Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz erupted at Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday over issues at the U.S.-Mexico border.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Cruz questioned Mayorkas on the current situation on the border, including statistics about the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) illegal-immigrant encounters over the past several years.
"We now have over 5.5 million people who have entered this country illegally under [U.S. President] Joe Biden. How many murderers have you released into America?" Cruz asked at one point during the hearing.
At another point, Cruz asked Mayorkas several times if there is currently a "crisis" at the border. "Senator, we are dedicated to the safe cause," Mayorkas said in response. A spokesperson for Cruz's office told Newsweek that Cruz asked about the "crisis" at the border five times, but "Mayorkas refused to answer."
During the exchange, Mayorkas attempted to respond to Cruz's questions but was interrupted.
"Senator, there is a very significant challenge we are facing," Mayorkas said at one point during Cruz's questioning.
A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek on Tuesday that "Secretary Mayorkas is proud to advance the noble mission of this Department, support its extraordinary workforce, and serve the American people. The Department will continue to enforce our laws and secure our border, protect the nation from terrorism, improve our cybersecurity, all while building a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system.
"Instead of pointing fingers, Congress should work with the Department and pass legislation to fix our broken immigration system, which has not been updated in over 40 years."
The exchange between Cruz and Mayorkas came as Republican officials continue to criticize Biden for ongoing issues at the border and an increase in immigrant crossings.
Republican governors like Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida previously transported migrants to Democratic-led areas including New York, Chicago and Martha's Vineyard.
"The need to address this crisis is not the job of border states like Texas...Instead, the U.S. Constitution dictates that it is your job, Mr. President, to defend the borders of our country, regulate our nation's immigration, and manage those who seek refuge here," Abbott said in a letter to Biden in December.
According to data from CBP, the number of Southwest land border encounters has increased into the millions since 2021. In comparison, the data shows about 400,000 encounters in 2020.
During the hearing on Tuesday, Senator John Cornyn, another Texas Republican, questioned Mayorkas about "operational control" at the U.S.-Mexico border. According to Congress, operational control is "the prevention of all unlawful entries into the United States, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband."
During his questions, Cornyn said: "You said we do have operational control at the border in 2022. You said the border was not in fact open, and then I think I heard you say here that no administration has ever had operational control of the border."
Mayorkas replied: "That is not what I said."
In 2022, Mayorkas told Representative Chip Roy, a Texas Republican, that "we do" have operational control at the border. However, this month, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz was asked if the DHS currently has operational control at the border.
"No, sir," Ortiz said in response.
Update 3/28/23, 3:34 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with a statement from a DHS spokesperson.
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