Alejandro Mayorkas Impeachment: House Committee Starts Discussing Ousting Homeland Security Secretary
House Republicans want to have Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas impeached over the border crisis. Most of them are allied with Donald Trump and are accusing Mayorkas and the Biden administration of disregarding federal laws on immigration. Should they impeach him, Mayorkas would become the second Cabinet official to be impeached in US history.
The formal vote to impeach Mayorkas in the full House could happen as soon as next week, a source close to the impeachment proceedings told NBC News.
The move received much pushback, including from Democrats and Secretary Mayorkas himself, arguing that the impeachment effort is all political with no legal grounds, just like the Biden impeachment inquiry.
The first article of impeachment claimed that Mayorkas has "willfully and systemically refused to comply with Federal immigration laws." In addition, House Republicans also blamed the Homeland Security Secretary for "allowing millions of people to enter the country illegally" and that many are "unlawfully remaining" in the US.
Meanwhile, the second article of impeachment claimed that he breached the "public trust" and "knowingly" obstructed "lawful oversight of the Department of Homeland Security."
Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee, the Republican chair of the Homeland Security Committee, claimed that Mayorkas "has willfully and systematically refused to comply with the laws passed by Congress and breached the trust of Congress and the American people. The results have been catastrophic and have endangered the lives and livelihoods of all Americans."
Hispanic Civil Rights Group Condemns Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Impeachment Attempt
Soon after the articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas were revealed, Janet Murguía, President and CEO of the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, UnidosUS, released a statement calling House Republicans impeachment attempt "baseless."
READ MORE: Texas Promises To Continue Placing Razor Wire Along US-Mexico Border Despite Supreme Court Ruling
"The House Republicans' pursuit of articles of impeachment against Secretary Mayorkas remains unfounded and politically motivated. Despite the lack of evidence of impeachable offenses, they are moving forward with their predetermined partisan agenda," she said. "This undermines the credibility of the impeachment process, as constitutional grounds for such actions against Mayorkas are nonexistent."
"It is crucial for Congress to refocus on genuine bipartisan solutions for our immigration system and border challenges, rather than engaging in political theatrics that do not serve the interests of the American people," she added.
Donald Trump Responsible for Blowing Up Bipartisan Immigration Bill, Say Republican Senators
As House Republicans are blaming Alejandro Mayorkas for the US immigration woes, Senate Republicans, on the other hand, have come out and outright blamed Donald Trump for torpedoing an emerging bipartisan deal over the southern border.
According to CNN, Trump has been lobbying other Republicans to shut down the bill as it would have made it look like Biden was doing something for the border.
Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged this in a private meeting, saying that Trump had animosity toward the yet-to-be-released border deal. This has placed Republicans in a serious bind as they now look like hypocrites for only shutting down such an important border deal just because Joe Biden might benefit from it politically and hurt Trump.
"I think the border is a very important issue for Donald Trump. And the fact that he would communicate to Republican senators and congresspeople that he doesn't want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame Biden for it is ... really appalling," said Utah Senator Mitt Romney. "The reality is that we have a crisis at the border, and the American people are suffering as a result of what's happening at the border. And someone running for president not to try and get the problem solved. as opposed to saying, 'hey, save that problem. Don't solve it. Let me take credit for solving it later.'"
READ MORE: Mexico Finds Another Dead Body Near Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's Floating Barriers
WATCH: I am hopeful an immigration fix will occur, says Homeland Security secretary - MSNBC
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