GOP Probes Use of Air Marshals, Secret Service at the Border; Sessions & Grothman Press DHS on Diverting Personnel to Manage the Biden Border Crisis

GOP probes use of air marshals, Secret Service at the border:

House Republicans launched a probe Thursday into Homeland Security’s move to shift some 1,400 department employees to the border last month, saying the department is risking national security by pulling air marshals and Secret Service agents from their regular duties to help process migrants.

Reps. Pete Sessions and Glenn Grothman, respectively the chairmen of the government operations and national security subcommittees of the Oversight and Reform Committee, also suggested some of the deployments may violate the law by pushing law enforcement agents to do things outside their job descriptions.

They fired off a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding details about who exactly has been sent to the border and why.

“The unprecedented crisis at the southwest border, caused by the Biden Administration’s policies, continues to further endanger our national security and all Americans,” Mr. Sessions, of Texas, and Mr. Grothman, of Wisconsin, wrote in their letter.

The administration has repeatedly tapped other government agencies to help immigration agencies overwhelmed at the border by the migrant surge that erupted when President Biden took office.

But the efforts intensified last month as the government prepared for the end of the Title 42 pandemic emergency power that allowed immigrants who are in the country illegally to be expelled. —>READ MORE HERE

Sessions & Grothman Press DHS on Diverting Personnel to Manage the Biden Border Crisis:

DHS diverting employees from Federal Air Marshal Service, U.S. Secret Service, and USCIS to the southwest border

Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Chairman Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over DHS’ decision to deploy over 1,400 non-Customs and Border Protection (CBP) DHS personnel and non-law enforcement personnel to the southwest border to facilitate unprecedented levels of illegal immigration. In the letter, the Republican Subcommittee Chairmen request documents and communications regarding DHS’s decision and the anticipated impact on the operations of those other, vital DHS components.

“The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) decision to deploy over 1,400 non-Customs and Border Protection (CBP) DHS personnel and non-law enforcement personnel to the southwest border to facilitate unprecedented levels of illegal immigration into the United States,” wrote the lawmakers. “Reports indicate that DHS will deploy nearly 200 Federal Air Marshals, as well as USSS agents, and USCIS personnel to the southwest border. The deployment of non-Customs and Border Protection and non-law enforcement personnel to the southwest border could have a negative effect on the core missions of FAMS and USSS.”

On May 10, 2023, DHS announced that 1,400 DHS personnel will be deployed to the southwest border to assist CBP in preparation for the end of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s order to expel illegal border crossers under Title 42 authorities. After DHS first deployed Federal Air Marshals to temporary positions at the southwest border in November of 2022, a representative of the Air Marshal National Council argued that the deployments were illegal “because they involve duties outside the scope of the job.”

“Rather than protecting Americans against terrorism threats in the air, Federal Air Marshals deployed to the southwest border were and will be forced to conduct hospital watches and provide other services, including transportation, to illegal border crossers,” continued the lawmakers. “The Committee requests documents and communications regarding DHS’s decision to deploy non-Customs and Border Protection personnel and non-law enforcement personnel to the southwest border, and the anticipated impact on the ope —>READ MORE HERE

Source