WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, on Wednesday held a subcommittee hearing on President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2023 funding request for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Murphy highlighted Republicans’ use of immigration as a political cudgel, the importance of providing DHS with sufficient funding to respond to the eventual lifting of Title 42, and the threat of domestic terrorism and disinformation to our national security.  

On the politicization of the border, Murphy said: “I am constantly demoralized by the tone of our debate about security, and in particular, the tone of our debate about our border. Many of my Republican colleagues, and I frankly don't put the Ranking Member in this category, simply see the issue of immigration as a political cudgel. They see immigrants as political opportunities to be cast as threats. And they constantly dumb down the debate about immigration, for instance, insisting that the reason there are high numbers of undocumented immigrants arriving at our border right now is because of the name on the door at the White House. Let me assure my colleagues, non-citizens arriving at our Southwest border don't care who the President of the United States is. Why? Because they come here for a complex set of reasons, most of which are connected to life back in their home country. We only have to go back to 2019 to see the evidence under arguably the most restrictive policies and programs in decades, policies that included separating little children from their parents and sending thousands of vulnerable people to wait months for a chance to seek asylum in conditions so dangerous that our own State Department issued warnings. Our country saw the highest level of apprehensions at the border in over a decade in 2019.”

On Title 42, Murphy said: “Now we can have an argument about when to lift Title 42, but it cannot be permanent, not unless Congress changes the law. And I find it ironic that there are so many Republicans that are so confident that COVID is no longer a threat to our country, except at the border. Title 42 is going to be lifted now or at some point in the future and so we can play politics about this or we can be in a constructive dialogue with you, Mr. Secretary, about funding a plan to allow your Department to coordinate with other federal agencies and our neighbors to the south in order to optimally respond to the expected challenges that are going to result when inevitably this two-plus-year restriction on U.S. asylum laws is lifted.”

On the threat of domestic terrorism, Murphy said: “Right now, the greatest present threat we face as a nation is domestic terrorism, and no one should forget how close we came in this place to a mass atrocity over a year ago, and nobody should think that this threat has suddenly vanished. So I look forward to hearing more today about what the Department is going to do with new resources, with this new budget to counter the threat from within our nation that is presented to our democracy.”

Murphy highlighted the importance of DHS in combatting disinformation: “Frankly, I don't know why we would spend billions of dollars protecting the homeland without the capacity to protect our citizens from foreign actors and terrorist organizations who seek to spread hateful and dangerous propaganda designed to tear apart our democracy."

A full transcript of Murphy’s opening remarks can be found below:

MURPHY: “Today, we welcome the Secretary of Homeland Security, Ale Mayorkas. And before we get started, Mr. Secretary, on behalf of the subcommittee I would like to once again share our appreciation to you and to all of the Department’s employees for your and their dedication to protect our nation’s security.  We are mindful of the wide ranging responsibilities, sacrifices that are entailed in upholding those responsibilities, and we are deeply grateful to you and your team.

“The purpose, of course, of today’s hearing is to review the Department’s FY23 budget request. It’s a request that focuses on strengthening the nation’s cyber defense, responding to   border management needs, promoting a humane and efficient immigration system, improving operational readiness of the Coast Guard, and continuing steps to advance climate response and resiliency. I imagine much of today's discussion will cover border security, immigration policies, and the CDC’s Title 42 authority.

“Mr. Secretary, I am constantly demoralized by the tone of our debate about security, and in particular, the tone of our debate about our border. Many of my Republican colleagues, and I frankly don't put the Ranking Member in this category, simply see the issue of immigration as a political cudgel. They see immigrants as political opportunities to be cast as threats. And they constantly dumb down the debate about immigration, for instance, insisting that the reason there are high numbers of undocumented immigrants arriving at our border right now is because of the name on the door at the White House.

“Let me assure my colleagues, non-citizens arriving at our Southwest border don't care who the President of the United States is. Why? Because they come here for a complex set of reasons, most of which are connected to life back in their home country.

“We only have to go back to 2019 to see the evidence under arguably the most restrictive policies and programs in decades, policies that included separating little children from their parents and sending thousands of vulnerable people to wait months for a chance to seek asylum in conditions so dangerous that our own State Department issued warnings. Our country saw the highest level of apprehensions at the border in over a decade in 2019.

“And how did Congress respond? Well, Congress stepped up and enacted a $4.6 billion emergency supplemental in 2019 in order to provide resources to DHS and other departments to manage the border requirements that year. Why did that happen? Because at that time, there was a shared commitment to respond to the realities at our border, to support the brave, dedicated men and women of CBP, ICE, and countless others at the Department working every day on the border or supporting those at the border. And that should be our mission today, as it was in 2019.

“Now we can have an argument about when to lift Title 42, but it cannot be permanent, not unless Congress changes the law. And I find it ironic that there are so many Republicans that are so confident that COVID is no longer a threat to our country, except at the border. Title 42 is going to be lifted now or at some point in the future and so we can play politics about this or we can be in a constructive dialogue with you, Mr. Secretary, about funding a plan to allow your Department to coordinate with other federal agencies and our neighbors to the south in order to optimally respond to the expected challenges that are going to result when inevitably this two-plus-year restriction on U.S. asylum laws is lifted.

“Today we should also talk about the work the Department is doing to protect the homeland from two other threats. I know there's a long list of threats, but at the top of my list would be domestic terrorism and foreign propaganda.

“Right now, the greatest present threat we face as a nation is domestic terrorism, and no one should forget how close we came in this place to a mass atrocity over a year ago, and nobody should think that this threat has suddenly vanished. So I look forward to hearing more today about what the Department is going to do with new resources, with this new budget to counter the threat from within our nation that is presented to our democracy.

“And Mr. Secretary, I know that you know that there has been a lot of misinformation about your Department's work to combat misinformation. Frankly, I don't know why we would spend billions of dollars protecting the homeland without the capacity to protect our citizens from foreign actors and terrorist organizations who seek to spread hateful and dangerous propaganda designed to tear apart our democracy. But you should probably set the record straight about what the goals of your efforts in this area are.

“Earlier this year, despite the odds, this subcommittee came together and we wrote a bipartisan budget that overcame all of these political pitfalls that I've identified surrounding this important set of investments in our nation's security and that is in large part due to the tone set by Senator Capito and the great staff work that is done on this subcommittee to find a way to come together to protect our nation despite the politics that surround the subcommittee's budget. I think that we can deliver again this year, and I'm grateful to begin that work with this important hearing.

“Thank you Secretary Mayorkas for appearing before us today, and I will now turn it over to the Ranking Member.”

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