McCaul Highlights the Financial Costs of Mayorkas' Open Border
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) — chairman emeritus of the House Committee on Homeland Security — provided remarks at the committee’s hearing titled “The Financial Costs of Mayorkas’ Open Border.” McCaul questioned both Joseph C. Borelli, a member of the New York City Council, and Jonathan W. Lines, a county supervisor in Yuma, Arizona.
Watch Rep. McCaul's exchange with the witnesses
Full exchange below:
McCaul: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’ve been in this game for a while. I was a federal prosecutor and U.S. attorney in Texas prior to Congress, and we had this problem. [I've spent] 20 years in Congress and chaired this committee.
We finally had it under control. This is the thing that gets me the most, is that we finally had an administration that dealt with the magnet that pulls in the people that the drug cartels manipulated, and that is political asylum. So, how did that work?
My first bill in Congress was to end catch-and-release. And we pretty much ended it. And you know how we did it? We didn’t allow them to enter the United States. They had to remain in Mexico, pending the adjudication of their claim. And it worked.
And the cartels are smart; they get our laws. But on day one, when this president rescinded that policy, I asked [Raul] Ortiz, the Border Patrol Chief, "Was there direct cause and effect between that change in policy and what you’re now seeing?"
Now we’re up to 5.8 million encounters in just two and a half years. What are we going to do with 5.8 million people that have no legal status in this country? That are going into criminal enterprises? The biggest human trafficking event in my lifetime, sex trafficking, the girls are going to sex trafficking, the boys are going to MS-13. The healthcare costs in my state alone, in Texas, [have] skyrocketed.
And now, sir, it’s hitting your state: New York. Not to mention, you mentioned these assassinations, the deaths, the fentanyls, 100,000 people dead, the young generation. That’s more than Vietnam over two decades.
For God’s Sakes, I believe in accountability. And this administration is aiding and abetting, and they’re complicit with this criminal activity, this criminal enterprise.
So first, Mr. Borelli, I want to ask you this question. You're a councilman. You know, ... 18 U.S.C. § 2(a) states “Whoever commits an offense against the United States or aides, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures its commission is punishable as a principal."
Do you believe that Secretary Mayorkas has been aiding and abetting the entry of aliens who have no legal basis to be present in the United States?
Borelli: Somebody certainly is. They’re coming on buses provided by some NGOs or government entities. So, there’s certainly someone aiding these folks in coming to New York.
McCaul: Well, do you believe this administration is aiding and abetting?
Borelli: Sure, and I think to your point earlier about the big picture, this administration ran on changing border policy. They came in February, say roughly 2021, they made changes, and now almost two years later, we can unequivocally say things have gotten absolutely worse, not just for New York, but it sounds like for a lot of the rest of the country.
McCaul: And my state’s borne the brunt of it.. You have children — women and children — arriving in your state. The sex trafficking, the forced labor camps, the gangs like MS-13. Again, do you think this administration has been aiding and abetting that criminal conduct?
Borelli: Yeah, I do. I know of one migrant shelter facility in Brooklyn that has reached out to me for assistance in getting new security measures at their migrant shelter — specifically, facial recognition technology to keep people who are affiliated with gangs out of the shelter.
McCaul: And Mr. Lines, I know your county has, just like in my state, ranchers tell me "they’re ripping my property. I wake up in the morning to get a cup of coffee, and there are dead bodies on my property. They trash my property ... And they’re completely disrespecting property."
Do you believe this administration is aiding and abetting?
Lines: Yes sir, I do.
McCaul: And what I think is worse, you mentioned 350 assassinations in Yuma County.
Lines: Across the border. Directly across the border. And within one mile of the border in Arizona.
McCaul: Could you elaborate on that, and the same question: Do you believe this administration has been aiding and abetting that criminal conduct?
Lines: We have three cartels that are vying for control of trafficking — both human trafficking and trafficking of narcotics and illicit goods that are coming across the border. And we’ve seen a significant rise in that crime, where they’ve targeted elected officials and law enforcement in those areas to take them out, so that they can maintain control.
Border patrol has engaged with some of those people directly on the border. Last Christmas, they dispatched one individual who was attempting to kidnap one young woman directly off of the border and take her back to Mexico. And the mayor of San Luis recently announced that he had liberated several groups of people who were being held by the cartel, until their families in 30 different countries sent more money to them so they could cross the border.
McCaul: And who enabled the cartels to do this?
Lines: Well, I would suppose that if we’re not engaging in an active basis, that it has to be this administration.
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