Interior Secretary Deb Haaland acknowledged to Congress on Wednesday that she has never been to the southern border region while in office — despite tons of trash being dumped on government property by a record number of migrants.

“Roughly 40% of our southern border is federal lands,” Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) said during a fiscal year 2025 budget hearing with Haaland. “Is trash on the federal lands along the border an issue?”

“Congressman, I have not been to the border, so I couldn’t tell you that,” Haaland answered.

Tiffany revealed that Bureau of Land Management (BLM) officials told him in February at least 193 tons of garbage had been collected on the US-Mexico border in fiscal year 2021.

But the Interior Department, which both oversees the BLM and manages federal lands, allocated $0 for the clean-up efforts in its annual budget.

“One of your priorities is conserving natural resources,” Tiffany told Haaland. “Is dumping 193 tons of garbage on our federal lands conserving our natural resources?”

“Clearly not,” Haaland acknowledged.

In November, Tiffany introduced the TRASHED Border Act to require the Interior Department and US Forest Service to clear away plastic, medical products and human waste piling up in the borderlands.

The human waste may contaminate local drinking water or hinder crop production on farms.

Each migrant discards between six and eight pounds of garbage as they enter America, according to a report from the conservative Heritage Foundation, adding campfires and illegal trails from crossings can also destroy natural habitats.

More than 7.6 million migrants have been apprehended illegally crossing the southern border into the US since Biden took office, Customs and Border Protection data show.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas — who was impeached in February but never faced a Senate trial for failing to enforce immigration law — told Border Patrol agents in January that more that 85% of those migrants are later released into the US.

Haaland, 63, a former Democratic congresswoman from New Mexico who was confirmed by Senate Democrats in a party-line vote, is responsible for oversight of more than 500 million acres of federal and tribal lands.

House Natural Resources Committee chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), who ran the budget hearing on Wednesday, said it marked “another critical step forward” in holding the Biden administration accountable for misuse of taxpayers’ money.

“Despite its claims to the contrary, at every turn, this administration is ignoring local voices and silencing community input in pursuit of a radical environmental agenda,” Westerman said in a statement.

“Every community is now a border community, as we have seen illegal drug cartels target Indian lands, threatening their members with violence,” he added.

Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) said the Natural Resources committee recently held a hearing with several tribal members who have been targeted by the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels.

“As a member of a federally recognized tribe, I would assume that you care about ensuring that our tribal communities are safe,” Hageman told Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo people. “Have you spoken to President Biden or Secretary Mayorkas about the damaging impacts the administration’s border policy has had on tribal communities?”

“Congresswoman, I have not,” said Haaland.

“Have you done anything to work with other agencies to tackle the human and drug trafficking in Indian country related to the border crisis?” Hageman followed up.

“That is not in the department’s mission,” Haaland responded. “We manage our department’s lands, and we also uphold the trust and treaty obligations of our nation’s Indian tribes.”