Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will be speaking in Tucson, Arizona, on Thursday as he makes his first visit to the southern border since he became the speaker of the House earlier this year.

The California Republican is leading a congressional delegation to the border as Republicans continue to criticize President Joe Biden's handling of the crisis there. McCarthy's visit also comes as Republicans call for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The Department of Homeland Security has retained a private law firm after articles of impeachment were filed by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) earlier this month.

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Four GOP freshman lawmakers are accompanying McCarthy on his visit: Reps. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), Jen Kiggans (R-VA), and Derrick Van Orden (R-WI). The trip is expected to include a briefing from Border Patrol and an aerial tour.

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In 2022, Border Patrol agents had over 2.2 million encounters with immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Another 599,000 immigrants evaded agents entirely, according to a memo put out by the House Oversight Committee ahead of its first hearing on the border crisis. Two Border Patrol agents testified in front of the committee on Feb. 7 about the rise in fentanyl seizures and the record number of illegal crossings at the southern border.

McCarthy is scheduled to speak at 4:50 p.m. EST.