01-29-2024, 03:12 AM
Quote:WASHINGTON — House Republicans announced two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Sunday, accusing him of failing to do his job by allowing thousands of asylum seekers to enter the country amid record-breaking illegal crossings.
The articles accuse Mayorkas of willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law and breach of public trust.
The House Homeland Security Committee is expected to approve the charges at a Tuesday hearing and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) vowed Friday to hold a floor vote “as soon as possible.”
The first article says Mayorkas chose not to enforce the law, specifically a requirement that asylum seekers who illegally cross the border “shall be detained” until there is a decision on their status — with release into the US interior only allowed on a case-by-case basis.
The second article of impeachment accuses Mayorkas of lying to Congress about the border being “secure” and failing to comply with document requests.
The embattled secretary’s department revealed late Friday that December set a fresh record for illegal crossings — with data showing 302,000 people were apprehended along the US-Mexico border that month.
House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) said that the data “serve as more undeniable proof that Secretary Mayorkas must be impeached.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s markup, DHS released a scathing 4-page counter-memo accusing House Republicans of embarking on an “unconstitutional, evidence-free impeachment.”
The memo argued that Mayorkas has enforced the laws at the border, noting that a majority of migrants encountered at the border “have been removed,” that the department has seized more fentanyl and made more arrests for fentanyl-related offenses ” in the last two years than in the previous five years combined,” and claimed that the secretary has “provided historic levels of access and responsiveness” to the committee.
Democrats have sought to redirect the debate by pointing to bipartisan Senate negotiations that could result in new proposed limits on the number of asylum seekers allowed to enter the US — noting that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has alleged that former President Donald Trump is trying to scuttle a deal to keep the issue in focus ahead of his expected November rematch with Biden.
The border surge began in 2021, as Biden took office vowing a more welcoming approach to migrants.
Under Biden, many migrants choose to turn themselves in to authorities to get processing paperwork that entitles them to work permits following an initial wait period.