HELENA – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen testified Wednesday at a U.S. House of Representatives impeachment hearing against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

During the House Committee on Homeland Security hearing, entitled “Havoc in the Heartland: How Secretary Mayorkas’ Failed Leadership Has Impacted the States,” Attorney General Knudsen outlined how Mayorkas’ refusal to execute federal immigration law and failure to deal with the southern border crisis have had a devastating impact on Montana communities.

“The southern border presents a difficult challenge for any administration. But Secretary Mayorkas and the Biden Administration have poured gasoline on the fire.

“The most devastating impact of the open border on Montana has been the massive quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine. In 2020, drug task forces in our state seized 6,663 dosage units of fentanyl. In 2021, the first year of Secretary Mayorkas’ watch at the border, that quantity exploded ten-fold to 61,000. In 2022, we tripled that, seizing nearly 190,000 dosage units. The numbers aren’t finalized for 2023, but as of the third quarter, we were on track to seize nearly one half-million dosage units of fentanyl and yet another 200 pounds of methamphetamine. And the cartels trafficked 100 percent of that fentanyl and methamphetamine across the southern border.

“The Trump Administration overcame fierce opposition at every turn and was able to gain control of our southern border as no other previous administration could. But all that progress has been destroyed. Secretary Mayorkas is the architect of that destruction,” Attorney General Knudsen said.

Click here to watch Attorney General Knudsen’s opening remarks, which begins at 48:50.

Click here to read Attorney General Knudsen’s written testimony.

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