Rep. Juan Ciscomani (left) calls for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ resignation, a move he says is necessary for Arizona, the Southwest and the United States.|| Getty
Allie Feinberg
Arizona Republic
Rep. Juan Ciscomani is joining a chorus of Republican voices saying Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas should not remain in office.
Mayorkas has been facing scrutiny for his handling of a number of affairs at the Arizona-Mexico border, including fentanyl crossing into the country and the end of Title 42, the controversial pandemic-era health authority that allowed U.S. border authorities to immediately expel more than 2.7 million people trying to enter the country.
Mayorkas is unworthy of his position, Ciscomani, R-Ariz., said.
“He has come down to Arizona at least once where he made promises he did not keep,” Ciscomani said Wednesday in an interview on Fox Business.
On a visit to Arizona, Mayorkas announced Operation Blue Lotus, which targets fentanyl entering the United States. On June 1, agents in the Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector found more than $2 million worth of fentanyl at a checkpoint along Interstate 8, according to a Twitter post from Chief Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel. The narcotics totaled more than 192 pounds, enough to kill 48 million people, she said.
In response to criticism on dealings with fentanyl, the Department of Homeland Security pointed to the work by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations.
“DHS is investing additional personnel, technology and other resources along the Southwest border to detect and seize this dangerous drug at and between points of entry,” Mia Ehrenberg, a Homeland Security spokesperson, said in a written statement.
