Rep. Pat Fallon, whose district encompasses part of the northeastern Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, filed the resolution on January 9, as The Dallas Express previously reported. About two-thirds of House Republicans, including 11 of the other Texans, have signed on as co-sponsors of the resolution.

Fallon issued a statement in which he said, “Secretary Mayorkas has violated the law and his implemented policies that undermine law enforcement activities at our southern border.

“From perjuring himself before Congress about maintaining operational control of the border to the infamous ‘whipgate’ slander against our border patrol agents, Secretary Mayorkas has proven time and time again that he is unfit to lead the Department of Homeland Security,” the statement continued. “His willful actions erode our immigration system, undermine border patrol morale, and imperil American national security. He must be removed from office.”

Local Republican Reps. Beth Van Duyne of Irving, Jake Ellzey of Midlothian, Keith Self of McKinney and Lance Gooden of Terrell have co-sponsored the resolution to impeach Mayorkas.

“The border is not secure,” Gooden said. “He’s lied about security, and there’s a strong appetite to investigate this administration and hold him accountable. There’s certainly an appetite to investigate and impeach Mayorkas.”

Gooden added that he would “absolutely” support impeaching President Biden for his failure to enforce immigration laws as well.

Rep. Self said, “We are committed to pushing back against the draconian policies of the Biden administration,” adding that Mayorkas “absolutely” meets the Constitution’s criteria for impeachment.

Other Texas Republican co-sponsors include Reps. Troy Nehls of Richmond, Brian Babin of Woodville, Pete Sessions of Waco, Dan Crenshaw of Houston, Nathaniel Moran of Tyler, Morgan Luttrell of Magnolia, and Monica De La Cruz of McAllen.

In the House of Representatives, impeachment only requires support from a simple majority. Fallon said he expects more people to co-sign the impeachment resolution when Congress returns from recess.

However, Rep. Tony Gonzales, another Texas Republican, has voiced hesitance about the impeachment.

“If the hearings take us down that line [of voting for his impeachment], then hearings take us down that line,” he said. “But I’m waiting to see all the facts come out.”

The Republicans only have a nine-seat majority in the House, with 222 seats compared to the Democrats’ 213 seats. If only five Republicans declined to support Mayorkas’ impeachment, it would be blocked. Conviction and removal require two-thirds of the Senate, in which the GOP has only 49 of 100 seats.

A letter sent from 11 Texas Republicans to Mayorkas was released Thursday accusing him of “conscious inaction in response to the crisis at the Southern border” amounting to “dereliction of duty” and “complete ineptitude.”

Eight of the 11 signers support impeachment. The three who do not are Reps. Kay Granger of Fort Worth, Michael Burgess of Pilot Point, and Ronny Jackson of Amarillo.

One of the three proposed articles of impeachment says Mayorkas “knowingly slandered” border patrol agents by suggesting they lashed Haitian migrants with whips near Del Rio. Other articles accuse Mayorkas of failing to maintain “operational control” of the southern border.

The resolution has been referred to the Judiciary Committee, but no hearings have been scheduled yet. Texan Reps. Gooden, Troy Nehls, and Nathaniel Moran, who are co-sponsors of the resolution, serve on the committee.

The Dallas Express has reached out to the United States representatives for the districts covering Dallas-Fort Worth for comment, but received no response at the time of publication.