Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., told Newsmax on Thursday that, contrary to what Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas may say, the Mexican drug cartels "actually control our border."
"So [Border Patrol] Chief [Raul] Ortiz has said it, some of the section border chiefs have said it — Tucson and Rio Grande Valley — in testimony a couple weeks ago, and what they said is even more stark than what Chief Ortiz admitted," Biggs said during an appearance on Newsmax's "The Chris Salcedo Show."
"And that is that the cartels, the narco terrorist organizations, actually control our border.
"Secretary Mayorkas under oath, saying that the border's operationally controlled — that's just not true," he continued. "It's a fabrication, it's a prevarication, it's a lie, and I'm glad that we're finally seeing some of our CBP [Customs and Border Protection] agents and leaders speak out and tell the truth."
All 15 Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee reportedly boycotted a hearing at the U.S.-Mexico border Wednesday because they say the Republican majority plans to exaggerate the border crisis and attack the Biden administration.
Committee Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn., said last week that the committee hearing would be held in the Rio Grande Valley.
When asked about the Democrats' absence, Biggs said it was par for the course for his colleagues across the aisle.
"They don't want to see this, they don't want to be associated with it," he said. "They didn't come when we had the hearing in Yuma, Arizona, a couple weeks back.
"So, no Democrat came to the Judiciary hearing or the Homeland Security hearing, even though they'll sit there and tell us in Congress in Washington, D.C., 'Oh, it's not a problem. It's not an issue.'
"The reality is our border's wide open," the congressman continued. "It's by design. This is what they want."
Elaborating on a video he posted to Twitter about migrants trying to cross the Rio Grande River, Biggs said that Democrats will agree that it's a humanitarian issue.
"What they'll tell you is they'll say, 'Yeah, Biggs is right. It's a humanitarian issue. So what we want to do is we want to let just everybody in,'" he said.
"That's their answer in response to that. But, where I was standing there were actually six people that had just literally come across the river, and they were standing next to one of the containers that [Texas] Gov. [Greg] Abbott had put there to block and deter traffic."
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