January 28, 2024
By Asher Notheis
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) voiced her concern for security along the United States’s northern border, as many Republican lawmakers continue to call for border security along the U.S. southern border.
Stefanik’s call for increased northern border security was made two days ahead of a meeting House Republicans are holding on Tuesday to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The New York lawmaker stated that House Republicans are “the last line of defense” to hold the Biden administration accountable for “the catastrophe” along the border.
“You have a wide-open border,” Stefanik said on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo. “It is the No. 1 issue for Americans across the country, and it’s not just the border states, Maria, who are impacted; it’s my home state of New York as well. Every state is a border state, so the committee will mark up those articles of impeachment and work through the process to bring them to the floor.
Stefanik also discussed a letter she had sent to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) about security along the country’s northern border, where there has been an 800% increase in illegal crossings in the area of the northern border she represents. She noted that Hochul has been “begging for relief” even though Democrats have “rolled out the red carpet” for illegal immigrants in both New York and New York City.
“Now we’re seeing that it’s an issue not just on the southern border, but the northern border as well. And this is having real impacts on people’s lives, Maria. Just last week, we saw in New York state a high school in New York City sent the kids home, sent U.S. students home to house illegal immigrants. This is a catastrophe. Voters will, and we must, hold Joe Biden accountable.”
The New York congresswoman’s concerns for the northern border come as Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) made a similar request on the same issue on Saturday. Former 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has since dropped out of the Republican primary and has endorsed former President Donald Trump, suggested the idea of building a border wall between the U.S. and Canada.
Stefanik was also asked about the possibility of being Trump’s vice presidential candidate for 2024, as reports have suggested that she is being considered one of several potential candidates. While Stefanik said she is proud to be the first member of Congress to endorse Trump, she said she would not discuss any discussions she has had with Trump.
The House Homeland Security Committee will take up two articles of impeachment for Willful and Systemic Refusal to Comply with the Law and Breach of the Public Trust against Mayorkas on Tuesday. The articles are expected to be passed by the committee, which would then be sent to the House floor for a vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told colleagues in a letter Friday that the chamber will move “as soon as possible” to impeach Mayorkas, who has served in his position since February 2021.
