'Getting out of hand': Liberal city residents rate Mayorkas' handling of southern border
Some DC residents gave Mayorkas failing grades; others were more sympathetic
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas received mixed performance reviews from Americans in the nation's capital.
"He's not doing the right thing," a longtime D.C. resident, Jaqueline, told Fox News. "He might be trying with all his heart, but it ain't working out."
TEXAS BORDER TOWN FIRE DEPARTMENT HEMORRHAGING $21,000 A DAY DEALING WITH MIGRANT-RELATED CALLS
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mayorkas spoke at an event in Eagle Pass, Texas, a small border community that has seen thousands of migrants cross into their community since December. (John Moore/Getty Images)
"Everybody and their cousin and their great-grandmother, thousands of people come in through the border every day," she continued. "That situation is completely ridiculous and out of hand."
But others, like Joe, disagreed, saying that Mayorkas has "done a pretty good job."
AMERICANS IN D.C. GRADE SEC. MAYORKAS' HANDLING OF SOUTHERN BORDER:
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The House Homeland Security Committee held an impeachment hearing Wednesday scrutinizing Mayorkas' job performance, with the Republican majority arguing that he's neglected his duties to ensure a safe U.S-Mexico border. Mayorkas didn't attend the hearing, titled "Havoc in the Heartland: How Secretary Mayorkas’ Failed Leadership Has Impacted the States," though the Montana, Missouri and Oklahoma attorneys general testified about how the secretary's immigration policies have harmed their states.
Illegal immigration has surged during Mayorkas' tenure. Millions of migrants have been apprehended while at least an additional million successfully evaded border authorities.
House Homeland Security Committee Republicans heard testimony from the attorneys general of Montana, Missouri and Oklahoma regarding how Department of Homeland Security policies have impacted their states. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"Given that the problem is so huge, I think he's doing his best," Abu told Fox News. "As an immigrant, I know it's a difficult problem."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I mean, you cannot just turn back everybody," he continued. "But this is getting out of hand and some rule and some limit must be set."
Mayorkas acknowledged last week that the majority of illegal immigrants encountered are released into the U.S. Additionally, Mayorkas reportedly told Border Patrol agents Monday that the rate of release of illegal immigrants apprehended at the border is above 85%.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"There seems to be no remedy at all," one D.C. resident told Fox News said. "I just hope the next administration that comes in, whether it's Democratic or Republican, can take care of this problem."
Republicans have argued that lax border policies under Mayorkas have fueled drug trafficking and decreased safety across the country. House Democrats, meanwhile, have called the impeachment hearing a sham and an embarrassment.
"We see the immigration crisis, seeing the sanctuary cities taking in people. So I do see and know it's an issue, especially for these big cities like D.C., New York, Chicago that are taking in immigrants," Miles told Fox News. "And the mayors are coming out saying, 'We don't have enough space.'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"So it's a huge issue," he added. "One of the top things on the ballot in '24."
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Cynthia, of D.C., said the migrants are treated better than some U.S. citizens.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They get a lot of things that we as born Americans here do not get, can't get, won't get. There's so much red tape with us," she said. "Everyone should be treated the same."
To watch the full interviews about Mayorkas' job performance, click here.