House Oversight Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, has once again issued a subpoena to Alejandro Mayorkas, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. This latest subpoena requests records from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It is worth noting that this is the third subpoena that Jordan has sent to the DHS chief in recent months. In December, he subpoenaed documents pertaining to “violent” illegal aliens, and in February, he demanded information regarding border security in Texas. Additionally, Jordan has been actively seeking information on the illegal immigrant who is suspected of the tragic killing of University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.
“As a part of its oversight efforts, we conducted transcribed interviews with several Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. During these transcribed interviews, the ICE witnesses were unable to answer certain questions about data, documents, and communications related to the Biden Administration’s immigration policies,” Jordan wrote in a cover letter accompanying his latest subpoena.
“On November 2, 2023, the Committee requested that the Department provide the information that the ICE witnesses could not provide during their transcribed interviews. To date, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has failed to fully comply with our requests,” the GOP lawmaker added.
Jordan mentioned that the committee staff had made several efforts to ask about the progress of the requested information after DHS missed the deadline. The agency’s staff initially gave “only a partial response” twice, and later sent links to public data and information that did not meet the panel’s needs, the chairman elaborated.
“Although we appreciate that DHS has provided some limited data, your failure to produce all the requested documents and information prevents the Committee from fulfilling its constitutional oversight obligations,” Jordan wrote. The chairman highlighted that the Oversight Committee holds authority over federal immigration law and proposed that the requested information could potentially impact legislative actions.
These potential actions might include “reforming Alternatives to Detention, increasing penalties for aliens who abscond from ICE, and enhancing ICE’s tracking, detention, and communications standards for aliens on the terrorist watchlist.”
Federal officials who spoke with the Washington Examiner following the House’s impeachment of Mayorkas on Feb. 13 have described the situation as extremely challenging since his confirmation by the Democrat-controlled Senate in February 2021. Additionally, there are concerns among some officials that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) may seek to dismiss the two articles before a trial commences.
“I want to see our government take action!!” a California-based agent wrote in a text message to the outlet when asked about the impeachment. “It took them long enough.”
It is time for the committee to start getting tough and holding their feet to the fire! By not providing the required information, they are making a mockery of accountability!
Wait! I thought ignoring a subpoena from Congress is a CRIME! People have been jailed for this. Just not Democrats.