This week, House Republicans are moving forward with their blatantly unconstitutional attempt to undermine the Biden administration by marking up articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Countless legal experts, their own prior impeachment witness, and numerous Republicans have confirmed that there is no grounds for impeachment or evidence of any wrongdoing. Contrary to the House GOP’s ludicrous claims, Secretary Mayorkas has not violated any laws or lied under oath, nor has he refused to uphold or enforce immigration law. They are all lies.
This impeachment effort is a naked partisan game launched at the behest of Donald Trump – but that should come as no surprise given that Marjorie Taylor Greene and MAGA Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green have been wanting to impeach Secretary Mayorkas since MAGA Republicans took charge of the House. House Republicans have made it clear that they are more interested in scoring points with their MAGA base than actually reforming our country’s immigration system. Republicans are even walking away from a deal on the border at Trump’s demands so he can continue to run on the crisis. Trump’s MAGA allies in Congress are following the Trump playbook once again, playing partisan political games to harm the Biden administration and hurt Democrats with a baseless, immoral impeachment push.
House Republicans Have No Grounds For Impeachment, Let Alone Evidence of Wrongdoing. After spending over a year investigating Secretary Mayorkas, House Republicans have completely failed to name any legitimate grounds for impeaching Secretary Mayorkas – let alone any evidence of wrongdoing.
- The Constitution Does Not Allow For Impeachment For Policy Disagreements. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, documentation from the Constitutional Convention supports the view that “congressional disagreement with a President’s policy goals is not sufficient grounds for impeachment.” Countless legal experts, their own impeachment witness, and numerous Republicans have all concluded that there is no Constitutional basis for impeaching the Secretary. As impeachment scholar Professor Frank Bowman testified: “Legal disputes over the exercises of executive authority are a commonplace in every administration. And every president wins some and loses others. If the mere existence of such disputes were impeachable, every president and every cabinet officer would be impeachable many times over.”
House Republicans Have Been Wanting To Impeach Secretary Mayorkas From The Start. This impeachment attempt has been pre-determined since day one. House Republicans like Chairman Mark Green and Marjorie Taylor Greene called it a guarantee, even fundraising on the topic. This impeachment is a clear appeal to the MAGA extremists who control the House. An inadvertently shared GOP memo even shows the MAGA House Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee had pre-planned to move forward with an impeachment markup hearing of the secretary — all before holding a single hearing. Officials like former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, know this impeachment attempt is nothing but a political stunt, calling it a “very sad day” if Republicans succeeded in their political stunt.
This Impeachment Stunt Is Just Another Hypocritical, Partisan Game. From the start, this impeachment stunt has been nothing but another partisan game. Republicans have hypocritically neglected due process and fairness after complaining about it during prior impeachments. Even after Secretary Mayorkas said he would testify, MAGA House Republicans refused to work with DHS to find a date for his testimony, displaying their true motives for an impeachment that would benefit them politically despite being unsupported by evidence. They set a date for marking up impeachment articles, and even announced all committee republicans would support impeachment before allowing the Secretary to respond.
- House Republicans Have Walked Away From Immigration Reform and Refused To Engage In Meaningful Policy Change, But Made Impeaching Secretary Mayorkas A Top Priority. Republicans have refused to work with the Biden administration or even the Senate on immigration reform or border policy. They spent millions campaigning on border issues and putting on elaborate political stunts like sending migrants to Martha’s Vineyard to critique policies imposed or exacerbated by the Trump administration. Now, the House GOP has all but refused to consider a bipartisan compromise on immigration between the Biden administration and the Senate. Instead of engaging and negotiating, Republicans are only using border policy as an endless crisis issue to campaign on. Republicans like Rep. Troy Nehls have said the quiet part out loud, admitting he and his party won’t do anything to help passing bipartisan border security legislation and risk changing Biden’s approval ratings. Even MAGA Speaker Mike Johnson has reportedly refused to seriously consider immigration reform and border security legislation “until Donald Trump or another Republican is in the White House.”
FACT CHECK: Contrary to Republican Claims, Secretary Mayorkas Has Not Violated Any Laws, Nor Has He Refused to Uphold or Enforce Immigration Law. Contrary to Republican claims, under Secretary Mayorkas, DHS has:
- Removed, returned, or expelled record numbers of noncitizens, including the majority of all southwest border migrant encounters. DHS’ rate of apprehending noncitizens attempting to cross the border is the same as during the Trump administration – 78 percent – and has reached maximum detention capacity given current funding levels.
- Seized record amounts of fentanyl and made significantly more fentanyl-related arrests than in the previous four years.
- Maintained operational control of the border to the same extent as every previous administration since the passage of the Secure Fence Act. A House Republican has referred to this concept as “a matter of opinion” and a former Border Patrol Chief concluded, “I’ve been doing this job for 32 years. We’ve never had operational control.”
- Continued to follow the parole process requirements outlined in the Immigration & Nationality Act.
FACT CHECK: House Republicans Accuse Mayorkas of Lying To Congress, But Even Fellow GOP Colleagues Disagree. Even fellow House Republicans know that Secretary Mayorkas has not lied under oath. As Rep McClintock asserted, “I have not seen specific evidence that he has lied.” While the House GOP has refused to work on reforming our broken immigration system, Secretary Mayorkas has provided Congress with a transparent account of department operations. He has testified before Congress 27 times since taking office – more than any other Cabinet member – and DHS has produced more than 20,000 pages of documents to Congress, supplied over 75 witnesses for more than 50 hearings, provided nearly 20 employees for transcribed interviews, held more than 200 informational committee briefings in six months alone, and responded to over 1,400 congressional letters.