House Republicans Say Homeland Security Chief’s $60 Billion Budget Concedes Border Cannot Be Secured

Any federal department head with a $60.4 billion annual spending request is going to see fiscal hawks on Congressional panels flash their budget-cutting knives in appropriations hearings.
But when it comes to embattled United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas—literally, the face of President Joe Biden’s much-maligned border and immigration policies—House Republicans don’t want to trim his budget, they want his head on a platter.
According to DHS, there have been 4.7 million “encounters” with illegal immigrants reported at the nation’s southern border since the Biden administration assumed office in January 2021.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas testifies before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington on March 28, 2023. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
An estimated 1.3 million “got-aways” have eluded border agents and escaped into the country—a figure many say is underestimated by up to 20 percent….}