After careful consideration, Committee Democrats have decided not to participate in the Republicans’ field hearing this week," said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) in a statement to the Washington Examiner. "Unfortunately, it has become clear that Republicans planned to politicize this event from the start, breaking with the committee’s proud history of bipartisanship. Instead of a fact-finding mission to develop better border security and immigration policies, Republicans are traveling to the border to attack the administration and try to score political points with their extreme rhetoric - despite having voted against the resources border personnel need."
Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) announced last week that the committee would hold a hearing in the Rio Grande Valley and hear from the top U.S. Border Patrol official, among other witnesses.
Green criticized Democrats for inviting a witness of their choice, then abandoning that witness with their refusal to attend the hearing. That person, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official, is still slated to attend the hearing.
