Hawley accuses Homeland Security of pulling agents off cases to make sandwiches for illegal immigrants

Have Homeland Security agents been pulled away from investigating cases in order to make sandwiches for immigrants illegally crossing into the United States? 

That’s the question Missouri U-S Senator Josh Hawley asked Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas during a senate hearing this week. 

Hawley cites an unnamed special agent as his source:

“She said that they’re being taken off of fentanyl interdiction, off of child exploitation cases, off of their other investigations into criminals to make sandwiches. That’s her quote. You’re saying that this is a lie, that she’s wrong?” “Senator, we have a number of law enforcement priorities with the resource…” “Is making sandwiches one of them?” “We have, of course not, senator.”

Hawley continued to ask Mayorkas if the unnamed special agent was wrong. 

Mayorkas ignored him and said Homeland Security uses its personnel to achieve “the maximum law enforcement objective possible,” to which Hawley replied, “so you’re not going to deny it” and “this is news!”