Biden’s DHS Head Impeached for Border Crisis
House Votes to Impeach Biden’s Border Official
Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas (Getty Images)
The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday narrowly voted to impeach President Joe Biden’s top border official, accusing him of lax policies that encouraged illegal immigration.
By a vote of 214-213, the House approved two articles of impeachment accusing Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of not enforcing U.S. immigration laws, which Republicans argue led to record flows of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border, and making false statements to Congress.
It came a week after a similar vote failed in a legislative defeat for Speaker Mike Johnson. Republican representative Steve Scalise, who had been receiving treatment for cancer, was not present for last week’s vote, but returned to Washington this week, providing a crucial vote.
But it is highly unlikely that the Democratic-majority Senate will vote to oust Mayorkas.
A record number of migrants have illegally crossed the border from Mexico since Biden took office in 2021, and former president Donald Trump has made it a major focus of his campaign against Biden.
Mayorkas has said he does not bear responsibility for the border situation, blaming it instead on a broken U.S. immigration system that Congress has not been able to fix.
The number of migrants arrested crossing the southern border illegally dropped by 50 percent in January from record-high levels in December, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said on Tuesday, citing seasonal trends and increased enforcement by the United States and partner countries.
The Department of Homeland Security, in a memo released on Tuesday, defended Mayorkas’s enforcement at the border and called on Congress to work with the Biden administration to reform outdated laws “instead of facilitating this farce of an impeachment.”
Tuesday’s vote comes a week after hardline Republicans in the Senate, egged on by Trump, defeated a bipartisan deal to address border security.
“House Republicans are largely in this fight to secure our national borders all by ourselves,” Republican representative John Rose (Tenn.) said on Tuesday. “Essentially, [Democrats] like the job he’s doing, or should I say not doing,” Rose said, arguing for Mayorkas’s impeachment.
Republicans hold a slim 219-212 majority in the House.
Trump was twice impeached by the House, when Democrats held the majority, and was twice acquitted by the Senate, which was in Republican hands.
House Republicans are investigating whether any of Biden’s past behavior before moving into the White House might have constituted a high crime or misdemeanor that could result in impeachment. Some Republicans have said they do not see such evidence yet.
How have Democrats defended Mayorkas’s handling of the border situation and what actions have they pointed to as evidence of his efforts to address the issue
S not clear what impact, if any, this impeachment will have, as it is unlikely to lead to Mayorkas’s removal from office. Impeachment in the House is just the first step in a longer process, and a conviction requires a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate, which is currently controlled by Democrats. It is highly unlikely that enough Democratic Senators would join with Republicans to convict Mayorkas.
Despite the unlikely outcome, Republicans argued that it was important to hold Mayorkas accountable for his alleged failures and to send a message that lax immigration policies will not be tolerated. They accuse Mayorkas of ignoring the border crisis and failing to take adequate action to secure the border.
The impeachment came after months of criticism and frustration from Republicans over the handling of the border situation, which they believe is a result of the Biden administration’s rollback of Trump-era immigration policies. They argue that the current administration’s more lenient approach to immigration has incentivized illegal border crossings and led to overcrowded detention facilities and a strain on resources.
Democrats, on the other hand, argue that Mayorkas has been dealing with an unprecedented surge of migrants at the border and has been working to address the situation. They point to efforts to reunite families separated at the border and to improve conditions for migrants in detention centers.
The impeachment of Mayorkas is the latest example of the ongoing political battles over immigration policy in the United States. It is a highly contentious and complex issue that has been a point of contention between Democrats and Republicans for years.
As the impeachment process continues, it remains to be seen what impact, if any, it will have on the Biden administration’s immigration policies and the broader debate over immigration in the United States. While this particular impeachment may not result in Mayorkas’s removal from office, it serves as a symbol of the deep divide and disagreement over immigration policy in the country.
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