Mayorkas Slapped With Subpoena From House Committee

(RepublicanPress.org) – After the United States pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021, some Republicans were concerned about refugees from the country entering the United States. According to Fox News, dozens of legislators wrote to President Joe Biden soon after the withdrawal, expressing concern about the proper vetting of Afghan refugees. Recently, the House Homeland Security Committee chair made a move to get more answers from the Department of Homeland Security.

On October 31, the committee’s chairman, Representative Mark Green (R-TN), sent a subpoena to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, claiming his response to previous requests on the Afghan vetting process was “wholly inadequate.” The lawmaker claimed the DHS documentation either didn’t provide enough information, was “redacted,” or “indecipherable.” Green also claimed some of the intel was “password-protected.” The committee head believed he had no choice but to force Mayorkas to turn over more information within the week.

House Homeland Security Committee subpoenas Mayorkas for records on vetting of Afghan evacuees https://t.co/oCB5XgsvAN

— Fox News Politics (@foxnewspolitics) November 1, 2023

A spokesperson from DHS told Fox News Digital that the department has already given the committee “thousands of pages,” in addition to briefings and witness testimony. The DHS claims it has turned over about 7,000 pages of data in just the last few weeks. The DHS spokesperson believes the House Homeland Security Committee is abusing its authority to get attention in the media instead of doing any real oversight work. The official also pointed out that DHS is in the process of reviewing thousands of additional documents to turn over; however, it takes time. The department said it has been acting in “good faith,” and the recent “subpoena was completely unnecessary.”

When questioned about the influx of Afghanistan refugees in 2021, Mayorkas said his department had an extensive vetting process that involved several layers and more than one agency to ensure terrorists were not entering the US. The secretary said DHS had no reason to believe any members of ISIS were coming across the US border.