A North Texas congressman has filed articles of impeachment against the United States secretary of Homeland Security.
Rep. Pat Fallon, a Republican, authored a resolution introducing articles of impeachment against Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the grounds of “high crimes and misdemeanors” on Monday.
Lawmakers had last filed for the impeachment of Mayorkas in August 2021.
Fallon alleges that Mayorkas is in violation of his constitutional oath in terms of operational control.
Operational control, as defined by the resolution, is “the prevention of all unlawful entries into the United States, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband.”
The resolution claims that Mayorkas has fallen short of his duties due to the fact that over 5,500,000 unlawful migrants have crossed the southern border under his leadership, with 20 straight months of over 150,000 unlawful border crossings and a 180 percent increase in southern border encounters.
Fallon also alleges that the current fentanyl crisis affecting the nation is due in part to Mayorkas’ leadership.
“Under Secretary Mayorkas, more fentanyl has crossed the border in the last 2 months than in all of fiscal year 2019 under President Trump’s leadership,” said Fallon in the resolution.
“In fiscal year 2022, over 14,000 pounds of poisonous fentanyl was seized at the southern border,” the resolution continued.
Mayorkas, along with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a whole, is also allegedly in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act through the administration of catch-and-release programs such as “Notice to Report” and the “parole plus Alternatives to Detention process.”
The act requires that unlawful migrants be detained until processed.
These initiatives are said to violate this law by allowing over 1,000,000 unlawful migrants to be “recklessly” released into the nation.
Other alleged violations include the termination of contracts for additional border wall construction, decommissioning of the Migrant Protection Protocols, and attempts to repeal Title 42, which allows for the speedy expulsion of unlawful migrants.
Texas is one of 19 states that sued to keep Title 42 in effect, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Gov. Greg Abbott, who had supported Mayorkas’ impeachment in the August filing, met President Biden on Sunday at the southern border to hand-deliver a letter to the president, imploring him to enforce immigration laws.
Rep. Brian Babin, another Texas Republican, announced that he had joined Fallon on his articles of impeachment on Wednesday.
“[Mayorkas] has abandoned the oath he swore to uphold and refuses to enforce our laws and protect the homeland. Actions have consequences,” said Babin in a tweet.
Mayorkas released a statement in preparation for the suspension of Title 42, asserting that even without Title 42 in place, the border would be secured.
“[L]et me be clear: Title 42 or not, the border is not open. We will continue to fully enforce our immigration laws in a safe, orderly, and humane manner,” claimed Mayorkas in the release. “Individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States will be subject to prompt expulsion under Title 42 or removal under Title 8.”
Mayorkas further asserted DHS’s commitment to its duties.
“I have been to the border nearly twenty times, and I can attest to the steadfast commitment of the DHS workforce to secure our border, enforce our laws, and build safe, orderly, and humane immigration processes under extremely difficult conditions,” he said.
The New York Post asked Mayorkas if he had any comment on the introduction of articles of impeachment against him. Mayorkas, who had just left meetings with President Biden and leaders of Canada and Mexico, briefly paused and said, “No.”