In his first meeting as the chairman of the U.S. House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., took aim at the Biden administration.
Gimenez chaired the meeting last week and came out swinging at the administration.
“The subject of today’s hearing—examining challenges at the nation’s maritime borders—directly coincides with the work of our full Committee, which aims to hold the Biden administration accountable for its disastrous open border policies. As the representative of the Florida Keys, I am intimately familiar with the migratory and illegal narcotics crisis on the open sea, and along our coasts,” Gimenez said.
“For the last two years, the Biden administration’s policies have caused unlawful migration to surge month after month, creating an unprecedented situation, including in my community in South Florida. This past January, Florida’s Dry Tortugas National Park temporarily was forced to close down to the public due to almost 300 arrivals by sea. The U.S. Coast Guard removed the migrants from the park onboard a Coast Guard cutter and transferred them ashore to Key West,” he added.
Gimenez, who served as mayor of Miami-Dade County for almost a decade before being elected to Congress in 2020, represents parts of Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. His district includes Homestead Air Reserve Base and Naval Air Station Key West. Gimenez was named to the U.S. House Armed Services Committee at the start of the year.