During Congressional proceedings on Wednesday, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas shut down the right-wing conspiracy theory of an ongoing “invasion” at the southern border. Republicans have very frequently used such rhetoric to describe migrants arriving to southern U.S. borders.
“Congressman, that is a term that I find to be offensive,” Mayorkas told Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) when the Californian asked about the conspiracy theory of an ongoing “invasion” pushed by Republican colleagues of his. It’s a blunt answer fitting to the facts surrounding the question. In any reasonable estimation, the southern border is not currently “open,” and concurrently, there is no “invasion.” Using this brazenly deceptive language can distract from actual efforts to grapple with the real-world issues associated with migration to the U.S., like humanitarian needs and safety concerns.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has recently been pursuing the impeachment of Mayorkas — an effort that it’s basically certain wouldn’t get anywhere even if it did pass the House, considering the continued Democratic control of the Senate. A push from Greene for his impeachment recently faltered in the House, with a Congressional majority including a small number of Republicans voting to send the proposal to committee. Greene has been clamoring over and over again for the impeachment of various officials across the government.
Elsewhere in Congress on Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray confronted the conspiracy theory that the violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was driven by informants or agitators in league with federal law enforcement. Even Ray Epps, a Trump supporter falsely smeared in conspiracy theories alleging involvement by the government in the day’s violence, was in fact eventually charged after all, pleading guilty to the allegations. (His original lack of charges helped facilitate the false theories he was a government ally and presumably afforded special protections.)
“If you are asking whether the violence at the Capitol on January 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources and/or agents, the answer is emphatically no,” Wray said.
Garcia: Is our country currently being invaded?
Mayorkas: That is a term I find to be offensive
Garcia: I do as well
Greene: [unintelligible]
Garcia: This is my time Ms. Greene pic.twitter.com/h91QUTz0Er
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 15, 2023
