Jan. 31 (UPI) — The House Committee on Homeland Security Wednesday morning voted to advance articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, claiming he has “willfully” refused to enforce laws to protect the country’s southern border.
Committee chair Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., said in a statement that the record influx of migrants at the U.S. southern border with Mexico is the fault of Mayorkas who has refused to apply the law there.
“The facts are indisputable,” Green said. “For three years, Secretary Mayorkas has willfully and systematically refused to comply with the laws enacted by Congress, and he has breached the public trust. His actions created this unprecedented crisis, turning every state into a border state.”
The two articles of impeachment now move to the full house for a vote.
The articles passed by the committee said Mayorkas committed ‘high crimes and misdemeanors” for violating his oath to support and defend the Constitution by not carrying out laws to protect the border.
It said Mayorkas “repeatedly violated laws enacted by Congress regarding immigration,” while carrying out his duties. He was also charged with making false statements to Congress.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, blasted the Republicans for shutting down debate during a markup that began at 10 a.m. Tuesday and did not include until early Wednesday morning to satisfy the far-right wing of House Republicans.
“They were either uncomfortable being confronted by the facts or they lacked the stamina to entertain a fulsome debate of are solution the committee entertained to buy off Marjorie Taylor Greene and the extreme MAGA Republicans who have taken over the Republican Conference,” Thompson wrote.
Rep. Yvette Clark, D-N.Y., went to X to call the impeachment effort “baseless” and called out Republicans for not allowing Democrats to offer amendments.
“This is ridiculous,” Clark said.
Rep. Rob Menendez, D-N.J. criticized Republicans for rejecting an amendment to the articles that would reflect the hearing was based on “extremism and anti-immigrant rhetoric,” saying the GOP cited two different organizations designated as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center throughout their investigation.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has promised to bring the impeachment articles to a full House vote as soon as possible.
If the measure passes the chamber, Mayorkas would be only the second cabinet member in history to be impeached following William Belknap, who was impeached while working as secretary of war to President Ulysses S. Grant in 1876.
Mayorkas, however, would likely meet the same result as Belknap who was acquitted in a trial in the Senate, which is currently narrowly controlled by Democrats.
