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| AP |
Republicans approved charges of impeachment against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in a U.S. House of Representatives committee on Tuesday night, accusing him of endangering the country's security with the entry of undocumented migrants.
The charges were approved in the House Homeland Security Committee with 18 votes in favor — all Republicans — and 14 against — all Democrats — the preliminary step before they are put to a vote in the full House.
The full House vote could take place starting next week, and its approval would formally open the impeachment process against Mayorkas at a time when migration and the border are becoming key campaign issues.
The charges Republicans accuse Mayorkas of, also known as "articles of impeachment," are "violation of public trust" and "systematic and deliberate refusal to comply with the law" by not handling the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border adequately.
The Republican chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Mark Green, stated on Tuesday that "the ultimate remedy to deal directly with Secretary Mayorkas's deliberate and systematic contempt for the rule of law is impeachment." He added, "After three years of this crisis and a year of investigations and proceedings, we must move forward with accountability."
The committee's top-ranking Democrat, Bennie Thompson, countered that the impeachment against Mayorkas "is a baseless farce," and "the few reasonable Republicans left in the House know it, even if they refuse to admit it." "The American people deserve better," he said.
Mayorkas, in turn, made public a six-page letter he sent to the committee's chairman, in which he stated that he has provided countless information that "clearly demonstrates" how he is enforcing the law and regretted that it has not been enough to stop this "baseless" process. "I assure you that your false accusations do not worry me or divert me from upholding the law and the broader public service to which I remain dedicated," he asserted.
Republicans currently have a slim majority of 219 to 213 in the House of Representatives, so when they submit the charges to the full House, they will need the support of almost all their members for approval.
If the charges progress, it will be up to the Senate to conduct the impeachment trial against Mayorkas, a process that is almost impossible to succeed, as it requires two-thirds of the votes in that chamber, and Democrats have the majority.
However, Republicans will try to capitalize on the public exposure of the impeachment trial against the top official in President Biden's immigration policy when the issue is gaining significant importance in the electoral campaign.
In December 2023, at least 302,000 undocumented migrants crossed the southern border from Mexico to the United States, an unprecedented number. During the fiscal year 2023, 2.4 million people were detained, also a record.
The White House and senators from both parties have negotiated a migration agreement — details of which are unknown — to address the current border crisis, but former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump (2017-2021) and his allies in Congress oppose its success.
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