TULSA — A massive influx of people attempting to enter the United States across its southern border continues unabated, after months of record-high numbers of crossings.

For U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla), the time has come for new leadership of the Department of Homeland Security, and he’s clearly got a lot of company.

Nearly four dozen House Republicans signed a letter Friday demanding DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas resign.

Hern told KRMG Monday he was among the signatories of that letter, and explained his reasons in some detail.

“Because of his failed leadership, I’ve called for his resignation,” Hern confirmed. “I’ve spent 35 years in business as a CEO. I’ve seen time and time again corporations, the employees of corporations, lose confidence in their leader. The leader resigns. And if Secretary Mayorkas had any kind of humility about him, understood where he’s at in this particular lack of leadership, he would just leave.”

Hern said law enforcement tells him 90% of the fentanyl entering the country is coming in through the southern border, via collaboration between Mexican drug cartels and Chinese gangs.

Fentanyl is a powerful, synthetic opioid that reportedly caused some 100,000 fatal overdoses in the U.S. in 2021 alone.

People attempting to immigrate to the U.S. often end up serving as drug mules, possibly in lieu of payments of large amounts of money to coyotes and cartels.

Hern remains a strong proponent of completing a border wall to stem the flow of illegal entries into the country, as well as the fentanyl and methamphetamine pouring across the southern border.

In his conversation with KRMG, Hern also discussed the events of January 6th and subsequent investigations, the COVID-19 pandemic, and his efforts to get a post office in Owasso named after Air National Guard Technical Sgt. Marshal Roberts, killed by a missile attack in Iraq in March of 2020.

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