Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks at a news conference on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will face Congress on Tuesday with a host of pressing questions about terrorism and border security — but one senator also plans to challenge him on his use of a private email to conduct government business.
Mr. Mayorkas last appeared before Congress in July, when the border was slightly less chaotic and before the Hamas attack on Israel raised new terrorism fears. “Too many elected officials believe that making cable TV appearances to decry a broken system is better for their politics than equipping our nation’s front-line officers with the resources they need to carry out their difficult jobs,” Mr. Mayorkas wrote.
Border Patrol agents detected 169 people on the southern border last year whose identities drew hits on the terrorism watch list. By contrast, Mr. Trump saw just 11 over all four years of his administration. Government officials are supposed to conduct business on their official accounts, and if someone attempts to do business through their private account, then they are to forward it to their official account so it can be checked during records requests from Congress or the public.