House of Representatives top committee rips Biden-Harris administration to shreds over border crisis in new report: ‘Assault on the rule of law’

FIRST ON FOX: A sweeping report released Wednesday by the Republican majority on the House Homeland Security Committee accuses the Biden-Harris administration of waging an “assault on the rule of law” in its handling of the crisis at the southern border and warns of ramifications that will last for years.

“Simply put, (President) Biden, (Vice President Kamala) Harris, and (Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro) Mayorkas have launched an assault on the rule of law, undermining the sovereignty, national security, and long-term well-being of the country they claim to serve,” said the report, “Crisis by Design: A Comprehensive Look at the Biden-Harris Administration’s Unprecedented Border Crisis.”

“Biden, Harris and Mayorkas were given the responsibility to secure the border, enforce the law and keep Americans safe. They not only betrayed that trust, they willfully abandoned their sacred duty to the American people.”

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The report takes a long look at Republicans’ claims that the historic three-year crisis at the southern border and the related chaos across the country due to illegal immigration are a direct result of the rollback of Trump-era policies and the implementation of what Republicans call an open-border policy.

It suggests that by the end of the Biden administration, more than 11.6 million encounters had taken place nationwide, not counting undetected “walk-aways.”

Texas National Guard troops monitor more than 1,000 immigrants crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico at Eagle Pass, Texas, on December 18, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)

“The influx of inadmissible aliens across America’s sovereign borders is objectively unprecedented,” the researchers said.

It refers to comments by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green. “(Even) if not a single inadmissible alien crosses our borders for the remainder of Biden and Harris’s term, the millions they have already allowed into our country have done damage that will take decades to repair.”

The report accuses the government of a “willful and systematic failure to abide by the law” and details a plan to flood border crossings with inadmissible aliens through mass releases via the CBP One app at border crossings and a separate program to bring in 30,000 citizens from four countries each month.

The costs of the border crisis include the importation of fentanyl, additional crime, and costs to cities like New York City, Denver, and other parts of the country, including law enforcement, transportation, and social services. It also appears that the crisis has given greater power to criminal cartels and gangs that are seizing control of the border and exploiting migrants.

“Multiple factors enabled the cartels’ unprecedented rise to power along the southwest border, all of which can be traced to the Biden-Harris administration’s open borders policy,” the report said.

The report focuses on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was impeached by the House of Representatives earlier this year but whose trial was not heard by the Senate. In the report, Republicans criticize not only Mayorkas, but also President Biden and Vice President Harris, who they say has been an “abject failure” in what they call her role as “border czar.” Harris was tasked with addressing the root causes of migration in 2021, but the White House has rejected the term border czar.

Migrants walk along the highway through Suchiate, in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, Sunday, July 21, 2024, as they travel north toward the U.S. border. (AP photo/Edgar H. Clemente)

“It is time for the Biden-Harris administration to follow the law and end this crisis, or step aside,” the report said.

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The White House and DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The report comes ahead of a hearing on the issue later Wednesday morning, and as immigration has become a key issue for voters ahead of the November elections. While Republicans blame the Biden administration for the crisis, the administration and Democrats say it is the fault of Congress for failing to pass broader immigration reforms to fix a “broken” system and provide additional funding.

The country has also secured additional funding for technology at border crossings to better block fentanyl and points to successful, aggressive measures against smugglers.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE ON THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

The administration has backed a bipartisan Senate bill that would provide more money and impose some restrictions on asylum claims in the U.S. Republicans said the bill would create a regime to deal with high levels of illegal immigration, but instead pointed to a border package passed by the House last year.

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When that stalled, President Biden signed an executive order in June restricting entry into the U.S. The administration says it has since caused a sharp drop in border encounters, down more than 50%.

“For months, the Biden-Harris administration worked with a bipartisan group of senators to craft a historic bipartisan border security deal that would have added thousands of frontline personnel to the border — but Republicans in Congress voted against that deal twice — proving they are more interested in cynical politics than in securing the border,” the White House said last month. “The Biden-Harris administration has taken effective action, and Republicans continue to do nothing.”