Republicans call for hearing on Biden’s handling of border surge

House Republicans on Thursday sent a letter to a top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee requesting a hearing on President Biden’s handling of the surge of migrants seeking entry into the U.S. along the southern border.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) sent a letter to Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), who leads the Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, accusing Democrats of ignoring a mounting crisis as new data reveals a growing number of unaccompanied minors are being detained by immigration officials.

“Your silence on this issue in the last five weeks unfortunately suggests that you do not plan to hold the Biden Administration to the same standard to which you held the Trump Administration,” the lawmakers wrote.

Axios on Thursday obtained an internal document from the Department of Health and Human Services showing that it had detained an average of 321 children per day for the week ending March 1, up from 47 in the first week of January.

The document said border shelters are at 94 percent capacity and will run out of room by the end of the month.

Liberals have expressed anger over the reopening of housing facilities for unaccompanied minors that were used under former President Trump.

Republicans, meanwhile, have accused the Biden administration of implementing policies that have encouraged the influx of migrants and unaccompanied minors.

The Biden administration has urged migrants not to make the dangerous journey from their homelands to the southern border, saying that most seeking entry to the U.S. will be turned away.

“This is not the time to come,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said this week. “It’s a dangerous trip. We have limited processing at the border, but it is very, very limited. The vast majority of people who come to the border will be turned away, back — to take the treacherous journey back. This is not the time to come.”

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was asked at a briefing this week if he viewed the border surge as a “crisis.”

“The answer is no,” Mayorkas said. “I think there is a challenge at the border that we are managing, and we have our resources dedicated to managing it.”