House Republicans have threatened to subpoena Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas if the department continues to evade its requests to provide information on Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra, who was arrested as a suspect in the murder of nursing student Laken Riley.
Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Tim McClintock (R-OH), and Ben Cline (R-VA) sent Mayorkas a letter Thursday warning the Biden administration official that his failure to respond to the legislative branch’s repeated requests for details on Ibarra’s immigration and criminal history would land him in deep trouble.
“If DHS continues to stonewall the [House Judiciary] Committee’s investigation, the Committee will be forced to use compulsory process,” the three congressmen wrote in the letter, referring to tools, such as subpoena power, House Republicans have to compel information.
Riley was abducted and killed on Feb. 22 while on a run at the University of Georgia. The following day, police arrested Ibarra for her kidnapping and death.
Ibarra was released into the United States after crossing the southern border illegally in 2022. In their letter, Republicans cited a media report that claimed Ibarra was a member of Venezuela gang Tren de Aragua but did not identify when or if federal authorities learned of his gang affiliation.
“The Biden Administration’s policies, articulated in your September 30, 2021, memorandum, prevent ICE from prioritizing otherwise removable aliens for arrest until such aliens commit a ‘serious crime,’” the Republicans wrote. “Accordingly, Laken’s alleged murderer was free to commit this horrific crime despite previously committing crimes in Georgia and New York.”
The lawmakers first requested information on Ibarra on Feb. 27. Across DHS agencies, the government uses an “A File,” or alien file, to keep all information about immigrants encountered at the border.
Mayorkas was asked to hand over Ibarra’s file in two weeks or face a possible subpoena for refusing to cooperate.
The subpoena threat comes one day after Jordan, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, subpoenaed Mayorkas for a massive list of documents, communications, and data related to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Although we appreciate that DHS has provided some limited data, your failure to produce all the requested documents and information prevents the Committee from fulfilling its constitutional oversight obligations,” Jordan wrote in the subpoena cover letter to Mayorkas.
The committee initially requested documents on Nov. 2, 2023, and followed up with the DHS 10 times across November, December, and January.
On Jan. 29, the DHS provided the committee with links to public data but failed to “fully satisfy” the committee’s requests, according to Jordan.
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Mayorkas is already in hot water with House Republicans after the lower chamber voted in mid-February to impeach him on two counts.
The articles of impeachment were slated to be delivered to the Senate this month, but the Democratic-controlled Senate has indicated it is not interested in proceeding with a full trial, in which Mayorkas could be convicted and terminated with a two-thirds vote.