WASHINGTON —  House Republicans on Tuesday took another step toward impeaching Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas by bringing up two articles of impeachment at a Homeland Security Committee meeting. Republicans said Mayorkas has ignored federal immigration law, but Democrats and Mayorkas himself blast the effort as a political stunt in an election year.

What You Need To Know

  • Two articles of impeachment accuse Homeland Security Sec. Mayorkas of “willfully” disregarding federal law and breaching public trust

  • Mayorkas sent a letter to the committee’s Republican leaders ahead of the meeting arguing that his agency has done its job and pointed to the high number of people the Biden administration has removed from the U.S. 

  • Even if the full House votes to impeach Mayorkas, there is little chance the Democratic-controlled Senate would vote to remove him from office

“There is not one district in America that is not impacted by this border crisis,” said Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio. 

House Republicans from Texas played a prominent role during the meeting Tuesday. They drew on the plight of constituents to declare that Mayorkas has been so derelict in his duties, he should be the first Cabinet official impeached in nearly 150 years.

“I have constituents who have been killed by human traffickers, and they've responded with absolutely nothing. In fact, it's gotten worse every month since they've been there, and so this is really a tragic situation that we have to be in to do this,” Rep. August Pfluger, R-San Angelo, told Spectrum News. “This is the only accountability. Enough is enough.” 

The two articles of impeachment accuse Mayorkas of “willfully” disregarding federal law and breaching public trust. 

“There's been so much injury to my state of Texas. It's clear he's not done his job. He's been derelict in his duties, he's violated his oath of office,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin. 

Mayorkas sent a letter to the committee’s Republican leaders ahead of the meeting arguing that his agency has done its job. As evidence, he pointed to the high number of people the Biden administration has removed from the U.S. for violating immigration laws.

Mayorkas wrote, “I assure you that your false accusations do not rattle me and do not divert me from the law enforcement and broader public service mission to which I have devoted most of my career and to which I remain devoted.”

Through a series of parliamentary tactics, the committee’s Democrats tried to delay a final vote. They dismissed the effort to impeach Mayorkas as a political ploy, adding that Republican policy disagreements with the secretary do not rise to the level of an impeachable office. They also said it was hypocritical for Republicans to impeach Mayorkas for conditions at the southern border while also vowing to block a bipartisan border deal in the Senate that would tighten border security.

“He has data and documentation of the numbers of migrants who have been turned back, the number of cases dealing with drugs and smuggling that had been prosecuted. So he has a long record of dealing with fighting the conditions at the border,” Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, told Spectrum News. “What he does not have is the very agreement that he's working on right now, which has the necessary resources, funding, staffing.”

Even if the full House votes to impeach Mayorkas, there is little chance the Democratic-controlled Senate would vote to remove him from office.