On Wednesday, elected Republicans in the US Congress announced that they would begin impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whom they accuse of being responsible for the migration crisis at the US-Mexico border.
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The announcement comes at a time when nearly 10,000 migrants from Mexico are crossing the American border every day and the issue is politically hot just months before the November presidential election.
Republicans are calling the situation a humanitarian disaster and accusing the Homeland Security secretary of causing the situation.
“Our investigation has clearly shown that this crisis stems from the Secretary's decision-making and his refusal to enforce the laws passed by Congress,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green said in a statement.
“His failure to uphold his oath requires accountability,” he added.
In response, the Department of Homeland Security accused Republicans of wasting “valuable time and taxpayer dollars” on a “political maneuver.”
For Alejandro Mayorkas to be removed from office, a majority of lawmakers in the House of Representatives must vote against him, which would trigger a trial in the Senate that, if two-thirds of senators vote in favor, could lead to his removal.
A practically impossible scenario, considering that Republicans have a very narrow majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate has a Democratic majority.
Nevertheless, the initiation of this impeachment process remains a thorn in Joe Biden's side, while in December, according to authorities, 302,000 migrants crossed the border.
The White House and lawmakers from both camps are negotiating immigration reform, with Republicans making their support for a new aid package for Ukraine conditional on tightening immigration measures.
The mayors of New York, Denver and Chicago – cities that receive buses of migrants sent by the Republican governor of Texas – also pressured the Democratic president to act quickly.