The House Homeland Security Committee announced it will begin formal impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas with a hearing Wednesday, January 10. The committee recently concluded a nearly yearlong investigation into Mayorkas.
The committee released a series of reports on his “dereliction of duty” and the unprecedented cartel control of the southern border.
“Our investigation made clear that this crisis finds its foundation in Secretary Mayorkas’ decision-making and refusal to enforce the laws passed by Congress, and that his failure to fulfill his oath of office demands accountability,” Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said in a statement.
Republicans also contend that Mayorkas has lied to them about the current state of immigration. One of the big points of disagreement is what constitutes operational control of the southern border.
The committee uses the definition in the Secure Fence Act of 2006 which states “the prevention of all unlawful entries into the United States, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband.”
Mayorkas repeatedly affirmed that the U.S. has operational control of the border in oversight hearings. However, Mayorkas told the Senate that, in his opinion, operational control means maximizing resources to deliver the most effective results.
“Under that strict definition this country has never had operational control, but obviously a layer of reasonableness must be applied here, and looking at that definition through the lens of reasonableness we dedicate now 23,000 personnel to the border,” Mayorkas told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs during a subsequent hearing.
The House Homeland Security Committee released transcripts of interviews with Border Patrol chiefs for the Big Bend, Del Rio, El Paso, Laredo, Rio Grande Valley and Yuma sectors. All of those chiefs said, under the Secure Fence Act definition, the U.S. does not have operational control of the border.
However, the committee’s Republican majority said DHS does not have operational control over the border, regardless of whether the statutory definition is used or not.
More than 6.7 million immigrants have entered the United States illegally since Mayorkas took control. Additionally, there are 1.7 million known immigrants who evaded apprehension.
The committee and all House Republicans said that number is unacceptable, attributing it to the secretary’s refusal to enforce the law. But even if the House votes to impeach Mayorkas, the Democratic-controlled Senate is not likely to remove a Biden cabinet secretary from office.
