House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) subpoenaed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Thursday for documents related to how the White House is handling the border crisis in Texas.
Jordan subpoenaed Mayorkas to turn over documents on the Biden administration’s response to the surge of illegal immigration in Eagle Pass, Texas, and the DHS’s removal of barriers deployed by Texas governor Greg Abbott (R) to deter illegal migrants from crossing the border.
“The effect of the border crisis has been readily apparent in Eagle Pass, Texas, which serves as a microcosm of the broader border disaster. To that end, we have written to request documents and communications relating to the illegal immigration crisis along the southwest border, including requesting information relating to the mass illegal alien influx event in Eagle Pass, Texas, that occurred in September 2023,” Jordan wrote in a subpoena cover letter.
Abbott has sent the Texas National Guard and ordered concertina wire and fencing to be built along Eagle Pass, a small town close to the Rio Grande. The emergency measures are part of Operation Lone Star, Abbott’s ongoing effort to mitigate the crisis at the southern border.
“While thousands of illegal aliens flooded into Eagle Pass, shutting down lawful commerce across the bridges, the Biden Administration’s DHS cut and removed concertina wire and fencing installed as a deterrent by the state of Texas, helping the aliens cross illegally,” Jordan added.
“Indeed, the events in Eagle Pass illustrate the broader effects of the Biden Administration’s open-borders policies: benefits for illegal aliens and harm and endangerment for American communities. Moreover, the Department’s failure to produce materials requested in the course of the Committee’s oversight is wholly unacceptable and impedes the Committee’s ability to fulfill its constitutional obligations.”
Last month, the Supreme Court granted DHS agents permission to cut the concertina wire by vacating an injunction from the Fifth Circuit resulting from a lawsuit by Texas attorney general Ken Paxton (R) against the Biden administration. Abbott and a group of Republican governors responded with defiance and pledged to continue sending resources to the southern border.
A federal judge Thursday blocked a new Texas law granting the state permission to arrest and deport illegal immigrants days before it was set to take effect. Abbott said he would immediately appeal the judge’s decision.