A group of sheriffs in 17 states is calling for the firing of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for failing to secure the southern border.
The Western States Sheriffs Association (WSSA) denounced the Biden administration's "complete and total breakdown" of immigration law enforcement on the border under Mayorkas in a position paper obtained by The Epoch Times.
"After witnessing this disaster over the past several months and listening to the continued rhetoric and intellectual dishonesty from Secretary Mayorkas, The Western States Sheriffs Association, and its membership must emphatically take our position of having NO confidence in the ability of the Secretary Mayorkas, and his leadership within the Department of Homeland Security, to affect any positive outcome on this matter," the WSSA wrote.
"We call on President Biden to take the appropriate steps to remove Secretary Mayorkas from his leadership position and appoint a new leader at the Department of Homeland Security who recognizes, respects, and will enforce the rule of law for the safety and security of our nation along with the southern and northern borders."
The group said the border crisis is a matter of national security and must be addressed "immediately"
"We demand a new leader who will work, together with our nation's Sheriffs and the U.S. Border Patrol to regain control of our nation's southern border," the statement concluded.
"A decision to make this change must come immediately. If there's a legitimate 'matter of national security' for this nation, at this time, this is certainly one."
The association also noted former President Donald Trump's administration had made progress on the border issues that have existed "for decades," but the Biden administration has unwound the progress and made the situation worse than ever.
"For the past several years, much effort and financial resources was focused on the southern border and a great deal of progress was made in limiting the number of illegal crossings," the group wrote. "Today we are witnessing a complete and total breakdown of efforts of the past several years."
There have been nearly 1.7 million illegal immigrant arrests at the border this year, with projections for year's end surpassing 2 million, according to the Times.
And that is not counting untold got-aways, experts told Newsmax earlier this year.
Mayorkas while testifying before Congress this week claimed the border crisis was a function of change and the administration attempting to correct past problems.
"I think rebuilding a broken immigration system and rebuilding a dismantled one takes time, and we're on the road to success," Mayorkas claimed, giving himself an "A" for effort, according to the report.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, noted that the secretary's words and actions have been crippling on border security.
"When you run DHS like it is an 'abolish ICE' fan club, you shouldn't be surprised when you have an immigration crisis on your hands," Grassley said during a Senate hearing this week.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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