© Associated PressSpeaker Mike Johnson visiting the Texas border, January 3, 2024
Speaker Mike Johnson called the border an 'unmitigated disaster' and blamed President Biden for pushing the crisis to 'breaking point' during a visit to a migrant crossing hotspot in Texas on Wednesday. His trip to Eagle Pass comes days after it was revealed over 302,000 people crossed the border illegally in December, the highest total for a month in history.
'The situation here and across the country is truly unconscionable. We would describe it as both heartbreaking and infuriating,' the speaker said during a press conference with 64 House Republicans.
A group of migrant kids from Venezuela were seen in the river screaming 'help me!' in front of Johnson while he toured the site and delivered remarks.
The speaker went on to say officials have 'no idea how many terrorists have come into the country' and set up cells across the nation.
Johnson also scorched the Biden administration for attacking GOP Gov. Abbott's 'dead level best' efforts to secure the Texas-Mexico border - including by bussing migrants out of state to Democrat-run cities and for installing a razor-wire barrier.
'Madness is the only word we can think of to describe this,' he said about the White House's ongoing effort - recently appealed to the Supreme Court - to block border agents from installing the wire fence.
The group, hosted by GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales who represents the area, heard from Border Patrol, Texas Department of Public Safety, sheriffs and toured the region. It's the first large-scale congressional delegation to the border in history led by the new speaker.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said earlier Wednesday that Texas is to blame for the southern border crisis as he based Gov. Greg Abbott for not 'coordinating' with other governors and state leaders.
Johnson also hit Democrats in the Senate for not taking up the House-passed H.R. 2 a hardline immigration bill that would among other things, force the Biden administration to resume border wall construction.
© U.S. customs and Border Protection/Daily Mail
We know what works and it's not 'rocket science,' the speaker insisted.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green called Mayorkas the 'greatest threat to the national security and domestic safety of the American people' during the press conference.
'He has broken his oath to defend this country,' he continued.
Republicans under Green's leadership are moving forward with formally impeaching Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas next week, DailyMail.com confirmed earlier Wednesday.
The House Homeland Security Committee is expected to hold its first impeachment hearing for Mayorkas on Jan. 10.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., posted photos of discarded passports in Eagle Pass from China, Ukraine and other countries.
'Biden & Mayorkas say the border is secure. What do you think?' he added.
The DHS secretary told MSNBC this morning that he would 'most certainly' comply with the committee's impeachment investigation.
But he said he's currently focused on finding 'solution to problems,' including by working with senators to come to a bipartisan solution on border security measures.
Johnson also detailed the two top priorities for House Republicans as they are set to return to D.C. next week.
© Anadolu/Getty ImagesTexas National Guard hold migrants crossing the Rio Grande River to seek humanitarian asylum before crossing the United States border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on January 2, 2024
The House is facing a quickly-approaching deadline of January 19 to come to an agreement on a topline spending number and on border security before some government funding runs out.
Congress and President Joe Biden also remain locked in a stalemate over funding for the Ukraine.
The speaker was also asked about the 2024 election, to which he responded optimistically: 'I think we're gonna have a Republican president. I think we're going to win the Senate and we're going to expand the majority in the House.'
Republicans have seized upon border security issues as a main 2024 election issue, which has become a political headache for President Joe Biden.
'We gotta do something, they gotta give me the money I need to protect the border,' Biden said upon returning to Washington, D.C., from his Caribbean vacation Tuesday evening.
December's staggering figures also marks the first time migrant encounters have reached over 300,000. In 2020 there were only 400,000 crossings for the whole year.
The Wednesday trip comes the week before Congress is scheduled to return and face not only a multitude of spending deadlines but also to hash out a deal to tighten border security and offer foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel.
'This situation requires significant policy changes and House Republicans will continue advocating for real solutions that actually secure our border,' Johnson said.
With the trip, House Republicans are placing the border issue front and center for the start of the new year.
Speaker Johnson wrote on X the Biden administration 'decided to divert the flood of illegal immigrants to another location in order to keep them out of the camera shots' ahead of their visit.
'Don't be fooled, they are still being released into our country,' he continued showing two side-by-side pictures of the Eagle Pass area.
In Eagle Pass the local fire department is under water financially as it is forced to spend an jaw-dropping $21,000 per day on migrant-related emergencies, according to Eagle Pass Fire Chief Manuel Mello.
'There's not a day where we don't go to the river's edge to transport patients, and the city swallows the cost,' Mello told Fox News. The department has spent $2.2 million answering to migrant-related calls since mid-September. It only had a $6.3 million budget in fiscal year 2023.
Gonzales has said the federal government has not reimbursed Eagle Pass for the costs of the migration surge.
The migrant onslaught forced the city to shutter rail crossings in December so Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) personnel could be redirected 'to assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody.'
In December Johnson sent a letter urging President Biden to use executive powers to immediately stem the flow of migration.
The speaker directed the president to end 'catch-and-release,' turning away any migrants encountered between ports of entry and use parole only on a 'case-by-case basis.'
He also called on the president to reinstated Trump-era policies like building the wall, reinstating the Remain in Mexico program and expanding expedited removal for those who cannot demonstrate asylum eligibility.
Johnson even urged Biden to suspend all immigration - using his authority under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The provision allows the president to suspend the entry of any foreign citizens for an unspecified amount of time if allowing them in is deemed 'detrimental' to US interests.
Late last month Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to discuss the migration crisis.
And before Christmas the Democratic-led Senate jetted out of town without hammering the details of the sprawling immigration and foreign aid package.
Biden has asked Congress for $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, but Republicans are refusing to approve the assistance without an agreement with Democrats to tighten security along the U.S.-Mexico border. His request also includes $14 billion for Israel as it fights Hamas and $14 billion for U.S. border security.
Biden and his Democrats have begun to offer major concessions on border security to try and get a deal in place, including raising the standards for asylum-seekers and expanding the president's power to quickly remove migrants who cross the border.
But no deal has been made yet.
Thousands more were set to arrive in the coming days in the form of a massive migrant caravan making its way through Mexico to the southern border. Video and photos show the massive march with families carrying large crosses and their possessions as the trek to the U.S.
Last month Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill making it a criminal offense to enter the state illegally, a move which further allows local law enforcement authorities to detain and deport migrants who cross into Texas.
Local authorities have already been arresting migrants on state misdemeanor charges under Abbott's immigration program Operation Lone Star. The new law is scheduled to go into effect in March.
Abbott has previously ordered a 1,000 foot floating barrier to be installed in Eagle Pass and the placement of razor wire near the Rio Grande to stop migrants from entering once they cross the river, both moves that were blocked in court.
On Tuesday the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene on its behalf after an appeals court blocked it from removing the razor wire while the lower court battle over the wire fence plays out.
Abbott has also bused thousands of migrants to liberal-run cities like New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles.
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