Mayorkas Impeachment Forces Dems to Confront Border Catastrophe

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas could become the first cabinet secretary in 150 years to be impeached following a vote in the House Homeland Security Committee on January 31 to advance two articles of impeachment to the House floor. Although Mayorkas will almost certainly survive the Senate trial to remove him from office, the vote will nonetheless be a prime opportunity for Republicans to force Democrats and the corporate media to acknowledge the scope and severity of the border crisis.

Following a 15-hour hearing, the Homeland Security Committee voted 18-15 to charge Mayorkas with “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” as well as a “breach of public trust.”

The first impeachment article stems specifically from DHS’s “catch and release” policy, which requires immigration authorities to release detainees who are awaiting court proceedings – some of which aren’t scheduled until a decade from now. In effect, this policy allows anyone to show up at the border, claim asylum, and then be released into the interior of the country for years on end.

The second impeachment article stems from Mayorkas’s repeated attempts to mislead Congress about the border crisis, as well as attempts to thwart congressional oversight.

Back in March 2021, for instance, Mayorkas infamously told the Homeland Security Committee that he had “operational control” of the border, despite the fact that illegal crossings were nearing 200,000 per month and would only continue to rise. Last January, he also prevented several top border patrol officials from testifying before the House Oversight Committee – another apparent attempt to mask the facts of the crisis from the American people.

In October 2022, Mayorkas drew additional scrutiny over his response to uproar from the corporate media over photos that appeared to show border patrol agents whipping illegal aliens as they crossed the border. Despite the fact that the story was later completely debunked and emails showed Mayorkas knew immediately the “whipping” narrative was entirely false, he nonetheless described the incident as an example of “systemic racism” and retaliated against the agents seen in the photos.

Mayorkas’ impeachment comes following the worst year on record for illegal border crossings, with more than 3.2 million encounters reported by Customs and Border Patrol in 2023. December was the worst single month on record, with 302,034 encounters. In total, more than 8 million people have crossed the border illegally since Joe Biden took office – more than the population of 38 states.

“The facts are indisputable — for three years, Secretary Mayorkas has willfully and systematically refused to comply with laws enacted by Congress, and he has breached the public trust,” Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) said during the impeachment hearing. “His actions created this unprecedented crisis, turning every state into a border state.”

However, some conservative media voices have expressed skepticism or even outright opposition to the impeachment effort, arguing either that Republicans don’t have a strong enough case for impeachment or that impeachment is useless. The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, for instance, declared plainly, “impeaching Mayorkas achieves nothing.”

There is, however, reason to question this analysis.

It’s true that Mayorkas will almost certainly survive a Senate vote. But already the trial and its historic nature are forcing media outlets that have actively avoided virtually any mention of the border since Biden took office to acknowledge Republicans’ charges against Mayorkas – and in doing so mention the unfolding disaster.

Moreover, every House Democrat will now be on record as voting to keep Mayorkas in office despite his willful dismantling of our southern border. Combined with a recent vote where 150 House Democrats voted against deporting illegal aliens convicted of a DUI, it will be difficult for any Democrat – including those in swing districts – to escape association with their party’s open borders extremism.

It’s also worth noting that Republicans’ evidence against Mayorkas is far more substantive than that which launched Democrats’ two spurious impeachments against former President Donald Trump. As the House impeachment resolution outlines, Mayorkas has clearly violated the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to take all actions “necessary and appropriate to achieve and maintain operational control over the entire international land and maritime borders of the United States.”

Mayorkas’s decision to release illegal aliens into the interior of the country is also a clear violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to detain illegal border crossers.

In the case of Democrats’ impeachments against Trump, there was also virtually no chance the Senate would vote to convict the former president. Yet Democrats proceeded anyway in order to use the sham hearings as a political cudgel against Trump and every other Republican who supported him. Republicans now have the opportunity to do the same to one of Biden’s top lieutenants – except this time backed up by far more legitimate accusations.

The main question now is if House Republicans will remain united enough to make the story about Mayorkas, Biden, and the border crisis, rather than GOP infighting. With just 219 members currently in the House GOP caucus, Speaker Mike Johnson can afford just one defection.

With a full House vote expected sometime during the first week of February, Americans won’t have to wait long to find out.

Shane Harris is a writer and political consultant from Southwest Ohio. You can follow him on X @ShaneHarris513.