WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) supported a resolution of no confidence against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his failure to secure the Southern border.

Remarks As Prepared:

I come to the floor today to support my colleague’s resolution for a simple reason: Secretary Mayorkas has failed.

He has failed our brave border agents, who are struggling to combat the border crisis caused by this administration’s open-border policies.

He has failed the communities across our country who are suffering from record Fentanyl overdoses, human trafficking, and cartel violence.

And he has failed the American people, who entrusted him with the responsibility of protecting and securing our nation.

House Republicans’ impeachment proceedings against the Secretary will hopefully be the first step toward ending his record of failure.

Under Secretary Mayorkas, more than 8.5 million illegal immigrants, including 1.7 million known “gotaways,” have entered our country.

That is larger than the population of 38 states.

Hundreds of individuals on the terror watchlist have been caught at our border, including 30 since the start of fiscal year 2024. 

By comparison, there were just 11 individuals on the terror watch list apprehended at the Southern border between fiscal years 2017 and 2020.

FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that he sees “blinking lights everywhere” he turns regarding potential terror threats.

Since 2021, more than 50,000 pounds of Fentanyl, now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45, have been seized at our border.

Federal agents believe they are only catching between 5 and 10 percent of the drugs that are being smuggled into our country.

For three years, Secretary Mayorkas denied that our nation has a border crisis.

When border agents tried to do their jobs, Secretary Mayorkas lied about them whipping migrants and threw them under the bus—a smear he has never apologized for.

After migrant encounters hit a monthly high of 302,000 in December, the Secretary finally acknowledged the problem—but blamed the record number on the “effects of climate change.”

The American people deserve better than this.