Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives released impeachment articles against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday regarding claims that he has mishandled the crisis at the southern border.
The 20-page resolution by the House Homeland Security Committee includes two articles of impeachment relating to the record-high levels of unlawful migration into the United States from Mexico.
The first of the two articles accuses Mayorkas of participating in a “catch and release scheme,” which involves the release of unlawful migrants in the United States “without effective mechanisms to ensure appearances before the immigration courts for removal proceedings or to ensure removal in the case of aliens ordered removed.”
The committee also stated in the resolution that Mayorkas refused to comply with multiple detention mandates for unlawful migrants, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary allegedly telling agency personnel that they “‘should not rely on the fact of conviction … alone,’ even with respect to aliens subject to mandatory detention and removal.”
The second impeachment article alleges that Mayorkas lied to Congress when he said that the border was “secure” and “closed,” telling lawmakers that DHS has “operational control” of the border.
Republicans on the committee further claimed in the article that Mayorkas “knowingly made false statements, and knowingly obstructed lawful oversight of the Department of Homeland Security,” which he allegedly did to “obfuscate the results of his willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law.”
Multiple House Republicans have spoken out about their support for the impeachment articles. Rep. Dale Strong (R-AL) said on social media that Mayorkas’ “refusal to enforce the laws passed by Congress created the crisis at the Southern Border.”
“He has repeatedly violated his oath, refused to appear before the Committee, and ignored over 170 lawful requests. Whether he likes it or not, accountability is coming,” the congressman wrote.
These impeachment articles come as the country continues to deal with an unprecedented number of unlawful migrants arriving at the southern border, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection reporting a record-breaking 302,034 encounters in December.
House Homeland Security chair Mark Green (R-TN) released a statement about the crisis and said that Mayorkas “has outdone himself yet again,” adding that the high number of encounters should “serve as more undeniable proof that Secretary Mayorkas must be impeached.”
“This staggering number of encounters at our borders only happens by design and a willful refusal to comply with the laws passed by Congress. The harsh reality is that this secretary has intentionally opened our borders, sending a clear message worldwide: entering this country illegally means release into the interior, with little to no chance of removal — and the world has responded accordingly,” he said.
“This secretary is utterly unfit for the office he holds. He has neglected to fulfill his oath to secure the homeland and to comply with the laws of the United States. And the results have been devastating for our country,” Green added.
In response to the impeachment, DHS issued a memo:
“This markup is just more of the same political games from House Homeland Security Committee (CHS) Republicans. They don’t want to fix the problem; they want to campaign on it. That’s why they have undermined efforts to achieve bipartisan solutions and ignored the facts, legal scholars and experts, and even the Constitution itself in their quest to baselessly impeach Secretary Mayorkas,” reads the document.
Texas has taken multiple steps to slow down the number of unlawful crossings, which has resulted in multiple legal battles with the federal government.
The state is currently involved in litigation revolving around the tactics to deter unlawful migrants, including a floating barrier in the Rio Grande, concertina wire along the border, and the ongoing dispute between the two sides of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.