Senate Judiciary Republicans accused Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday of having lost control of the southwest border and suggested he apologize to families who lost loved ones to fentanyl poisoning.
During the DHS chief’s first appearance before Congress this session, the senators, in a contentious hearing, drilled into Mayorkas over his handling of migration at the U.S.-Mexico border, which reached record levels last year.
Several pressed Mayorkas to answer whether he believes his department has “operational control” over the southwest border, which is defined by a 2006 law as “the prevention of all unlawful entries into the United States.”
