FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 22, 2022
For press inquiries only, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Attorney General Steve Marshall Calls for Resignation of U.S. Homeland Security Secretary for Refusal to Protect America’s Borders
(MONTGOMERY) – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is calling on U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to resign his position over his continued refusal to enforce federal laws protecting America’s borders and citizens.
“Today, as our national borders are under siege from criminal drug cartels and human traffickers, placing thousands of Americans’ lives at risk, I am calling on the federal official uniquely responsible for this disaster to resign,” said Attorney General Marshall.
“Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is not only ignoring U.S. border security, he is actively promoting homeland ‘insecurity’ through policies of catch and release of offenders while refusing to deport dangerous criminals, even when required by federal law to do so. His legacy after only a year in office is an explosion of deadly fentanyl entering America and record increases in sex offenders. Each passing day Secretary Mayorkas’ intolerable performance is further jeopardizing American lives and must immediately end with his resignation.”
In a letter Tuesday to Secretary Mayorkas, Attorney General Marshall and 13 other
attorneys general, stated:
“From the time you took office to December 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized enough fentanyl to kill every man, woman and child in our country six times over – an increase of more than 30 percent since before you took office. If that much was detected and seized, we shudder to think how much more is slipping through each dayÖAny competent leader facing such disastrous results would quickly alter their policies to abate the extraordinary harmÖYet you continue undeterred, obliviousÖto the destruction and deaths you are causing in American communities.”
“[T]he number of sex offenders arrested entering our country increased by an astounding 213 percent over the last fiscal year. Given your unlawful catch and release policies, we are left with many other unanswerable questions, like how many children are now being trafficked in our communities and how many sex offenders now prowl our streets.”
“Deportations have fallen a staggering 70 percent since 2020ÖPerhaps most egregiously, you have refused to deport some of the most dangerous criminals, even though you are required by law to do so. That decision is shocking, especially because Democrats and Republicans alike have always prioritized the removal of criminals here illegally, including when you were Deputy Secretary of DHS from 2013-2016.”
“You were sworn in as Secretary of DHS on February 2, 2021. On that day, you solemnly swore to ‘support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic.’ You have violated that oath every day since you took office. Americans have died because of your failure to obey the law and do your solemn duty. More Americans will unnecessarily die and suffer for as long as you remain as Secretary. You must resign immediately.”
Attorney General Marshall joined attorneys general from Florida, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and West Virginia in writing the letter to DHS Secretary Mayorkas.
[For link, click PDF icon at upper right of press release]
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