Democrats blasted Republicans during the first House committee hearing on the border crisis and chided their conservative colleagues for political infighting while some liberals downplayed the state of the border.
The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler, began the first of a series of the committee’s border crisis hearings by going after so-called MAGA Republicans, short for former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
“The first hearing will showcase the racist tendencies of the extreme MAGA Republican wing of the party that seeks to close the border to refugees from places like Cuba and Venezuela,“ said Nadler in his opening statement Wednesday morning. “It almost makes me miss their usual obsession with conspiracy theories and the FBI.”
Nadler accused Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) of being more concerned with showing up House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) in their “turf war” over who has jurisdiction over immigration issues by holding a hearing before any other committee at the cost of failing to have any government officials because of the short notice.
“Chairman Comer announced that the Oversight Committee will hold its first hearing on the subject of immigration — a topic that is squarely in this committee’s jurisdiction — during the week of Feb. 6,” said Nadler. “Turning the tables on Chairman Comer once again, our majority hastily threw together today’s hearing to ensure we beat the Oversight Committee by a few days without the government witnesses that the Oversight Committee had the time to secure.”
Jordan said the focus on the border was a result of the continued record-breaking numbers of immigrants apprehended entering the country illegally.
“Month after month after month, we’ve set records for migrants coming into the country,” said Jordan. “It seems deliberate. It seems premeditated. It seems intentional.”
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) rebuked Republicans for prioritizing the issue over a slew of other problems that he said would be a better use of the committee’s time.
“From attacks on our democracy to increasing gun violence, including four mass shootings in my home state of California in just the last week, to continuing acts of racial injustice, many of the issues that Americans are most concerned about fall within this committee’s justification,” said Schiff. “But instead of tackling those concerns or joining Democrats in a comprehensive immigration reform, many Republicans in Congress seem content with demonizing migrant families and asylum-seekers.”
Republicans snapped back at the accusations.
Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) called on Democrats to explain “how our schools are made better by packing classrooms with non-English-speaking students, how our hospitals are made more accessible by flooding emergency rooms with illegals demanding care,” and “how our social safety net is strengthened by adding millions of impoverished and dependent individuals to systems that are already strained to the breaking point.”
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) bashed Republicans for putting forth a border solution that the party was divided over.
“For years, we have listened to MAGA Republicans decry a so-called invasion at our southern border,” Johnson said. “Now that they have a House majority, MAGA Republicans are in charge, and MAGA Republicans are responsible for coming up with solutions, but unfortunately, this hearing is nothing more than a distraction that my MAGA friends cannot agree on the problem or solution.”
Earlier this month, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) introduced the Border Safety and Security Act, which drew some opposition from the more centrist wing of the party. Johnson and Nadler both noted that the GOP’s own Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) opposed the bill. Gonzales told Fox News Sunday on Jan. 15 that he was “particularly concerned” with Roy’s proposal.
“Essentially, what it does is it bans asylum — all asylum, to include legitimate asylum,” Gonzales said.
Comer is slated to begin hearings on the state of the border next week. Two U.S. Border Patrol officials will testify before the committee compared to the local government officials and parent of a teenager who died from consuming fentanyl who spoke on Wednesday.
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The judiciary body’s decision to focus first on the state of the U.S.-Mexico border is especially significant given the GOP’s calls to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The Judiciary Committee is the final committee that impeachment articles must be approved through before going to the House floor.
