The House Rules Committee approved articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday, potentially leading to a close floor vote tomorrow as the chamber’s narrow Republican majority will need to win over resistant members. There is.
It was passed by a Republican majority on the committee, led by Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) resolution The 8-4 vote approved Democrats’ objections to Mayorkas’ “deliberate and systematic refusal” to comply with immigration laws and his testimony before Congress last year that the U.S. border was “secure.” Confirmed breach of trust.
“The resolution before us is about accountability,” Cole said in his opening remarks. “I am not pleased with our actions today. However, Secretary Mayorkas’ actions amounted to a deliberate refusal to enforce our nation’s laws and an abdication of the American people’s trust. We will take action.” There is a need.”
“Secretary Mayorkas has refused to uphold his oath of office. If he does not fulfill his duty, unfortunately the House must fulfill its constitutional duty.”
The House Homeland Security Committee voted in favor of the resolution along party lines early Wednesday, after a 15-hour effort by Democrats to halt proceedings and introduce other amendments.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) promised in a speech on the first floor last week that Republicans would move “quickly forward” to pass the article, which would make Mayorkas only the second person in U.S. history to be impeached. Become a minister.
Under President Ulysses S. Grant, the House of Representatives Secretary of War William Belknap impeached In 1876 he was arrested on corruption charges, but resigned and was later acquitted by the Senate.
The verdict also has implications for President Biden’s top border enforcement chief, given that Democrats control the Senate and no lawmaker has announced a desire to convict Mayorkas on either article. It seems likely that this will happen.
House Republicans are currently majority of one vote The House of Representatives gathered in light of Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana being absent due to cancer treatment and Representative Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) recovering from a car accident. .
Previously undecided moderates like Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) have pledged in recent weeks to vote “yes” on the resolution, which will be sent to the House of Representatives on Tuesday. A vote is scheduled.
Some Democrats, including Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas and Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, have called out a growing “crisis” at the southern border.
Cuéllar told the Post last week that he would not vote to impeach Mayorkas.
In a fiery floor speech, Johnson declared that the Biden-Mayorkas border policy was “utter madness” and posed a “clear and present danger” to the United States unless it was stopped.
At Monday’s hearing, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Greene (R-Tenn.) introduced the article, responding to Democratic objections that impeachment is an unlawful act, and saying that if the secretary ” Then I would do exactly the same thing.” A partisan stunt.
He added that former President Richard Nixon also faces an impeachment inquiry that does not specify any specific crimes, but Democrats have argued throughout the process that Mayorkas’ actions cannot be prosecuted.
House Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi) called the resolution “a betrayal of the committee’s bipartisan track record since it was established after 9/11.” I complied.
“Republicans have failed to bring a constitutionally viable case,” he said, calling the resulting resolution a “sham impeachment” that falls short of the constitutional level of felonies and misdemeanors. ” was criticized.
Thompson went on to point out that the issue “has already been brought up in the courts and ruled in favor of the Biden administration,” citing last year’s Supreme Court decision in United States v. He said the matter was being resolved through legal procedures.
The bill, Mayorkas said, “contributed significantly to unprecedented levels of illegal immigration, increased control of the Southwest border by drug cartels, and enormous costs to states and localities affected by the influx of foreign nationals.” He blames it.
Specifically, the Secretary of Homeland Security failed to comply with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, implementing a de facto “catch-and-release” policy, and since President Biden took office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been It is claimed that there have been over 8.5 million encounters with January 2021.
At least 7 million of those deaths occurred on the southern border. CBP data showbroke the record for three consecutive years.
in a September 30, 2021 MemoMr. Mayorkas proposed guidelines that would water down enforcement and other “effective mechanisms” for detaining immigrants and require them to appear in subsequent court hearings on their asylum claims.
This policy created a backlog. More than 3 million people in exile says the impeachment resolution.
Other policies have increased humanitarian paroles “all at once” rather than on a “case-by-case” basis as required by federal law, with up to three per month waiting to enter the country from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Ten thousand immigrants are allowed, the report said. US asylum hearing.
The resolution adds that in border towns and some Democratic-run sanctuary cities, such as New York, the crossings are “creating a financial and humanitarian crisis and dramatically reducing the quality of life for residents.” ing.
“For example, since 2022, more than 150,000 immigrants have entered New York City’s shelter intake system. In fact, New York City’s mayor has said, “We are past breaking point.”[t]His problems will destroy New York City.”
“In fiscal year 2023, New York City spent $1.45 billion to address the Alejandro N. Mayorkas immigration crisis, and city officials will spend an additional $12 billion over the next three fiscal years to I am concerned that there will be painful budget cuts to services.”
According to the resolution, fentanyl seizures have skyrocketed from approximately 4,800 pounds in 2020 to 27,000 pounds in 2023, making it “currently the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 45.” “I’m here.”
Additionally, the paper notes that at least 361 border crossers have been placed on terrorist watch lists during his tenure, and that Mexican cartels will earn about $13 billion in windfall cash through “smuggling operations” as of 2022. He says he is benefiting from it. Just four years ago, it was $500 million.
The second article of impeachment accuses Mayorkas of “intentionally making false statements and willfully obstructing the Department of Homeland Security’s lawful oversight” by evading Congressional records requests.
The report notes that during a Congressional hearing last year, Mr. It cites multiple statements stating that
The latter article also notes the secretary’s refusal to implement the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols (also known as the Remain in Mexico policy), which requires migrants to wait for asylum hearings south of the U.S. border. .
If passed, the Senate would have to immediately begin hearing proceedings with several House Republican impeachment managers, as it also seeks to pass a new border security bill that would address issues related to asylum and parole.
