Press Releases
Babin Demands DHS Focus on Its True Mission
Washington,
January 27, 2022
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Congressman Brian Babin (TX-36) led 39 of his colleagues in sending a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, demanding he stop prioritizing the “threat of climate change” and focus on the Department’s true mission: securing the border and protecting against threats to the Homeland.
“We had a record-breaking number of illegal aliens apprehended at the southern border last year – several on the terrorist watchlist – yet Secretary Mayorkas is silent about that,” said Rep. Babin. “Rather, he’s spending time and taxpayer dollars setting up hiring programs to fight climate change. Obviously, climate change is not the greatest threat we face, and pursuing this issue is clearly a departure from DHS’s real job. It’s long past time that the Secretary uphold his oath of office. Doing otherwise is a dereliction of duty and an impeachable offense.”
“Ever since President Biden took office, a crisis has continued to rage, unchecked, at our southern border. With this in mind, we applaud Rep. Babin for taking Secretary Mayorkas to task and holding him accountable for neglecting to secure our nation's borders in favor of promoting new, unnecessary climate programs that detract from the agency's core mission. Texans are well served by representatives like Congressman Babin who are advocating for them in Washington.” – Garrett Bess, Vice President of Heritage Action
“The priorities of DHS Secretary Mayorkas are clearly out of whack. On the same day that Secretary Mayorkas announced new recruiting for ‘a growing focus on adapting to climate change’ he ignored the cries for help from US Border Patrol agents who had almost 11,000 illegal aliens in custody and were in the process of arresting over 5,000 more, all while simultaneously hundreds of drug smugglers and illegal aliens were able to evade arrest because the Border Patrol is simply out of agents to respond. Border security is the clear and present threat to our nation.” – Rodney Scott, Retired U.S. Border Patrol Chief and current Distinguished Senior Fellow for Border Security, Texas Public Policy Foundation
"We agree that DHS' urgent priority should be to address the worst border crisis in our country’s history. Whatever one thinks about the goals or merits of DHS' new proposed program, they will be difficult if not impossible to meet if the United States cannot enforce its own limits on immigration.” – Rosemary Jenks, Director, Government Relations, NumbersUSA
Read the full letter here or below: January 27, 2022 The Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas
Dear Secretary Mayorkas:
On January 12, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the creation of a Climate Change Professionals Program to recruit recent graduates and current federal employees to support the “growing focus on adapting to climate change and improving resilience.” Given that we had a record-breaking two million illegal crossings in 2021, we are deeply concerned that this initiative is a misuse of taxpayer dollars, a paltry attempt to distract the American people from your failure to secure the border, and a dangerous reorientation of the Department’s real job: protecting against threats to the Homeland.
You note in your announcement that climate change is a “security threat” and that DHS will implement a “new approach to climate change adaptation and resilience, and it will do so with the sense of urgency this problem demands.” As you can imagine, we are baffled by your understanding and utilization of the term “security threat” and are gravely concerned that you are directly hindering the country’s ability to confront and combat real security threats.
As you know, actual climate science data – which is conveniently absent from your announcement and your media allies’ apocalyptic headlines – does not support the need for such a program or the federal government’s dramatic prioritization of this issue. In fact, data shows that deaths from natural disasters are at their lowest point in 120 years and that we’ve seen a 92 percent decline in the decadal death toll from natural disasters since its peak in 1920. Not to mention, the climate death rate has decreased by 98 percent over the last century.
Curiously, despite this administration and its activists touting that the surge in illegal border crossings is the result of Central American migrants “fleeing climate change,” this soundbite is not so much as mentioned in your strategic plan outlining the impact of climate change. While experts have debunked the myth of climate change fueling your and President Biden’s border crisis, it is still peculiar and, frankly, hypocritical that you failed to mention this alleged “threat” in your announcement.
In contrast, data clearly shows the dangers Americans face thanks to your open borders policies. For example, in 2018, almost half of all criminals prosecuted in federal courts were aliens, charged with crimes ranging from drug trafficking to kidnapping to murder. In Texas alone, over the last 10 years, more than 200,000 illegal aliens have been charged with more than 400,000 criminal offenses, including murder, sexual assault, drug and weapon trafficking, and theft.
While we understand the frustration you and the administration must feel knowing that the American people are not buying into your preferred crisis of choice – climate change – we urge you to refocus the work of the Department to its intended mission by securing the border and resuming interior enforcement. Doing otherwise is a dereliction of duty, and in direct opposition to the oath of office you swore.
What message does this new hiring program send to our already hurting Border Patrol agents as they face an unprecedented staffing crisis, with numbers irresponsibly short of where they should be? This is a disservice to the men and women working on our southern border who have dedicated themselves to serve the country and to the American people who rely on border agents to do what only they can do.
These reckless actions will only exacerbate the actual crises we are facing on the southern border and further incentivize lawlessness. We urge you to do your job and enforce sound policies that prevent further illegal immigration and protect our Homeland.
Sincerely, ### |