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Republicans at Tuesday's hearing are likely to question Mayorkas
about the resignation and about the 2.2 million migrant arrests
at the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2022, which ended on
Sept. 30, as well as Magnus' resignation.
Magnus, who held the role of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
commissioner since December 2021, resigned in a letter on
Saturday to President Joe Biden. A day earlier, Magnus said he
had been pressured by Mayorkas to step down or be fired.
It was the most significant staffing shakeup in Biden's
Democratic administration to follow last week's U.S. midterm
election vote and signals that record border crossings remain a
concern under Biden, a Democrat.
FBI Director Christopher Wray and National Counterterrorism
Center Director Christine Abizaid will also testify in the U.S.
House Homeland Security Committee hearing, which focuses on
security threats.
The federal law enforcement agencies issued an Oct. 28 bulletin
to state and local officials warning that political candidates,
election officials and the public faced a heighten risk of
violence around the Nov. 8 midterm elections.
On the day the bulletin was released, Paul Pelosi, husband of
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was attacked in the
couple's San Francisco home. The election proceeded with no
major acts of violence or unrest.
In April, Representative Clay Higgins, a Republican from
Louisiana and a committee member, said Mayorkas would be
impeached if Republicans controlled the House of Representatives
and called on him to resign.
Democrats secured control of the Senate in the midterm contest
while the House of Representatives hinges on several tight races
that could hand Republicans a majority.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Howard Goller)
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