Houston Chronicle by Benjamin Wermund 1/19/2023
New probe comes as bipartisan group of senators negotiates the first immigration system overhaul in decades.Republicans in Congress are launching an investigation into President Joe Biden's handling of the border as the GOP works to keep the heat on an issue that helped the party take control of the House.
It's the latest in an escalating political battle between the GOP and the president, who has accused Republicans of not being serious about the issue as he pressures them to negotiate on sweeping immigration reform.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee on Thursday sent letters to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and top Border Patrol officials seeking information on the administration's border policies. The committee plans to hold a hearing on the issue next month, its chairman, U.S. Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, announced in a statement accusing Biden's policies of "fueling" a crisis at the border, where arrests topped more than 2 million for the first time last year.
“Republicans will hold the Biden administration accountable for this ongoing humanitarian, national security and public health crisis that has turned every town into a border town,” Comer said.
A separate group of Republican senators and congressmen, including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and U.S. Rep. Brian Babin of Woodville, sent another letter this week to Mayorkas demanding details on Biden's plan to handle the arrival of an unprecedented number of migrants seeking asylum in the United States as they flee oppressive governments in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.
More:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/gop-border-biden-investigation-17727913.php
