DHS Chief Defends Harris Not Visiting Border, Calls GOP Question About It ‘Unfair’ and ‘Disrespectful’

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas holds a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 11, 2021. Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Chief Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday pushed back on an inquiry by a Republican congressman about whether Vice President Kamala Harris would visit the southern border, calling the question “quite unfair and disrespectful.”

Mayorkas made the remarks in June 17 testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee on his agency’s fiscal year 2022 budget request, while responding to a series of questions on issues like migration policy and border security operations.