A Republican congressman said Thursday his constituents want Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas impeached for “treason,” and wondered if future parents with the last name of Mayorkas will hesitate to name their children Alejandro.
Rep. Ken Buck, Colorado Republican, unloaded on Mr. Mayorkas at a hearing, ticking off a litany of ills that have befallen the immigration system since the Biden administration took office, and said the secretary should begin looking for new work.
“No parent with the last name Arnold names their kids Benedict,” he said, adding his constituents “wonder what will the Mayorkas family do down the road.”
He said Mr. Mayorkas should be “ashamed for what you’ve done to this country.”
The secretary called the remarks “so profoundly offensive on so many levels.”
“I won’t ask you for an apology,” he told Mr. Buck.
“Don’t,” the congressman replied.
Mr. Mayorkas said he’s “immensely proud” of his service as the head of the department.
Mr. Buck’s comments may have been the most pointed but they were far from the only jabs at Mr. Mayorkas during the hearing before the House Judiciary Committee.
Republicans said he bears blame for crimes committed by illegal immigrants, for death and abuse of migrants rushing the border to take advantage of more relaxed immigration controls, and Americans dying from record levels of fentanyl pouring in from Mexico.
Mr. Mayorkas and Democrats on the committee said those problems began before his tenure.