Washington, D.C. — This week, U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL-01) sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas demanding an explanation for the meteoric increase of unauthorized persons entering U.S. soil, as well as the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) plan to identify and deport those individuals here illegally. Rep. Gaetz’s letter specifically calls for DHS to repair the existing portions of the southern border wall as the structure is under taxpayer-funded warranty.
The full letter to Secretary Mayorkas can be found HERE and below:
LETTER TEXT
The Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas
Secretary of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
300 7th St SW
Washington, DC 20024
Dear Secretary Mayorkas,
The situation at our southern border is untenable. Securing borders and deciding who may be permitted lawful entry is the prime directive of any sovereign nation. Watching hordes of illegal migrants from all over the world flood into our country, without any vetting whatsoever, shocks the conscience of the American people. It is an attack on our sovereignty, and nothing less than a conscious decision to rewrite the rules of civilization, dissolve our borders, undermine our nation state, and displace our people.
The increasing need that our existing immigration laws are faithfully executed remains because of this Administration’s conscious decision to open the floodgates of mass migration. Currently, the wall on our southern border is a fundamental mechanism to mitigate the many negative externalities affecting the United States. Much of the wall along the southern border needs repairs covered under the wall’s warranty, which the American people have already paid for. Failing to repair the wall under its warranty is actively costing the taxpayers more dollars. You must use the warranty to repair and upkeep the existing wall.
It is well documented that illegal immigrants are showing up at our southern border and fraudulently claiming asylum to be granted entry. Since President Biden took office, 544,241 aliens who were in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection have been released into the interior. These aliens are being bussed and flown all over the country. Under your leadership deportations have come to a halt. ICE is currently removing aliens at a rate of 4,300 per month. It would take 14.5 years to deport just the aliens DHS has released under the Biden Administration, when we have near 1.9 million aliens eligible for deportation currently.
In light of these concerning facts, please answer the following questions:
• What are you doing to increase the rate of deportations? Is there a plan to remove unauthorized migrants from the interior? If so, what is the plan?
• Where is the government sending these unauthorized migrants? Who is deciding where to send them? How is the Administration keeping track of migrants being moved within the interior?
I look forward to your responses to these questions when you testify before the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Sincerely,
Matt Gaetz
Member of Congress
All official press releases from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL)
