we 
want responses to and I have been keeping a list throughout the 
thing, so I just want to reiterate that and then we will 
adjourn the hearing, let you get back to your office.
    We want to know the number of removals, obviously. We have 
asked that several times, so if you could please get us that 
number. We will put this in some kind of written correspondence 
to you, but we just want to emphasize we want that number.
    We want to know the status of the 14,000 smugglers you 
referenced in your opening statement. What has happened? Is DOJ 
prosecuting? Have you referred them? What is the status? Have 
any of those individuals been arrested multiple times?
    We want to know the status of the 140 on the terrorist 
watchlist this year. The 238 total over the last two years, 
what their status is? Specifically, when you said the IG's 
report was wrong and the IG's report said that one of these 
individuals on the terrorist watchlist has been released into 
the country. We want to know specifically how you interpret it 
and why you say the IG is wrong.
    Then we want to know the parole categories that Mr. Bishop 
raised in his questioning, how you can categorize someone and 
then still--categorize a whole group of individuals and then 
say you are still going case by case to meet the law when it 
comes to parole.
    Then, finally, actually two last things: The Mis-, Dis-, 
Malin-
formation Committee within CISA, within DHS, we want to know 
the activities of that group. We will have specific questions 
about that. We want to know who is involved in that group, and 
if it is still meeting and working with social media companies 
in light of the court decision on July 4th from the Western 
District of Louisiana.
    Finally, to the gentleman Mr. Moore's question about the 
tragic situation of the young lady in Alabama. We wrote you 
about that specific situation. Mr. McClintock and I wrote you 
on behalf of this back on May 24th and you have not responded 
to that. So, we would like a response to that previous request 
as well.
    So, I think that is seven things that the Committee, both 
Republicans and Democrats, I believe, would like answers to. We 
will get that to you in some kind of written letter ASAP, but 
now you know and you can begin working on that and get it back 
to us, if you could.
    Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Chair Jordan. You bet. Thank you for being here today.
    Without objection, all Members will have five legislative 
days to submit additional written questions for the witness or 
additional materials for the record.
    Without objection, the hearing is adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 3:09 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]

    All materials submitted for the record by Members of the 
Committee on the Judiciary can be found at: https://
docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=116272.

                          [all]