A mother whose daughter died at the hands of an illegal immigrant and another whose daughter died of a fentanyl overdose laid blame at the feet of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, telling Congress on Thursday that his policies opened the border and unleashed death.
Choking back tears, Josephine Dunn said her daughter Ashley would have been celebrating her 29th birthday Thursday. Instead, she died in 2021.
“Under Secretary Mayorkas’ leadership — or lack thereof — fentanyl is an invasion. The weapon of mass destruction has caused unimaginable numbers of deaths, unmeasurable damage to our country’s families, including our own,” Ms. Dunn said.
She condemned Mr. Mayorkas for declining to appear to testify at the House Homeland Security Committee’s hearing, saying he “couldn’t even be here to face me today. Whatever he’s doing that is more important than facing me today, I don’t know what that could be.”
She was testifying as part of impeachment proceedings against Mr. Mayorkas.
Also appearing was Tammy Nobles, mother of Kayla Hamilton, who was slain in Maryland in 2022 by a man investigators say came to the U.S. as an illegal immigrant juvenile and was caught and released despite having MS-13 ties in El Salvador.
Ms. Nobles asked the committee to put themselves in her daughter’s position as she was being strangled with a phone charging cord by a man who ended up stealing $6 from her. She said her daughter managed to call her boyfriend during the attack, but the call went to voicemail.
Mr. Mayorkas and Rep. Mark Green, chairman of the committee and the man leading the impeachment effort, have been sparring over the secretary’s testimony.
The Tennessee Republican said he’s repeatedly implored Mr. Mayorkas to testify specifically about the border chaos, with his most recent invitation to appear for Thursday’s hearing.
Mr. Mayorkas declined, saying he had other critical business such as negotiations with Mexico, though Homeland Security officials say he does want to testify and they are searching for the right date.
Democrats say the impeachment proceeding is a political attack based on policy differences, not on crimes worthy of impeachment under the Constitution.
They also accused Mr. Green of denying Mr. Mayorkas the chance to have his own lawyer present and able to participate in the impeachment proceedings.
Republicans say the secretary has earned impeachment by lying to Congress and the public, failing to carry out the laws on immigration enforcement, flouting court rulings and being incompetent at securing the border.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.