Rep. Pat Fallon submitted the papers for the resolution on Jan. 3, the first day of the start of Congress’ 118th term, although it was impossible to proceed due to the chaos wrought by the election of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House .
The resolution confirms that Mayorkas “committed conduct inconsistent with his functions” by failing to maintain operational control of the border.
This move by the Republican Party (GOP) comes in the middle of a busy week for the Joe Biden administration, commented an article in The Hill newspaper.
The Democratic president visited the border for the first time since taking office over the weekend and vowed to allocate more resources to agents patrolling the region.
With Biden, the DHS dismantled the border security apparatus built up during the Donald Trump administration (2017-2021), which led to a crisis, argue members of the now majority party in the House of Commons.
The main reason for promoting Mayorkas’ resignation is that he allegedly lied to Congress when he informed lawmakers that the southern border was under control.
“Your deliberate actions undermine our immigration system, undermine the morale of the Border Patrol and endanger America’s national security. It needs to be removed,” Fallon said in a statement quoted by the newspaper.
However, DHS warned yesterday that Mayorkas has no intention of stepping down, arguing that the reasons given by the GOP for the dismissal are inaccurate and do not meet the standards for classifying them as felonies and misdemeanors.
DHS will continue to work to enforce the law and secure the border “while we build a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system,” Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Marsha Espinosa said in a message.
“Members of Congress can do better than point fingers; They need to come to a table and work on solutions to our broken system and outdated laws that they haven’t updated in more than 40 years,” the official stressed.
Mayorkas has faced criticism from both sides because DHS upholds many of the Trump administration’s immigration policies that pro-immigrant advocates believe violate human rights.
The first Latino to hold the position is standing for congressional oversight hearings, and there are fears the issue could become another political circus for Republicans, who just emerged from 15 rounds of voting for McCarthy.
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