On Wednesday, members of the House Homeland Security Committee heard the first round of testimony in an effort to determine whether Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas should face impeachment articles.
Republicans have accused Mayorkas of allowing an “invasion” by refusing to take adequate steps to stem the flow of unlawful migrants into the U.S.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) started the process in November by bringing charges to the House floor. Members determined the inquiry should be sent to the committee before a full-floor vote. The hearing scheduled for Wednesday will be the first of several investigations to determine whether Mayorkas has violated clauses of the Constitution.
The charges focus on two aspects of federal law, the first being the Secure Fence Act of 2006. Mayorkas “failed to maintain operational control over the border” through “his willful admittance of border crossers, terrorists, human traffickers, drugs, and other contraband,” documents allege.
The charges also accuse Mayorkas of violating the Guarantee Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The clause addresses the federal government’s responsibility to repel invasions. Republicans claim that approximately 10 million unlawful migrants have entered the country under Mayorkas’ oversight.
Texas has been one of the most significantly impacted states as a result of the rising tide of unlawful immigration. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has taken unilateral steps through Operation Lone Star to use state resources to address unlawful border crossings. On some days, more than 10,000 people enter the country unlawfully, vastly overwhelming Customs and Border Protection abilities.
Abbott has drawn attention with programs that include busing migrants to cities that have declared themselves as “sanctuaries.” Mayors in Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C., have begun to call on the Biden administration to address the cost of housing and feeding tens of thousands of people who have been relocated after crossing the border into Texas.
Among the major issues arising from uncontrolled border crossings are human trafficking and drug trafficking. The U.S. has seen a massive spike in the number of overdose deaths resulting from widespread fentanyl contamination in fake medications. Mexico and China are the main sources of fentanyl, a cheaply-made synthetic opioid, that is trafficked directly into the U.S.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a memo ahead of the Wednesday hearing, CNN reported, which claimed DHS has intercepted more fentanyl and effected more arrests for fentanyl-related crimes in the past two years than the previous five years combined. Further, it said the majority of all unlawful migrant encounters at the southwest border under the Biden administration have ended in the individual’s removal, return, or expulsion.
DHS’s memo also called the impeachment push against Mayorkas a “baseless political attack.”
In the event that an impeachment is initiated, a two-thirds majority vote of the Senate is required to convict an impeached official, an unlikely outcome given the current even political split in that chamber.