A Republican-led committee has agreed to move the impeachment case of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to a packed house – a vote will take place today.
The House Rules Committee voted 8-4 after midnight Wednesday to impeach Mayorkas over a “deliberate and systematic” refusal to enforce laws protecting U.S. borders.
If the votes against Mayorkas go through, he would be the first Cabinet official to be indicted in nearly 150 years.
The articles of impeachment said Mayorkas “refused to comply with federal immigration laws” and that he “breached the public's trust” after confirming to Congress that the U.S.-Mexico border would be closed amid the massive migrant crisis in the United States USA is safe.
The Homeland Security secretary said the allegations against him were “politically motivated and completely baseless” and that the country was doing “everything possible in a broken system to encourage non-citizens to use legal avenues to protect those who are not.” do, impose consequences and reduce irregular migration.”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas could be indicted Tuesday amid articles that said he “refused to comply with federal immigration laws” and that he “breached the public trust.”
In December, 300,000 crossings were recorded across the U.S.-Mexico border. Mayorkas has argued that his agencies are woefully underfunded
If impeached, Mayorkas must still be convicted by the Senate after a trial in order to be removed as secretary. This move is unlikely since Democrats have the majority in the Senate.
Mayorkas said he would be prepared to defend himself if the Senate holds a trial.
When the House Homeland Security Committee voted last week, all Republicans voted in favor, while Democrats unanimously opposed it.
“We cannot allow this man to remain in office any longer,” said Chairman Mark Green.
Last Tuesday's Homeland Affairs Committee hearing descended into chaos as Democrats backed off their stalling tactics and Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. compared Donald Trump's tough immigration stance to Adolf Hitler.
The hectic and lengthy hearing dragged late into the night due to the highly political nature of the resolution, which accused Mayorkas of high crimes and misdemeanors.
Democrats filed amendments and other procedural motions to keep the hearing going, further delaying the vote.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise insisted that the articles of impeachment be introduced in the House this week.
The Mayorkas impeachment resolution came to the fore as border crossings reached new records in recent months – including 300,000 in December alone – accelerating the impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden.
“This is a terrible day for the committee, the United States, the Constitution and our great country,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the committee’s ranking Democrat.
If impeached, Mayorkas must still be convicted by the Senate after a trial in order to be removed as secretary. This move is unlikely since Democrats have the majority in the Senate
Referring to Trump's campaign slogan “Make America Great Again,” Thompson said that “MAGA's impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas is a baseless sham.”
Only one Cabinet member has ever been impeached before – Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876. He was not convicted by the Senate.
During a recent press conference in January, Mayorkas continued to call Republicans' claims that DHS is not enforcing laws at the border false.
He said that since Biden took office, more migrants who entered the country illegally have been expelled and then allowed to stay, arguing that his agencies are woefully underfunded.
In response to a scathing seven-page letter to House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., Mayorkos said the allegations against him were false. In response, Greene told that he was “unfit and unworthy to be a cabinet secretary.”
Migrants are seen jumping over barbed wire in Eagle Pass, Texas on September 28th. Mayorkos said the “false allegations” against him had neither “unsettled” him nor “distracted” him from the “broader mission of public service.”
Mayorkas wrote a scathing seven-page letter to House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., last Tuesday morning, just hours before the Republican Party was set to move forward with articles of impeachment against him.
“I assure you that your false allegations will not unsettle me or distract me from law enforcement and the broader public service mission to which I have dedicated most of my career and to which I will continue to be faithful,” he said.
The Secretary of Homeland Security emphasized that he had done his best with the resources at his disposal – and any further restrictions would require a resolution from Congress.
Mayorkas has been involved in bipartisan Senate talks on a national security aid and border package that House Republicans have largely rejected.
Green responded in a statement to , calling Mayorkas' “eleventh-hour response” this morning “inappropriate and unbecoming of a Cabinet secretary.”