In a recent hearing held by the House Committee on Homeland Security, Chairman Mark E. Green sharply criticized the Biden-Harris administration for its handling of the border crisis, describing it as “catastrophic” and asserting that “the damage will never be undone.” The hearing aimed to scrutinize the administration’s border policies and their impact on national security, public safety, and immigration enforcement.
Chairman Green’s opening statement outlined the scale of the crisis, highlighting that since President Biden and Vice President Harris took office, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has recorded over 10.3 million encounters with inadmissible aliens, a stark increase compared to the 3.1 million recorded during the previous administration’s term. Additionally, there have been over two million “gotaways,” individuals who entered the U.S. illegally and remain at large with unknown backgrounds.
The report underscores a significant surge in encounters at ports of entry, which have more than doubled from approximately one million between Fiscal Years 2017-2020 to over three million since the start of Fiscal Year 2021. This increase, Green argues, is a direct result of the Biden-Harris administration’s implementation of “unlawful, mass-parole programs” that effectively relocate the problem rather than addressing it. He likens the situation to “a parent telling their children to clean their room, only to find the mess simply moved from the floor to the closet.”
Chairman Green emphasized the dire consequences of these policies, including a dramatic rise in fentanyl-related deaths, with over 200,000 Americans having died from fentanyl smuggled across the border by criminal cartels. He also noted a significant increase in Border Patrol arrests of illegal aliens with criminal backgrounds, which have more than doubled under the current administration, and a troubling rise in apprehensions of Chinese nationals illegally crossing the border.
Criticizing the Biden-Harris administration’s rhetoric, Green pointed out that both President Biden and Vice President Harris had previously supported decriminalizing border crossings and criticized border wall construction. The administration’s subsequent actions, including ending effective border-security policies and dismantling immigration enforcement measures, have contributed to the current crisis. For instance, detention rates for illegal aliens have plummeted from 82 percent in Fiscal Year 2013 to just 10 percent in Biden’s first year, and removals of criminal aliens have similarly decreased.
Green criticized recent legislative efforts, such as the Senate’s border bill, which he argues would exacerbate the crisis by allowing mass releases and expanding parole use. He also mentioned the administration’s response to the crisis, including recent executive orders and stepped-up enforcement by Mexico, which he views as insufficient and belated.
In conclusion, Green condemned the Biden-Harris administration for failing to adequately address the crisis, calling their actions “much too little, and FAR too late.” He emphasized the ongoing suffering of American families and communities, urging the administration to take meaningful action to secure the borders and end the crisis. The Committee plans to release a comprehensive report detailing these issues further, which Green encourages the public to read for a deeper understanding of the crisis’s impact and the administration’s failures.