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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently testified before the House Judiciary Committee where he claimed that the U.S. border was “not” open, despite the Biden administration’s continued failure to deter illegal immigration. Since Biden took office, the southern border has experienced a record-breaking influx of illegal aliens, with totals estimated to exceed 5 million.

Mayorkas defended the administration’s haphazard policies, but his logic was met with scathing skepticism by Republican lawmakers who probed him on current border policies and the rising number of illegal immigrants who have been allowed to enter the country. When Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) asked Mayorkas if the border was open, the DHS secretary maintained that it was not, much to the derision of House Republicans. The GOP suggests that “the millions of illegal aliens who have crossed our southern border would disagree,” not to mention border agents, states, and towns at the forefront of this crisis.

Lawmakers demanded answers about the number of illegal immigrants that have been permitted to stay in the U.S. and whether there would be any threshold on this number. Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) noted that over 2.1 million illegal immigrants have been released into the country since Biden’s inauguration, equating to the population of the entire state of Nebraska.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) grilled Mayorkas over the “Mayorkas doctrine,” which promotes a lenient approach to individuals who cross the border illegally. Under the Biden administration, deportations have decreased significantly, leading many to question the sincerity of their immigration policies altogether.

Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection show that there have been more than 1.7 million southwest land border encounters so far this fiscal year, which began in October 2020. Despite Mayorkas’ claims to the contrary, “numbers don’t lie,” as House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) pointed out. The Biden administration’s refusal to tackle the border crisis head-on continues to prompt steep criticism from conservative lawmakers.