Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond will testify Wednesday to the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee as part of that panel’s impeachment proceedings against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The action comes in the wake of Mayorkas’ failure to secure the nation’s southwest border. 

Drummond was invited to testify due to his focus of ridding Oklahoma of the foreign nationals who have invaded the marijuana industry. He is expected to tell committee members how the recent influx of illegal immigrants into the U.S. has allowed criminal enterprises, primarily populated by Mexican and Chinese nationals, to jeopardize public safety through drug trafficking and other crimes. 

“It is my honor and solemn duty to share with Congress how the porous border has grievously compromised the safety of Oklahomans,” he said in a release Monday. “Criminal illegal immigrants truly pose a threat to communities all across our state. They are not content with only growing black-market marijuana. They are producing and distributing fentanyl, and they are engaging in sex trafficking and labor trafficking. I believe it is time for some accountability in Washington, D.C.” 

The Office of the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force, which Drummond established last May, already has investigated and is prosecuting more than 50 multi-jurisdictional criminal cases, many of which allegedly involve Mexican or Chinese drug syndicates. 

The U.S. House Homeland Security Committee reports that it has recently concluded a comprehensive investigation into the causes, costs and consequences of the historic border crisis. Committee Chairman Mark E. Green (R-TN) said the American people demand accountability and noted the bipartisan vote to refer the Articles of Impeachment to his committee. 

“For almost three years, the American people have demanded an end to the unprecedented crisis at the Southwest border, and they have also rightly called for Congress to hold accountable those responsible,” Chairman Green said. “That’s why the House Committee on Homeland Security led a comprehensive investigation into the causes, costs, and consequences of this crisis. Our investigation made clear that this crisis finds its foundation in Secretary Mayorkas’ decision-making and refusal to enforce the laws passed by Congress, and that his failure to fulfill his oath of office demands accountability. The bipartisan House vote in November to refer articles of impeachment to my Committee only served to highlight the importance of our taking up the impeachment process—which is what we will begin doing this Wednesday.”   

Drummond is one of three state attorneys general invited to speak about how the border crisis has adversely impacted public safety. 

The committee hearing, entitled “Havoc in the Heartland: How Secretary Mayorkas’ Failed Leadership Has Impacted the States,” begins at 9 a.m. CST and will be held in room 310 of the Cannon House Office Building. You may watch the hearing livestreamed on YouTube and on the Committee’s website.