FIRST ON FOX: A massive report released Wednesday by the Republican majority on the House Homeland Security Committee is accusing the Biden-Harris administration of launching an “assault on the rule of law” in its handling of the crisis at the southern border — and warning of consequences for years to come.
“Quite simply, [President] Biden, [Vice President Kamala] Harris, and [Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro] Mayorkas have launched an assault on the rule of law, and in so doing, have undermined the sovereignty, national security, and long-term wellbeing of the country they claim to serve,” the report, “Crisis by Design: A Comprehensive Look at the Biden-Harris Administration’s Unprecedented Border Crisis” says.
“Biden, Harris, and Mayorkas were entrusted with the responsibility to secure the border, enforce the law, and keep Americans safe. They have not only broken that trust, but willfully cast aside their sacred obligation to the American people.”
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The report outlines at length Republican claims that the historic three-year crisis at the southern border and related havoc throughout the country caused by illegal immigration is a direct result of the rolling back of Trump-era policies and the implementation of what Republicans have called open border policies.
It points to more than 11.6 million encounters nationwide by the end of the Biden administration, not including the undetected “gotaways.”
Texas National Guard troops watch over more than 1,000 immigrants who had crossed the Rio Grande overnight from Mexico on Dec. 18, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)
“The flood of inadmissible aliens across America’s sovereign borders has been objectively unprecedented,” they said.
It points to remarks from House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green. “[E]ven if not one more inadmissible alien crossed our borders for the remainder of Biden and Harris’ term, the millions they have already allowed into our country have done damage that will take decades to remedy.”
The report accuses the administration of a “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law,” and alleged a scheme to flood ports of entry with inadmissible foreign nationals by the use of mass parole via the CBP One app at ports of entry and via a separate program to bring in 30,000 nationals from four countries a month.
Among the costs of the border crisis are the importation of fentanyl, additional crime and costs on cities like New York City, Denver and other parts of the country, including in law enforcement, transportation and on social services. It also finds that the crisis has resulted in more power going to criminal cartels and gangs who take control of the border and exploit migrants.
“Multiple factors have enabled the cartels’ unprecedented seizure of control at the Southwest border – and they can all be traced back to the Biden-Harris administration’s open-borders policies,” it says.
The report takes aim at Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who the House impeached earlier this year but whose trial was not taken up by the Senate. In this report, the Republicans criticize not only Mayorkas but also President Biden and Vice President Harris, who it says was an “abject failure” in what it describes as her role as “border czar.” Harris was tasked with tackling root causes of migration in 2021, but the White House has rejected the term border czar.
Migrants walk along the highway through Suchiate, Chiapas state in southern Mexico, Sunday, July 21, 2024 during their journey north toward the U.S. border. (AP Photo/Edgar H. Clemente)
“It is time for the Biden-Harris administration to follow the law and end this crisis—or step aside,” the report says.
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The report comes ahead of a hearing on the matter later on Wednesday morning, and as immigration has become a top issue for voters ahead of November’s election. While Republicans blame the Biden administration for the crisis, the administration and Democrats say it is the fault of Congress for failing to pass broader immigration reforms to fix a “broken” system and provide additional funding.
It has also secured additional funding for technology at ports of entry to better interdict fentanyl, while pointing to successful efforts of aggressive action against smugglers.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS
VideoThe administration has thrown its weight behind a bipartisan Senate bill that would have provided more funding and placed some limits on asylum entries into the U.S. Republicans said the bill would codify high levels of illegal immigration and pointed instead to a border package passed by the House last year.
With that stalling, President Biden signed an order limiting entries into the U.S. in June. The administration says that has caused a sharp drop in encounters at the border since then, with a drop of more than 50%. Officials pointed to CBP data showing that July and August saw the lowest level of encounters since Sept. 2020.
“Encounters in August 2024 were 68% lower than August 2023 and have decreased by more than 50% since President Biden announced the executive actions,”White House Spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández said in a statement this week. “For months, the Biden-Harris Administration worked with a bipartisan group of Senators to craft a historic bipartisan border security agreement that would have added thousands of frontline personnel to the border – but Congressional Republicans voted against that agreement twice -proving that they are more interested in cynically playing politics than securing the border.The Biden-Harris Administration has taken effective action, and Republican officials continue to do nothing.”
Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.
He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter.
