(Bethany Blankley, The Center Square) – House Republicans have the votes to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Rep. Mark Green, MD, R-Tenn., said Thursday.
Green, who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, said all 18 Republican committee members support impeaching him.
Three articles of impeachment have been filed against Mayorkas alleging he is derelict in duty, violating laws established by Congress, and creating a national security threat.
Last November, the House voted to refer the latest impeachment resolution to Green’s committee. After the vote, Green said he needed to convince eight Republicans “to get rid of Mayorkas. He’s derelict in his duty. He’s broken the laws of the United States passed by Congress. He’s lied to Congress, he’s got to go.”
He also scheduled three additional hearings in January after the committee held multiple hearings last year with the intent of gathering more evidence to impeach Mayorkas.
On Jan. 10, the committee held its first impeachment proceeding hearing this year at which three state attorneys general said Congress has the constitutional authority and duty to impeach Mayorkas. On Jan. 11, a subcommittee hearing was held on Mayorkas’ alleged failure to enforce the law against Chinese forced labor.
On Thursday, mothers testified about losing their children to fentanyl poisoning and murder, blaming Mayorkas’ policies for their deaths.
After the hearing, Green said he had support he needed to impeach.
“After our nearly year-long investigation and subsequent impeachment proceedings, and having exhausted all other options to hold him accountable, it is unmistakably clear to all of us – and to the American people – that Congress must exercise its constitutional duty and impeach Secretary Mayorkas,” he said. “The Secretary has consistently, willfully and systemically refused to follow the laws passed by Congress, abused his authority, and breached the trust of Congress and the American people on numerous occasions. The result of his failure to fulfill his oath of office has been a border crisis that is unprecedented in American history – a crisis that has cost the lives of thousands of Secretary Mayorkas’ fellow Americans.”
Over the past year, the committee has heard from more than two dozen witnesses and published five reports to support its case.
The first report details the laws and court orders the committee says Mayorkas “ignored, abused or failed to follow.” The second describes how Mexican cartels “have seized unprecedented control at the Southwest border to smuggle illegal aliens, criminals, suspected terrorists, and deadly fentanyl and other drugs into the United States.” The third describes how transnational gangs are working with cartel operatives to oversee a massive human smuggling operation, and expand their weapons arsenals and criminal network.
The fourth estimated the border crisis cost U.S. taxpayers over $451 billion. The fifth highlights “consistent misuse and abuse of taxpayer resources” related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention and halting border wall construction.
The committee also published more than 65 pages of transcripts from interviews with over nine Border Patrol chiefs who testified under oath about the consequences of Mayorkas’ policies.
The reports “conclusively establish that Secretary Mayorkas is chiefly responsible for the chaos and devastation that has unfolded at America’s borders over the past three years,” Green said, adding that “throughout the process, Secretary Mayorkas has refused to cooperate” with committee requests to appear and provide testimony.
Democrats have argued the hearings are “a joke” and political ploy. Even as more than 10 million people illegally entered the U.S. from January 2021 to September 2023, under Mayorkas’ watch, the secretary maintained the border is secure. Mayorkas also says that he inherited problems from the previous administration and testified at a Senate hearing, “I have unflinching confidence in the integrity of my conduct.”
After articles of impeachment were filed last year, a DHS spokesperson told The Center Square: “Members of Congress can do better than point the finger at someone else; they should come to the table and work on solutions for our broken system and outdated laws, which they have not updated in over 40 years,” adding that Mayorkas “has no plans to resign.”
“None of the alleged grounds is factually accurate, and even if they were, none meet the Constitutional standard of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors,” the spokesperson said.
Green has said the committee plans to mark up existing articles of impeachment prior to releasing a final resolution and call for a vote.
