Sen. Mike Lee: administration "refuses to enforce the law" on border

Senator Mike Lee said Sunday that the Biden administration has "refus[ed] to enforce the law" on immigration and blamed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for not acting as a "gatekeeper." The remarks came during a televised interview about border security and recent congressional maneuvering.

Lee said the executive branch, which has primary responsibility for enforcing federal immigration law, has been doing "exactly the opposite" of what Congress intended, and that the administration is effectively opening the border. "Alejandro Mayorkas is not our restaurateur whose job it is to invite as many people in as possible. His job is to serve as the gatekeeper. He's not keeping the gate," Lee said.

The senator also tied the problem to recent congressional dynamics. He argued the Senate "nuked" its impeachment power by not holding a trial on articles of impeachment that had been passed by the House, and said that diminished the chamber's bargaining leverage with the executive branch. "We've lost the tools that we might otherwise have had," Lee said.

Lee framed those developments as part of why, in his view, the administration has not been compelled to change course on border enforcement. He described the situation as a "seismic shift" in the number and composition of people entering the country and said the political ability to force changes has been reduced.

The interview did not include independent verification of Lee's legal or historical assertions about impeachment precedent. Lee presented his account as his interpretation of recent Senate actions.

The exchange ended with Lee saying Congress's recent choices reduced leverage to influence executive enforcement, and with the host moving on to questions about a pending foreign aid package in the Senate.