Jordan subpoenas Mayorkas for documents on Texas migrant surge, razor wire cutting

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FIRST ON FOX: House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan is subpoenaing Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for documents related to DHS’ actions in response to an overwhelming surge of migrants into Eagle Pass, Texas, in September — accusing the agency of failing to produce documents and impeding the committee's work.

Republicans on the Committee had requested documents on multiple occasions related to the Sept. 20 surge of mostly Venezuelan nationals into Eagle Pass, which led to the closings of two bridges as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) struggled to cope.

The lawmakers have been critical of the way the crisis has been handled by the administration.

TOP HOUSE COMMITTEE RENEWS DEMAND FOR DOCS FROM DHS ON TEXAS BORDER WIRE CUTTING

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan holds a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 20, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

"While thousands of illegal aliens flooded into Eagle Pass, shutting down lawful commerce across the bridges, the Biden Administration’s DHS cut and removed concertina wire and fencing installed as a deterrent by the state of Texas, helping the aliens cross illegally," Jordan said.

In his cover letter to the subpoena, Jordan said that after multiple attempts to get the documents, DHS offered an in-person briefing, but later said that a briefing in Eagle Pass to a congressional delegation of over 60 lawmakers the same week had provided the lawmakers with the latest operational updates. It also cited additional briefings, including biweekly Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) briefings.

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The committee, however, said that it "does not consider the unrelated briefings DHS cites responsive to its needs." Jordan also dismissed claims that some aspects were not provided due to ongoing legal action with Texas.

"Finally, DHS has also asserted that the Committee’s requests are ‘extremely broad and vague,’" Jordan wrote. "The Committee has in good faith attempted to work with DHS to scope and prioritize its requests. However, the reality is, in the more than three months since the Committee’s initial request, DHS has produced nothing at all in response to the Committee’s November 6 and December 8 letters, and it was only months after the letters were sent that DHS even attempted to engage on the substance of such requests." 

Jordan wrote that the suspension of trade and travel at that time "is yet another example of the Biden Administration’s prioritization of illegal aliens to the detriment of Americans."

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U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks to the media about an overview of public safety plans for Super Bowl week at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on Feb. 7, 2024 in Las Vegas. (Candice Ward/Getty Images)

"Indeed, the events in Eagle Pass illustrate the broader effects of the Biden Administration’s open-borders policies: benefits for illegal aliens and harm and endangerment for American communities" he said. "Moreover, the Department’s failure to produce materials requested in the course of the Committee’s oversight is wholly unacceptable and impedes the Committee’s ability to fulfill its constitutional obligations."

The subpoena requests documents by March 19 related to the transport of illegal immigrants into the U.S., the closing of the bridges, policy decisions, the cutting of razor wire, related intelligence and the numbers and percentages of migrants being encountered at the border. 

A DHS official told Fox News Digital that information, including on the concertina wire and a related parole program, is subject to litigation and therefore cannot be provided, but that it has provided documents not subject to those limits. The official also cited moves it had made to be responsive, including briefings on Eagle Pass, the congressional delegation and production of materials and data — including data at the sector level. The official also said that DHS, more broadly, has provided over 75 witnesses in more than 50 hearings, 20 personnel participating in transcribed interviews, and more than 20,000 pages of documents in response to lawmakers' letters.

"Consistent with longstanding precedent, and as the Committee is well aware, the Department cannot provide material that is subject to ongoing litigation," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. "This subpoena is a ploy for media attention. DHS has provided information to the Committee and made clear that additional materials will be provided as they become available."

"DHS will continue cooperating with Congressional oversight requests, all while faithfully working to protect our nation from terrorism and targeted violence, secure our borders, respond to natural disasters, defend against cyberattacks, and more."

The subpoena comes just hours before President Biden, along with Secretary Mayorkas will visit the border in Brownsville, Texas. Biden is expected to renew his calls for Republicans to pass a bipartisan Senate border bill.

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"During his trip, the President will receive a briefing on border security operations and an operational briefing from CBP, ICE, and USCIS. Afterwards, the President will deliver remarks to emphasize the need for Congressional Republicans to stop putting politics ahead of our border security and pass the bipartisan border security agreement," a White House official said.