Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) on Thursday criticized GOP lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee as being more interested in getting on Fox News than asking real questions to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
“There’s a whole plan about what this hearing is about,” he said to Mayorkas. “And it’s about creating Fox News spots that they can use for politics, and I regret that you have to be part of it.”
Cicilline’s remarks come as Mayorkas testified before the House Judiciary Committee on the Biden administration’s immigration policies.
Republicans have blasted a decision by the administration to withdraw Title 42, a measure the Trump administration put in place that denied migrants seeking asylum in the United States a court hearing during the pandemic. The Biden administration kept it in place for more than a year but has announced it will be lifted on May 23.
Republicans have signaled they intend to make the border a major part of their midterm messaging.
Cicilline pointed to a 60-page memo prepared by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the ranking member of the panel, that was the focus of a report by The New York Times last week.
“There’s a whole plan about what this hearing is about,” he said to Mayorkas. “And it’s about creating Fox News spots that they can use for politics, and I regret that you have to be part of it.”
“That’s a memo that includes misleading and provocative talking points that seek to portray migrants and refugees as perpetrators of gruesome crimes,” the Rhode Island Democrat said.
“It’s a confidential for internal use only document, and it’s prepared so that the Republicans can argue that Democrats are seeking to, listen to this, abolish all immigration enforcement and even encourage illegal immigration,” Cicilline said.