WASHINGTON—Heritage Foundation experts released a statement Wednesday in support of Leader Kevin McCarthy’s calling for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to resign for his role in sparking the worst border crisis in American history, or face fresh House investigations that could lead to his impeachment.   

For more: The Next Congress Should Impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas 

Mark Morgan, former acting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commissioner and Heritage visiting fellow:  

“The facts are indisputable. Secretary Mayorkas, as the Biden administration’s chief architect of their open-border policies, took the most secure border in our lifetime and intentionally, unsecured it. In less than two years, there have been more than 4.4 million encounters of illegal and inadmissible aliens and more than 1 million known got-aways crossing our borders. We know fentanyl and other dangerous narcotics are pouring across our borders every single day. We know among the got aways are violent criminal offenders including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and gang members—making their way to every state in our nation. We know potential national security threats are evading apprehension, with the reality being there could already be a sleeper cell in the U.S. planning the next terrorist attack. As a result, Americans and migrants are dying every day under Secretary Mayorkas’ watch. 

 

“Meanwhile, Secretary Mayorkas continues to lie to the American people and lie to Congress while under oath as he opines again and again that the ‘borders are secure.’ He refuses to even acknowledge we have a crisis. If that isn’t enough, he lied to the entire nation about the actions of his own workforce, vilifying mounted Border Patrol agents and crushing their reputations when he knew all along it was a lie. It’s why his own workforce has literally turned their back on him, and the National Border Patrol Council has declared he’s unfit to lead them.”   

 

“Leader McCarthy’s call for Mayorkas to do the right thing and resign, or face the consequences of impeachment, is absolutely the right call. Let’s hope for once he’ll put his ego aside and do what’s best for our country.” 

Tom Homan, former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director and Heritage visiting fellow:  

“I have been involved in border security and national security and enforcing immigration laws for this country for nearly 35 years. I have worked for numerous presidents, DHS secretaries, and several attorneys general who oversaw border security when it was under the Department of Justice. Every one of these cabinet members and presidents supported border security. Every one of them took steps to secure the border. Some did more than others, but they all clearly understood that we could not have strong national security if we didn't have border security.  

 

“Alejandro Mayorkas is the first one in a long line of cabinet officials who came into office and un-secured the border. He and Joe Biden took the most secure border of my lifetime and dismantled it. The results have been nothing short of catastrophic. More than 4 million illegal crossings in two years. Over one million known got-aways. More than 100,000 Americans dying of overdose from drugs that flow across that unsecured border. Over 1,400 migrants have died on U.S. soil since he took charge. More than 115 known or suspected terrorists have been arrested trying to enter this country illegally, five times more than any time in the past. How many terrorists are in that one million got aways? The greatest country in the world has lost operational control of our southern border to the criminal cartels of Mexico.  

 

“The situation at the border is the biggest national security failure since 9/11, and it was not an accident. Mayorkas has set many records and none of them are good. This country is less secure and less safe than before he came into office. That is a stone-cold fact.  

 

“He has failed and needs to be impeached. Not only has he turned his back on his oath of office, he also turned his back on the 20,000 men and women of the Border Patrol who put themselves in harm's way every day to try and keep our nation secure. They deserve better. America deserves better. Its long past due and now is the time for Congress to act. This should not be a partisan issue. The facts are clear. Regardless of party, every senator and congressman can review the facts. Every one of them are accountable to the American people, not the other way around. They also took an oath to defend this country. It's time for them to do their job.”  

Heritage President Kevin Roberts first called for Mayorkas’ ouster in February. Read more here. 

Last month, the Heritage Oversight Project released damning documents that proved Mayorkas knew Border Patrol agents did not whip illegal aliens in Del Rio, Texas. Despite this, Mayorkas proceeded to push the false narrative about these agents later that day from the White House podium, and ultimately punished the agents anyway. The Oversight Project is currently in litigation with DHS on several fronts, seeking documents that will give the American people more answers about the border crisis. 

For more information about Mayorkas’ role in the border crisis, visit www.thebidenbordercrisis.com.