Media

Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman Jim Baird (IN-04) issued the following statement supporting the Committee on Homeland Security’s decision to release articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

“Secretary Mayorkas has completely failed in his duty to secure the homeland and protect American lives,” said Rep. Baird. “He has intentionally left our southern border open as drugs, crime, and human trafficking ravage American communities. We do not need more Congressional action to secure our southern border. We only need Alejandro Mayorkas to do his job and enforce existing laws. There must be consequences for this unacceptable and willful dereliction of duty. I fully support the Committee on Homeland Security’s decision and look forward to holding Secretary Mayorkas accountable for his intentional lack of action.”

Border Security by the Numbers:

• According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), there have been 6.7 million encounters at the southern border since Biden took office, in addition to 1.7 million known gotaways.

• In FY2023, 169 individuals whose names appear on the terrorist watchlist were stopped trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. 18 were apprehended in September alone.

• In FY2023, CBP arrested 35,433 migrants with criminal convictions or outstanding warrants, including 598 known gang members, 178 of those being MS-13 members.

• In FY2023, CBP seized 27,293 pounds of fentanyl at the southern border – enough to kill more than 6 billion people.

• Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans 18-49.