House Republicans offered Department of Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas a final opportunity to defend his handling of the southern border ahead of an expected impeachment vote. 

Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee urged Mayorkas to submit written testimony, calling it his "last chance" after he declined to testify at a public hearing Thursday morning.

"The Committee has given Secretary Mayorkas chance after chance to appear and explain his actions, decisions, and statements to us and to the American people,” Homeland Security chair Mark Green (R-TN) said.

Mayorkas snubs "last warning"

Mayorkas cited a conflicting meeting with officials in Mexico as his reason for being unable to attend Thursday's hearing.

Republicans invited two grieving mothers to paint a searing picture of the chaos Biden and Mayorkas have caused.

“Mr. Mayorkas is partly responsible for my daughter’s death,” said Josephine Dunn, whose daughter died of a fentanyl overdose. “Whatever he’s doing I hope is more important than that.”

Another witness, Tammy Nobles, blamed Biden officials for her daughter's murder by an MS-13 gang member and illegal alien from El Salvador.

"For me, this not a political issue. This a safety issue for everyone living in the United States. This could have been anyone’s daughter. I don’t want any other parent to live the nightmare that I am living," she said.

Border crisis rages on

Republicans have long accused Mayorkas and Biden of neglecting their duty to secure the border - or else willfully sabotaging border security to bring future Democratic voters into the country.

Democrats, who impeached President Donald Trump twice, say Biden's handling of the border is a policy issue that does not rise to the level of "high crimes and misdemeanors."

Republicans moved to begin impeachment proceedings against Mayorkas last week, after three years of regularly blasting him over a record influx of illegal immigrants and deadly drugs like fentanyl.

Mayorkas has routinely deflected blame while urging Congress to address a "broken system."

“Instead of wasting time on a baseless impeachment effort, the House majority should join Senate Republicans and Democrats working with Secretary Mayorkas to fix our broken immigration laws and properly fund the department," the Department of Homeland Security said.

In December, illegal immigration hit another record of 300,000 border crossings even as Mayorkas privately admitted to Border Patrol that an estimated 85% of illegal immigrants are being released into the U.S.