Kiggans Votes to Hold Mayorkas Accountable for Catastrophe at Southern Border

WASHINGTON, DC: Today, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02) released the following statement after voting in favor of H.Res. 863, which impeaches United States Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. You can read the full articles of impeachment here. The House Committee on Homeland Security approved these articles following a nearly year-long investigation into the causes, costs, and consequences of the unprecedented crisis at America’s borders. Throughout the process, Secretary Mayorkas refused to cooperate with requests to appear before the Committee to provide testimony.

“Today, I voted to impeach the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, for his willful refusal to comply with the law and his breach of public trust,” said Congresswoman Kiggans. “Securing our country’s borders is a basic responsibility of the federal government, and the American people have a right to expect that responsibility to be fulfilled. Secretary Mayorkas has allowed the self-inflicted crisis at our southern border to spiral out of control by refusing to enforce the laws we have on the books and repeatedly lying to Congress about how this refusal has led to unprecedented levels of illegal immigration, worsened the fentanyl crisis, enriched violent cartels, and caused debilitating human and financial costs.”

“I take no pleasure in this vote; however, Secretary Mayorkas’ actions required Congress to act,” continued Congresswoman Kiggans. “The status quo is unacceptable.”

BACKGROUND

Under Secretary Mayorkas and the Biden Administration, illegal immigration has exploded. December of 2023 saw Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) report a record 302,034 encounters during what is typically considered to be an “off month” for migration. During fiscal year 2023 (FY23), CBP reported 2,475,669 migrant encounters at the United States’ southern border.

During FY23, CBP also caught a record 169 people on the terrorist watchlist trying to enter the United States at our southern border; during FY20, the agency caught three.

CBP also seized more than 27,000 pounds of fentanyl at the southern border during FY23. That number is up 860% from FY2019 and enough fentanyl to kill the entire population of the United States more than 18 times over. Every day, roughly 300 Americans are dying from fentanyl-related overdoses. 

In February of 2023, Congresswoman Kiggans visited the Tucson Sector of the southern border to learn firsthand about the challenges they are facing due to the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis. Several months later, she supported H.R. 2, the Border Reinforcement Act of 2023.

###

Recent Posts


Sep 12, 2024
Press

Kiggans Supports Bipartisan Bill to Address Childcare Workforce Shortage

WASHINGTON, DC: Today, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02) announced her cosponsorship of H.R. 7355, the Early Childhood Workforce Advancement Act. This bipartisan legislation aims to address the ongoing workforce shortage that has contributed to the skyrocketing cost of childcare services. Specifically, the bill would invest in career and technical education (CTE) programs and incentivize more students to enter the early childhood workforce upon graduation. […]



Sep 10, 2024
Press

Kiggans Visits Achievable Dream Academy, Presents $1.9M in Federal Funding to Support Students

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: Last week, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02) visited An Achievable Dream Academy at Seatack Elementary School to present $1,961,000 in federal dollars she secured for the program in the Fiscal Year 2024 government funding bills. This funding will ensure An Achievable Dream, a K-12 program that provides high-quality, cost-effective education services to high-risk youth and […]



Sep 5, 2024
Press

Kiggans Announces $2.4M Federal Grant to Support Alzheimer’s and Dementia Patients

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: Today, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02) announced a $2,498,470 grant awarded to Nasoni, LLC by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The grant, which will be awarded over a two-year period in increments of $1,249,235, will go towards advancing Nasoni’s cutting edge research to support Azheimer’s and dementia patients. Specifically, […]