(USNewsMag.com) – Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas formally responded to the impeachment accusations against him, calling the allegations from House Republicans “baseless” and “false” as Congress prepares a vote on the official articles in the Homeland Security Committee.
On Tuesday, Jan. 30, Mayorkas sent a letter to the Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, GOP Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee. In the letter, Mayorkas assured his accusers that he was not rattled by them and would not be diverted from his “mission” in law enforcement and public service, to which he says he’s devoted most of his career and remains “devoted.”
The committee met to finalize and advance two articles of impeachment against the Homeland Security Secretary, one for refusing to adhere to immigration law and another for breach of public trust. After a 15-hour meeting, the House voted to advance the articles to the floor. If the proposal passes the House floor, Mayorkas will be the first cabinet member to face impeachment in almost 150 years.
Republicans accuse Mayorkas of “dereliction of duty” regarding the ongoing immigration crisis at the southern border, which has reached record levels of encounters and become a historic crisis. Over 300,000 illegal immigrant encounters were recorded in December 2023, a record high. A total of 2.4 million was recorded for Fiscal Year 2023, which concluded at the end of September.
Between rolling back policies from former President Donald Trump’s administration to an increase in releasing immigrants into the country’s interior, the crisis is now reaching a critical juncture.
House Republicans started investigating the Homeland Security Secretary last year amid mounting pressure to do something about the border, which Mayorkas is in charge of securing, filing impeachment articles against him soon after. They accuse Mayorkas of repeatedly violating immigration and border security laws enacted by Congress, as well as delivering “false statements” claiming the border was closed and secured by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Green says the case against Mayorkas is “clear, compelling, and irrefutable” and that his “lawless behavior” has been a disaster for the US.
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