The Department of Homeland Security questioned the House Homeland Security Committee's latest call for DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to testify before Congress for a seventh time this year as the panel wraps up a monthslong investigation into the Cabinet official.

Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) sent Mayorkas a letter Wednesday, summoning him to appear on Capitol Hill in October for a hearing on border security "with an emphasis on examining the actions and policies implemented since January 2021 and their impacts on the border and throughout the interior of the country."

BIDEN TO TRAVEL TO MAUI TO MEET WITH FIRST RESPONDERS AND SURVIVORS OF WILDFIRES

"The Committee on Homeland Security ... prioritized and will continue oversight of the Department and the enforcement policies responsible for an unprecedented border security crisis," Green wrote in the letter that the committee shared with the Washington Examiner on Thursday. "As the Department’s Secretary, your testimony will significantly benefit the Committee’s oversight and provide the American public improved transparency and accountability. Therefore, the Committee invites you to testify at an agreeable date and time during the week of October 23, 2023."

The DHS did not comment on whether Mayorkas will attend the hearing but said it would respond through congressional channels and questioned why lawmakers required another appearance after having called Mayorkas to testify six times in the past six months.

The committee hosted Mayorkas on April 19. Mayorkas appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 28, the House Appropriations Committee on March 29, the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 29, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on April 18, and the House Judiciary Committee on July 26.

“While the House Majority has wasted months trying to score points with baseless attacks, Secretary Mayorkas has been doing his job and working to keep Americans safe. Under his leadership, the Department of Homeland Security is reducing illegal immigration, seizing unprecedented amounts of fentanyl, countering threats from the Chinese government, helping communities recover from natural disasters, and working to protect our nation from cyberattacks, terrorism, and targeted violence," a DHS official authorized to speak with the press wrote in an email.

"The Department has and will continue to accommodate and respond to oversight requests in good faith. We have made an enormous number of personnel, documents, and briefings available to Congress in just the past few months," the official said.

Since January, the DHS has provided nearly 50 witnesses and 8,000 pages of documents for more than 30 hearings in the House and Senate, the DHS official said as an example of its cooperation with Congress. It has also responded to more than 1,400 congressional letters since Jan. 20, 2021.

House Republicans launched an investigation in June to determine whether Mayorkas neglected to carry out his duties amid the country's border crisis, in which 7 million noncitizens have attempted to enter the country unlawfully. Findings from the committee's investigation could be grounds for opening an impeachment inquiry, nearly three years into Mayorkas's tenure.

Green alleged that the crisis was a direct result of the Biden administration removing "89 [immigration and border] policies from two previous administrations."

"The cause is simple: Migrants tested the system. They called home, and millions came because of the secretary's catch-and-release policy, no detention, immediate parole," Green said in June. "And the drug cartels seized on the opportunity. They profit from using people, people who've paid them to overwhelm the Border Patrol, to sneak fentanyl into our country."

The committee released a 55-page report at the start of the investigation, titled "Causes, Costs, and Consequences: Why Secretary Mayorkas must be investigated for his border crisis." It outlined seven DHS actions that the committee believed have harmed the United States, including how the Biden administration stopped border wall construction, rescinded "Remain in Mexico" asylum protocols, and ceased asylum cooperative agreements with Central American countries.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The report also stated that Mayorkas, upon being confirmed by the Senate in early 2021, took actions to reverse Trump-era programs. Mayorkas allowed the large-scale use of "catch and release," attempted to restrict which illegal immigrants could be arrested, and flew illegal immigrants across the country, according to the report.

"Instead of continuing their reckless attacks, Congress should work with us to keep our country safe, build on the progress DHS is making, and deliver desperately needed reforms for our broken immigration system that only legislation can fix," the DHS official said in the Thursday statement.