House Republicans recently made a significant move towards impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas by formally presenting their allegations before a committee vote. The Republicans have introduced two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, claiming a deliberate and systemic refusal to comply with the law and accusing him of knowingly making false statements and obstructing lawful oversight of the Department of Homeland Security.
Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., of the House Homeland Security Committee, stated, “These articles lay out a clear, compelling, and irrefutable case for Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ impeachment.” Green, the author of the articles, added, “The results of his lawless behavior have been disastrous for our country.”
On Tuesday, the House Homeland Security Committee will deliberate on the articles of impeachment. If approved, it will bring the impeachment process one step closer to a full floor vote in the House.
In response to the allegations, the Department of Homeland Security released a memo criticizing the Republicans for undermining efforts to achieve bipartisan solutions and baselessly impeaching Secretary Mayorkas. The memo argues that the Republicans have ignored facts, legal scholars, experts, and even the Constitution itself in their pursuit of impeachment.
The Republican-led Homeland Security Committee has long criticized Mayorkas’ implementation of family reunification parole programs, which allowed certain foreign nationals to wait in the U.S. for immigration visas. The committee has deemed these moves unlawful and argues that Mayorkas should have prioritized resources for the detention of individuals who crossed the border illegally.
The Department of Homeland Security stated that it has adhered to the mandatory detention requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act to the maximum extent possible. It emphasized that a standard requiring 100% detention would mean that Congress should have impeached every DHS Secretary since the department’s inception.
The second impeachment article alleges that Mayorkas knowingly made false statements to Congress regarding border security and obstructed oversight. Chairman Green stated, “Congress has a duty to see that the executive branch implements and enforces the laws we have passed. Yet Secretary Mayorkas has repeatedly refused to do so. His lawless behavior was exactly what the Framers gave us the impeachment power to remedy. It is time we take this affront to a coequal branch of government, to the Constitution, and to the American people seriously.”
Democrats have argued that there is no legal basis for impeachment. Mayorkas offered to testify in the impeachment inquiry this month, although Chairman Green accused him of turning down the committee’s request.
The House Homeland Security Committee officially launched impeachment hearings earlier this month. These impeachment developments come at a time when negotiations between the White House and Congress regarding border policy changes are ongoing. President Joe Biden has expressed his intent to address border security, describing the negotiated bipartisan bill as the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border the country has ever had.
For more details, read the full article on F5mag.com.