Members of the House Judiciary Committee repeatedly pressed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for basic data on deportations, Terror Watch List encounters at the southern border, Unaccompanied Alien Children (UACs), and those released into the United States via the administration’s parole pipeline.
Mayorkas could not immediately provide answers on any of the issues.
Terror Watch List Suspects
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), for instance, asked Mayorkas for the whereabouts of the 140 suspects on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s “Terrorist Watch List” who have been apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border this year thus far.
“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?” Issa asked to which Mayorkas responded by stating DHS policy.
“… individuals who present a national security or public safety threat are detained,” Mayorkas began reciting before Issa asked:
For the record, can you please give us the status of those individuals so we know what you did with people who are on the Terrorist Watch List who were apprehended, many got away, but who were apprehended, where they are today so that Congress can know? [Emphasis added]
Unable to provide the data at the hearing, Mayorkas told Issa he would provide the information to the committee in a written response at a later date.
Displeased with Mayorkas’s answer, Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) asked, “The 140 you’ve encountered who are on the Terrorist Watch List, again … what is the status of those 140 individuals?”
“I believe that question has already been posed and I mentioned to the chairman that we will provide that data to you,” Mayorkas said in response to Jordan.
Most recently, DHS Inspector General (IG) Joseph Cuffari detailed how DHS recently released into the U.S. interior an illegal alien on the Terrorist Watch List and even allowed him to board a domestic commercial flight from California to Florida. The illegal alien was not arrested by DHS officials until two weeks after his initial release.
Releases and Deportations
Since Biden took office, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) noted during the hearing, at least two million border crossers and illegal aliens have been released directly into American communities.
When Gaetz asked Mayorkas how many of those released have since been deported, Mayorkas said he did not have that data with him and would provide it at a later date. Jordan, again, followed up and asked Mayorkas for the deportation data.
Eventually, Mayorkas said the number of illegal aliens deported after being released into the U.S. interior under his watch is “more than 1,000” but failed to give an estimate.
“You don’t know now … how many of that two point something million, over two million, how many have went through the adjudication process and actually been removed?” Jordan asked. “You’re telling the Judiciary Committee today, you don’t know what that number is?”
“Mr. Chairman, what I’m sharing with you is that we will provide you with whatever data you request,” Mayorkas responded to which Jordan pressed again, “Can you guess? Can you give an estimate?”
“Mr. Chairman, I will not do so,” Mayorkas said, also failing to give details on the 14,000 human smugglers that have been arrested by DHS since Biden took office and whether they remain incarcerated or prosecuted.
RJ Hauman, the president of the National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE), told Breitbart News that Americans must “realize that there are publicly available numbers that Secretary Mayorkas refused to provide” to the committee, noting the drastic drop in arrests and deportations of illegal aliens in the last year.
“Is there any conclusion that can be drawn by a logical, reasonable person, other than that his real goal is to gut interior immigration enforcement, regardless of the risk to public safety and national security?” Hauman said of Mayorkas:
Hundreds of thousands of criminal aliens continue to roam American communities, a number that grows every day. Enough is enough. The border isn’t secure, laws aren’t being enforced, and he isn’t defending his workforce, he’s undermining them. [Emphasis added]
Parole Pipeline and UACs
Soon after Biden took office, Mayorkas began carrying out an expansive catch and release network that transforms the border into a European-style checkpoint where border crossers and illegal aliens are apprehended, briefly detained, and released.
As part of that network, the administration has deployed a parole pipeline that has seen anywhere from 500,000 to more than a million border crossers and illegal aliens into the U.S. interior.
Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL) asked Mayorkas the whereabouts of those released via this parole pipeline but could not give specifics.
“Secretary Mayorkas, can you tell us as we sit here today, where are the people who have entered this country and have been released under what you refer to as a ‘parole program,’ where are they today?” Lee asked.
“Congresswoman, the individuals who are released because we do not have the detention capacity … let me assure you that individuals who pose a threat,” Mayorkas began responding to which Lee followed up “Do you know where they are, Secretary Mayorkas?”
When Mayorkas failed to give a response to the question, Lee said she would “take it you do not [know where they are].”
Even in terms of the most basic data from DHS, Mayorkas could not provide such information at the hearing. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX), for instance, asked Mayorkas simply for the total number of unidentified alien children (UACs) that have been processed into the country under his watch.
“I’d be very pleased to provide that data to you, congressman,” Mayorkas responded.
The data though is readily accessible from federal agencies and has been cited in a number of congressional hearings in recent months. As of April, since Biden took office, nearly 300,000 UACs have been released into the U.S. interior.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.