House Republicans have fired their first shot at the Biden administration, filing impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Republican Rep. Pat Fallon of Texas had promised last week to file articles of impeachment and did so on Monday, according to Fox News.
The impeachment process has two steps. First, the House must decide whether an official should be charged. Then, a trial is conducted in the Senate on those charges. Given that the House has a GOP majority and the Senate has a Democratic majority, conviction on the charges would require Senate Democrats to join forces with House Republicans.
Fallon said the step needed to be taken.
“Since day one, Secretary Mayorkas’ policies have undermined law enforcement activities at our southern border. From perjuring himself before Congress about maintaining operational control of the border to the infamous ‘whip-gate’ slander against our border patrol agents, Secretary Mayorkas has proven time and time again that he is unfit to lead the Department of Homeland Security,” Fallon said in a statement.
“His willful actions have eroded our immigration system, undermined border patrol morale, and jeopardized American national security. He has violated the law, and it is time for him to go,” Fallon said.
Although the text of the articles was not available Tuesday, Fox News last week shared a draft of what had been prepared.
Article I charges Mayorkas with violating his constitutional oath by violating the Secure the Fence Act of 2006 that calls on the secretary of Homeland Security to “maintain operational control over the entire international land and maritime borders of the United States.”
As evidence against Mayorkas, the first article said that “over 5,500,000 illegal aliens have crossed our southern border under the leadership of Secretary Mayorkas.”
The first article noted that “Under Secretary Mayorkas, more fentanyl has crossed the border in the last 2 months than in all of fiscal year 2019 under President Trump’s leadership. In fiscal year 2022, over 14,000 pounds of poisonous fentanyl was seized at the southern border. Fentanyl overdoses are the number one cause of death for individuals ages 18 to 45 nationwide.”
Article II claims Mayorkas gave “perjurious, false, and misleading testimony to Congress,” citing instances when Mayorkas told Congress the border was secure.
“The record-breaking number of illegal alien encounters, including over 1,000,000 known ‘gotaways,’ as well as the record seizures of deadly fentanyl and other contraband, prove that Secretary Mayorkas has not ensured operational control of the southern border. Secretary Mayorkas clearly committed perjury on multiple occasions before Congress.”
Article III says Mayorkas “knowingly slandered his own hardworking Border Patrol agents and mislead the general public” through comments pertaining to a discredited allegation that Border Patrol agents were accused of whipping Haitian immigrants.
Mayorkas called images taken from an angle that appeared to show agents striking illegal immigrants “horrifying” and an example of “systemic racism,” the article said.
The charge against Mayorkas noted that a “511-page report by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Personal Responsibility found ‘no evidence that [Border Patrol agents] involved in this incident struck, intentionally or otherwise, any migrant with their reins.’ Secretary Mayorkas slandered his own Border Patrol agents and TXDPS Troopers involved in this incident, contributing to a further decrease in already-low morale among agents.”
Last fall, prior to his election last week as House speaker, Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California said Mayorkas would face scrutiny when the new Congress convened.
“If Secretary Mayorkas does not resign, House Republicans will investigate every order, every action and every failure and will determine whether we can begin impeachment inquiry,” McCarthy said then.
Mayorkas on Sunday said he does not intend to focus on calls for him to be impeached.
“I’ve got a lot of work to do … and I’m going to continue to do my work,” Mayorkas said on the ABC show “This Week,” according to Axios.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
