Speaker McCarthy to Lead Freshman Congressmen on Tour of Southern Border

A Border Patrol agent pulls tires behind his vehicle to smooth out the road to make detecting footprints easier, near Naco in Cochise County, Arizona, on Dec. 6, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will lead a contingent of four freshman congressmen in a tour of the U.S.–Mexico border on Feb. 16.

Newly elected Reps. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.), Jen Kiggans (R-Va.), and Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) will accompany McCarthy on Thursday for an aerial tour of U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson sector and a briefing from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials.

Approximately 262 miles long, the Tucson sector covers most of the state of Arizona, from the New Mexico state line to the Yuma County line. According to CBP, it is one of Border Patrol’s busiest sectors for illegal alien apprehensions and marijuana seizures.

The visit will mark McCarthy’s first time leading a House delegation to the border since becoming speaker. Previously, as the minority leader in Congress, he led three such trips in March 2021 and April and November of last year.

“Just last week, Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas testified under oath that, yes, the border is secure,” McCarthy noted Nov. 22 while visiting the border in El Paso, Texas.

“I’m here to tell you it is not,” he added, noting that more than 4 million illegal border crossings had taken place since President Joe Biden took office.

McCarthy has been highly critical of the Homeland Security secretary’s management of the southern border, calling on him to resign and warning of potential impeachment proceedings to oust him.

And McCarthy would appear to have the support of his conference in that move, as Reps. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) have both filed articles of impeachment against Mayorkas in the weeks since their party gained control of Congress.

“Every day Secretary Mayorkas remains in office, America becomes less safe,” Biggs contended in a Feb. 1 statement, charging that Mayorkas was the “chief architect” of the crisis at the southern border.

Describing the Republicans’ impeachment efforts as “unprecedented, unjustified, and partisan,” a Homeland Security spokesperson told The Epoch Times on Feb. 10 that the department had already hired outside legal counsel in anticipation of a potential inquiry.

“DHS will continue prioritizing its work to protect our country from terrorism, respond to natural disasters, and secure our borders while responding appropriately to the over 70 Congressional committees and subcommittees that have oversight of DHS,” the spokesperson added.