Attorney General Moody Calls on Congress to “Zero Out” Mayorkas’s Salary Until He Does His Job: Secure the Homeland

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is demanding that Congress take action to force derelict U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to enforce public-safety immigration laws. In light of a recent Committee on Homeland Security Report confirming Sec. Mayorkas’s dereliction of duty, Attorney General Moody is urging congressional leaders to zero out Sec. Mayorkas’s salary. 

The report relied extensively on Attorney General Moody’s efforts and litigation to support its finding that Sec. Mayorkas has failed to uphold the law and fulfill his oath of office. The report even cites Judge Kent Wetherell’s “withering rebuke” in Florida v. United States. To read the report, click here. 

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Since their very first days in office, President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas have willingly and intentionally ignored the clear demands of United States immigration law and began systemically dismantling the border, requesting LESS resources to do so and initiating new programs outside federal law to allow and encourage more illegal immigration. The bottom line is that Secretary Mayorkas planned to fail at his job, continues to act outside the law even when his actions have been found to be unlawful, and pridefully boasts of his tenure—all while receiving his taxpayer-funded salary anyway. His title sums up his responsibility—secure our homeland—and he has purposely done the opposite. I am calling on Congress to zero out his salary until he meets his oath to the American people.”

In a letter sent to congressional leaders today, Attorney General Moody points out that through each failure, Sec. Mayorkas seems only to blame one entity; saying: “Since his confirmation, Secretary Mayorkas has flouted Congress’s clear command to the detriment of my constituents and this nation. Rather than detain criminal aliens and illegal border crossers as required by law, Secretary Mayorkas has released millions of these aliens. Amazingly, when pressed in court about why he continues to release aliens in violation of the law, Secretary Mayorkas consistently blames one entity above all others: Congress.”

Sec. Mayorkas repeatedly claims that Congress fails to appropriate sufficient funds to cover the necessary detention facilities. However, when submitting budgets, Sec. Mayorkas has consistently requested to decrease funding for detention facilities and argued that a “reduction in detention capacity level will not impede ICE’s ability to apprehend, detain, and remove noncitizens that present a threat to national security, border security, and public safety.”

In addition to zeroing out Sec. Mayorkas’s salary, Attorney General Moody requested Congress provide additional funding for border security, allocate funding to support state cooperation programs, and provide a cause of action for states to sue Sec. Mayorkas and force compliance with federal immigration law. 

Attorney General Moody concludes the letter with a call to action saying, “Regardless of whether you agree with the current immigration laws, they are the law of the land and Secretary Mayorkas swore to uphold them. Congress, more than any other branch of government, is uniquely positioned to defend this country’s duly enacted laws when the Executive Branch chooses to ignore them. I hope that you will adopt my recommendations and defend the rule of law.”

Read the full letter here.

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