(The Center Square) – At a U.S. Senate Appropriations hearing on the Department of Homeland Security’s fiscal 2025 budget request for more than $107 billion, one senator raised concerns about DHS policies impacting U.S. elections.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, asked DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, “Isn’t in fact, Mr. Secretary, that the number of illegal immigrants that you and the president allow into our country counts for congressional district reapportionment?”
Mayorkas replied, “I’m not sure I understand your question, but I can surely share with you that I disagree with its phrasing.”
Kennedy then asked, “Isn’t it true, Mr. Secretary, that the number of illegal immigrants that you and President Biden have allowed into our country counts for allocating electoral votes?”
Mayorkas again said he didn’t understand the question, adding that it was “nothing short of preposterous” and “disrespectful.”
Kennedy countered by saying Mayorkas was aware of the political ramifications of his policies because he was impeached because of them. He told Mayorkas, “It gives me no joy to say this … the vast majority of the American people don’t trust you, that’s why you’ve been impeached. … I think well more than the majority of the American people think that as a result of your behavior and President Biden’s behavior, our southern border is an open bleeding wound.” He said the “vast majority of Americans” view the border crisis as political, “chaotic by design and is intentional.”
Kennedy also raised concerns about Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, reportedly attempting to table or dismiss the impeachment charges altogether. This is after House and Senate Republicans called on Schumer to hold a fair trial. Schumer and Senate and House Democrats have called the impeachment a sham and a political ploy. Mayorkas has denied the charges levied against him, even sending a letter in his defense ahead of the first committee vote to impeach him.
“My Democratic colleagues are going to try to sweep your impeachment under the rug and violate 200 years of Senate precedent in doing it,” Kennedy told Mayorkas. “I don’t think that they will be able to sweep the issue, maybe your impeachment, but not the issue, under a rug as big as the United States of America.”
Two days before the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Kennedy introduced Senate Resolution 623 to establish fair and efficient trial procedures for impeachment and called on his colleagues to pass it. Senate Democrats blocked it.
Kennedy’s election-related concerns were raised after a new poll found that Americans overwhelmingly oppose noncitizens, including illegal border crossers, from voting in U.S. elections. The findings of a recent Rasmussen Reports poll shared with The Center Square show that an overwhelming majority of likely U.S. voters surveyed, 82%, said illegal foreign nationals should not be allowed to vote in the U.S. elections.
And 78% said it was important to prevent them from voting in U.S. elections.
When poll-takers were asked, “How likely is it that the outcome of the 2024 presidential election will be influenced by illegal immigrants voting?” the response was split. A slight plurality, 45%, said it was likely that illegal border crossers would influence the election; 44% said it was not likely; 10% said they weren’t sure.
When asked if those surveyed agreed or disagreed with the statement, “the Biden administration is encouraging so much illegal immigration because they want them to become voters and create a permanent majority for the Democratic Party,” 57% agreed.
A minority, 37%, said they disagreed; 6% said they weren’t sure.
The poll was conducted among 1,085 U.S. likely voters between April 3 and 4 and has a margin of error of 3%. The majority polled were female, between the ages 40 and 64, white, and Democrats, according to the data.
It was also conducted after a record number of more than 11 million people have illegally entered the U.S. since January 2021, including violent criminals and known terrorists, The Center Square has reported.
After Senate Democrats blocked Kennedy’s resolution, he said they were “silencing the American people who want their country’s secure border back.
“The truth is that the Americans are tired of the drug trafficking. They’re tired of the human trafficking. They’re tired of the sexual abuse of women and children. They’re tired of the widespread illnesses. They’re tired of the death. They’re tired of the behavior of President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas, with respect to the border. They’re tired of the chaos. They believe it’s chaotic by design, and they believe it is undermining their national security – and they’re right.”
If Senate Democrats prevent an impeachment trial from being held, Kennedy said, “they will have placed their seal of approval on the lawlessness at the border and the chaos it has brought to so many American communities. And they will have ignored 200 years of Senate precedent.”
