Impeaching Mayorkas – Enough?

For only the second time in US history, the US House voted (209-201) to place impeachment articles of a cabinet secretary – here, Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas – before the relevant committee, which in turn voted to send impeachment to the full House, with a vote likely in February. Does it matter?

In one sense, impeachment is so serious – a finding of legal violations rising to the Constitutional bar of “high crimes and misdemeanors” – that it always matters.  In this case, the list of charges is not short.

Having read the articles, they allege that Mayorkas violated his oath “to support and defend the Constitution … against all enemies foreign and domestic … and to well and faithfully discharge the duties of his office,” as he “has willfully and systematically refused to comply with Federal immigration laws.”

The articles allege his abdication of duty rises to “unlawful conduct,” as a result of which “millions of aliens have illegally entered the United States on an annual basis with many unlawfully remaining in the United States.”

They say his “refusal to obey the law” violates the constitutional “separation of powers” – with the Executive not enforcing laws passed by Congress, signed by a prior President, upheld by the Judiciary, and “threatens our national security,” already yielding “dire impact on communities across the country.”

Specifically, he is alleged to have “willfully refused to comply with the detention mandate” outlined in seven separate laws, or sections of laws, including Immigration and Naturalization Act sections 235(b)(2)(A), as well as sections (B, ii), (B, iii, IV), 236 (c), 241 (a, 2), 212(d, 5, A), and 235 (b,2).

In essence, each of these provisions mandated different conditions under which aliens – non-citizens seeking entry to the US – should have been retained, in some cases deported, in all cases held accountable, and not freely released into the interior of the US. 

The Articles of Impeachment attribute significant damage to US security resulting from Mayorkas’ decision, presumably made on his own.

To wit: “Despite clear evidence that his willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law has significantly contributed to unprecedented levels of illegal entrants, the increased control of the Southwest border by drug cartels, and the imposition of enormous costs on States and localities affected by this influx of aliens,” Mayorkas “has continued in his refusal to comply with the law, and thereby acted to the grave detriment of the interests of the United States.”

By numbers, from 2017 to 2020, 590,000 alien encounters occurred at border entry points, while under Mayorkas the number “skyrocketed to over 1,400, 000 in fiscal year 2021, over 2,300,000 in fiscal year 2022, and over 2,400,000 in fiscal year 2023.”

Likewise, from 2017 to 2020, an average of 130,000 not apprehended were observed crossing the border, while by 2023, the numbering observed and not apprehended jumped to 750,000, just under a six-fold increase in those “not turned back.”

The Congress notes Mayorkas oversaw a jump from 11 terror watchlist intercepts in all of 2017 to 2020 to 98 in 2022, 169 in 2023, and already – in less than a month – 49 in 2024. Terror is now a real threat.

“American communities … have been devastated by the dramatic growth in illegal entries,” say the Articles, showing massive jumps in drug trafficking, drug deaths, and some 450,000 unaccompanied children not tracked, many presumably now being exploited, abused, and subject to added harm.

Beyond the foregoing, having “degraded public safety,” damaged national security, rule of law, and separation of powers, a Second Article is proffered for “Breach of Public Trust,” by Mayorkas having “knowingly made false statements and knowingly obstructed oversight … to obfuscate the results of his willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law,” listing his false statements to Congress.

So, having covered the substance of this impeachment, rare but likely to pass, the Senate in an election year will face the question of whether these acts are impeachable. Will it matter?

The short answer is yes – and no.  Yes, this impeachment brings front-and-center one of the top issues around which many Americans in both parties, of all affiliations, are angry, distressed, and rightly livid. The abdication of legal responsibility – knowing the encouragement of harm to America – is infuriating.

Yes, there will be hearings, and those will add to public awareness, even as Senate Democrats – and perhaps even some Republicans – argue these acts are not impeachable, or Mayorkas was just following White House orders.

And that takes us to the nub of this whole discussion. This White House – this president, vice president, and all who serve them – bear responsibility, not just one untruthful, deceptive, ineffective cabinet member, or effective if the idea is to encourage unlawfulness, damage the nation’s security.

This collection of inconceivable breaches of trust, from underlying acts and failure to act to ritual lying, misdirection, statements known to be untrue, and enormous damage to average Americans’ safety, security, health, and peace of mind – rests at the foot of this White House.

Finally, like punishing a felon who takes lives after the fact, the retribution side of justice may be satisfied, but that does not restore any of what was lost, peace of mind tied to a secure border, millions of young lives ravaged and lost to drug overdoses, drug-related crimes, sex trafficking, murders, and the wider loss of confidence in government. Yes, impeachment is good, but no, it is not enough. 

Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC.