House Republicans Expand Probe Into Biden Immigration Policies

House Republicans are broadening their scrutiny of the Biden administration’s immigration enforcement by demanding a sit-down with a senior official who oversees deportations.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and immigration subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) on Monday wrote to the deputy executive associate director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations requesting a transcribed interview as soon as possible.

The official’s name is redacted on the letter, first obtained by Bloomberg Government. A person familiar with the committee’s plans, who spoke anonymously to address internal information, confirmed that it is addressed to Daniel Bible.

The interview demand shows how the House GOP is tightening oversight of the Biden administration’s border and immigration policies and laying the groundwork for potential impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

House Republicans Target Mayorkas in Latest Impeachment Bid

Jordan demanded sit-downs with other senior ICE officials earlier this year, and the Homeland Security and Oversight and Accountability committees have been interviewing top Customs and Border Protection officials.

The latest ICE official targeted is “uniquely situated to inform our oversight,” Jordan and McClintock said in Monday’s letter. They also outlined their concerns about ICE’s deportation rates during President Joe Biden’s tenure, noting that removals dropped sharply in fiscal 2021 and remained low in 2022.

Mayorkas has stressed that DHS wants to focus ICE’s limited resources on detaining and deporting unauthorized immigrants who pose potential danger to the US. Federal courts blocked a formal policy setting out that approach, and the US Supreme Court is expected to rule on the dispute in the coming weeks.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ellen M. Gilmer in Washington at egilmer@bloombergindustry.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michaela Ross at mross@bgov.com; Robin Meszoly at rmeszoly@bgov.com