Texas Republican Files Articles Of Impeachment Against DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

Topline

Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Tx.) filed articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday, making good on Republicans’ promise to begin the long-shot process for removing President Joe Biden’s top immigration official as the GOP is set to wage a series of challenges to Biden’s border policies.

Key Facts

Fallon introduced a resolution in the House on Monday, its first official day of business, that alleges Mayorkas has failed to control the border and violated his oath of office by lying to Congress when he said during previous testimony that the border was secure, Fox News reported.

Fallon’s resolution also reportedly accuses Mayorkas of “slander” against border patrol agents who appeared to whip Haitian migrants attempting to cross the Rio Grande 2021–Mayorkas said he was “horrified” by the footage before a federal investigation cleared the border agents of the whipping allegations, but found they used unnecessary force on the migrants.

The gambit is unlikely to succeed: Even if the GOP-controlled House passes Fallon’s articles of impeachment, 67 senators would need to vote in favor of conviction in order to remove Mayorkas from office, a near-impossibility in a Senate controlled 51-49 by Democrats.

Contra

Mayorkas has repeatedly rebuffed the GOP’s calls for him to step down and reiterated his stance on Sunday, telling ABC’s George Stephanopoulos: “I’m going to continue to do my work.”

Key Background

Fallon’s resolution comes after Mayorkas and Biden visited the border in El Paso on Sunday ahead of Biden’s trip to Mexico City for the North American Leaders Summit. Republicans, in a rules package approved Monday, named several bills targeting immigration reform as part of their top legislative priorities for the upcoming session of Congress, including measures that would “authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to suspend the entry of aliens” and a bill requiring the FBI to alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with state and local law enforcement, any time a person who is in the U.S. illegally attempts to purchase a firearm. Republicans have also expressed plans to investigate Biden’s border policies as part of a series of probes into his administration. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has said the House will investigate Mayorkas’ policies and look into whether they warrant an impeachment proceeding, but has not explicitly committed to pursuing Mayorkas’ removal from office.

Further Reading

Biden Visits Southern Border As Texas Gov. Abbott Blasts President For Arriving ‘Two Years Too Late’ (Forbes)

Republicans Threaten To Impeach DHS Secretary Mayorkas—Here’s What Else They Have Planned For Immigration In The Next Congress (Forbes)