House Republicans were in California on Friday for a field hearing, bringing their 2024 election campaign message about Democrats’ handling of the border to Vice President Kamala Harris’ home turf.
The House Judiciary Committee’s hearing “The Biden-Harris Border Crisis: California Perspectives,” took place in Santee, a city in eastern San Diego County.
GOP lawmakers view immigration as a winning issue this election season as a California Democrat works to win the White House. They have long attacked President Biden for his border policies and have extended that criticism to Harris, particularly since she became the nominee.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall) hosted the hearing at Santee City Hall. Among the witnesses were the mayors of Santee and Vista, as well as the district attorney and undersheriff of Riverside County.
The speakers said that in California, the Biden administration’s policies have kept portions of the border wall from being completed, diverted agents away from detecting contraband to process arriving migrants, and allowed fentanyl to flow through the border.
“There are people legitimately seeking asylum,” Issa said. “There are people who… have gone through the process to come to America legally. It is our goal to restore the rule of law and to in fact recognize that we can have immigration in our country, we can have prosperity for all, but we can only do so if we can control our borders.”
The California stop is one of several hearings planned by House Republicans in the run-up to November.
On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee will hold another hearing, on “victim perspectives.” The same day, a Judiciary subcommittee will focus on “noncitizen voting.”
Democratic strategist Maria Cardona called the hearings “a desperate sham and a ploy to divert attention away from the fact that everything that they are doing with now Vice President Harris on top of the ticket is completely flailing.”
“Republicans have always wanted the chaos. You can’t go to the border and act like your hair is on fire because the administration hasn’t done enough, and then when the administration asks for billions you say no,” she said, referring to the failed bipartisan border security bill that would have funded more border agents and illicit drug detection technology.
Border arrests have fallen by more than 50% since the Biden administration implemented asylum restrictions in June. Stepped-up enforcement by Mexican immigration authorities and summer heat also contributed to lower numbers of arriving migrants.
A day before the hearing, Issa introduced legislation to hold so-called sanctuary cities — those that limit cooperation between local authorities and federal immigration authorities — accountable for crimes committed by immigrants who were released from local custody instead of being transferred to federal custody for deportation. Issa’s bill, which is unlikely to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate, would allow victim families to sue sanctuary jurisdictions for damages.
During the hearing, Riverside County Dist. Atty. Mike Hestrin blamed Mexican cartels for the rise in local fentanyl deaths. More than 90% of fentanyl seized by Customs and Border Protection is brought through ports of entry along the southern border, according to the agency.
“We need stronger border policies, enhanced law enforcement and other measures that are essential to curbing fentanyl trafficking, which is fueling a crisis across the country and certainly in Riverside County,” he said. “This fight cannot be waged by local officials alone.”
Santee Mayor John Minto said migrants released to the streets since last year took trolleys to eastern San Diego County, straining local resources. Local advocates say most have family or friends elsewhere and don’t stay in the area for long. Since Biden’s restrictions took effect, migrants have not been released to the street for several weeks.
Nicole Cardinale, a mother who lives in Dulzura, recounted a situation last month when she said a group of migrants traveling through the town attempted to board a school bus her 8-year-old son was riding. He was so scared he didn’t ride the bus for several days, she said.
An investigation by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office found that “no one forcefully tried to stop or enter the school buses, therefore no crime was committed,” sheriff’s spokesperson Kimberly King told the San Diego Union-Tribune.