During a Senate committee hearing, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas faced questions about the employment of an immigration officer, Nejwa Ali, who has expressed support for Hamas and made anti-Israel statements on social media.
Mayorkas refused to answer whether Ali had been fired and instead launched a personal attack on Senator Josh Hawley.
Hawley presented Mayorkas with evidence of Ali’s extreme rhetoric and asked about her role in the department. (Trending: Judge Declines To Recuse From Trump 2024 Ballot Case)
🚨 Senator Hawley GRILLS Mayorkas over REFUSING to fire a DHS employee who repeatedly praised Hamas 🔥 pic.twitter.com/JDtd90FAfa
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 31, 2023
Mayorkas claimed there was a distinction between endorsing terrorism and odious speech.
Sen. Josh Hawley asked Mayorkas, “What about people who say things like, on October 7, ‘F— Israel, the government and its military, are you ready for your downfall.’ People who say things like, ‘F— Israel and any Jew who supports Israel. May your conscience haunt your dreams until your last breath, Palestine will be free one day, f— apartheid Israel and any Israeli.’ This is pretty extreme rhetoric, don’t you think?”
Mayorkas answered: “I do and I think there is a distinction between espousing or endorsing terrorist ideology and speech that is odious that does not rise to that level.”
Sen. Hawley continued; “This person works for you. This is Nejwa Ali, an employee of the Department of Homeland Security who posted these comments on October the 7th. She also posted this graphic … a Hamas paraglider depicted here with a machine gun flying into Israel.”
“She posted it under her online alias with the celebratory ‘free Palestine.’ What’s going on here? Is this typical of people who work at DHS? This is an asylum and immigration officer who is posting these frankly pro-genocidal slogans and images on the day Israelis are being slaughtered in their beds. What have you done about this?” (Trending: It’s Time For Donald Trump To Drop Out)
Mayorkas replied angrily, “Four things I’d like to say to you, number one, your question, to suggest that that is emblematic of the men and women of DHS is despicable.”
“I’m sorry — this person works for DHS. Have you fired her?”, interrupted Hawley.
Hawley concluded his time saying: “You said you will not. You know about this. I cant believe you come to this committee hearing, you know all about this, and say it’s wrong of me to ask the question.”
“I think your performance is despicable and the fact that you are not willing provide answers to this committee is absolutely atrocious.”
The House Oversight Committee has raised concerns about Ali’s hiring and her previous work for the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
Ali has defiantly expressed support for Hamas and threatened legal action against media coverage.
