WASHINGTON – Members of the House of Representatives 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 article accuses Mayorkas of deliberately and systematically refusing to obey the law and breaching the public trust.
The House Homeland Security Committee is expected to approve the charges at a hearing Tuesday and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) vowed Friday to hold a floor vote “as soon as possible.”
Mayorkas, 64, would be the second Cabinet secretary in US history to be impeached — and the first since Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876.
The first article said Mayorkas chose not to enforce the law, specifically the requirement that asylum seekers crossing the border illegally “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. -case basis.
Mayorkas said this month that 85% of immigrants who enter the US illegally are released pending a decision. The figure is in addition to a separate program created last year that allows 30,000 asylum seekers each month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter the country through legal gateways to await case decisions.
A second article of impeachment accused Mayorkas of lying to Congress about the border being “secure” and failing to comply with document requests.
Mayorkas, who served in the top DHS post during former President Barack Obama’s eight years in office, will face a Senate hearing if he is impeached by the House — throwing an election-year spotlight on the border debate.
House Republicans unveiled articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Sunday for allegedly failing to do his job amid record breaking illegal crossings. AFP via Getty Images
The embattled secretary’s department revealed late Friday that December set a new record for illegal crossings — with data showing 302,000 people were arrested along the US-Mexico border that month.
House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) said that the data “serves as even more irrefutable evidence that Secretary Mayorkas must be impeached.”
“This secretary is completely unqualified for the position he holds,” Green said.
The article accuses Mayorkas of deliberately and systematically refusing to obey the law and breaching the public trust. Getty Images
“He has neglected to fulfill his oath to protect the country and obey the laws of the United States.”
“This secretary deliberately opened our borders, sending a clear message to the world: entering this country illegally means being released into the interior, with little or no chance of removal — and the world has responded accordingly,” he continued.
Ahead of Tuesday’s markup, DHS released a scathing 4-page counter memo accusing House Republicans of embarking on an “unconstitutional, evidence-free prosecution.”
The House Homeland Security Committee is expected to approve the charges at a hearing Tuesday and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) vowed Friday to hold a floor vote “as soon as possible.” Eric Kayne/ZUMA Press Wire / SplashNews.com
“This impeachment route is a distraction from important national security priorities and the work Congress must do to truly fix our broken immigration laws,” the department said.
The memo argues that Mayorkas has been enforcing the law at the border, noting that the majority of immigrants 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 the previous five years combined,” and claimed that the secretary had “provided historic levels of access and responsiveness” to the committee.
The department also strongly rejected allegations that Mayorkas lied to Congress, pointing to allegations by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) in November that measuring operational controls at the border is “a matter of opinion.”
“Mayorkas has repeatedly and consistently testified regarding the operational control and statutory definition of the term, which the administration has never achieved, versus the department’s use of the term. There is no basis to accuse him of lying,” replied DHS.
Mayorkas will become the second Cabinet secretary in US history to be indicted — following Secretary of War William Belknap for corruption in 1876. Getty Images
Additionally, the department argued that the results of the dismissals were “fixed from the outset,” tainted by a “cynical and hypocritical process,” and lacked evidence of criminality and high misconduct.
“They decided to charge the Secretary before starting their so-called ‘investigation’. Just ask Chairman Mark Green, who was caught on tape fundraising a plan to impeach the Secretary last spring, or Marjorie Taylor Greene,” DHS argued.
Democrats have sought to divert the debate by pointing to bipartisan Senate negotiations that could lead to proposed new limits on the number of asylum seekers allowed to enter the US — noting that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has claimed that former President Donald Trump tried to scuttle the deal to keep the issue in the spotlight ahead of an expected November rematch with Biden.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre added on Friday that the White House viewed the impeachment push as “disgraceful” and a “waste of time”.
The border surge began in 2021, when Biden took office pledging a friendlier approach to immigrants.
Shortly after being sworn in, the now 81-year-old ended construction of Trump’s US-Mexico border wall and reversed his predecessor’s “Stay in Mexico” policy, which required most asylum seekers to wait south of the border while US officials ruled on their claims of persecution.
Under Biden, many immigrants chose to turn themselves in to authorities to get the processing paperwork that would qualify them for a work permit after an initial waiting period.
The admission has caused tension between Biden and major Democratic mayors, including Eric Adams of New York, whose relationship with Biden soured when Adams criticized the Fed for abandoning city governments to fund housing and services for thousands of immigrants, forcing local budget cuts.
Nearly 2.5 million people were arrested after illegally crossing the US-Mexico border in the 2023 fiscal year, which ends on September 30, in addition to an estimated 670,000 “tourists” who managed to avoid arrest.
Fiscal year 2022 set a previous record of nearly 2.4 million arrests — up from 1.7 million in fiscal 2021.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
