Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a hardline Republican, moved on Thursday to force a House a vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, saying the administration has failed to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
Quick Read
- Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene initiated a House vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
- Greene claims Mayorkas violated his oath by not effectively managing the surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
- She emphasized the nationwide impact of border issues and pushed for immediate action.
- Under the Biden administration, over 5 million arrests of migrants have been made for irregular border crossings.
- Republicans blame Biden and Mayorkas for the situation, citing the reversal of Trump’s stringent border policies.
- The Department of Homeland Security criticized the impeachment push as harmful and called for immigration system reforms instead of political attacks.
- The DHS also noted that policy disagreements do not constitute grounds for impeachment.
- Greene’s motion is privileged, requiring House action within two days, subject to possible delays.
- Despite the move to impeach Mayorkas in the House, it is expected to fail in the Democrat-majority Senate.
The Associated Press has the story:
GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene moves to impeach homeland security secretary
Newslooks- WASHINGTON, (AP)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a hardline Republican, moved on Thursday to force a House a vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, saying the administration has failed to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
Greene accused Mayorkas, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, of violating his oath of office by failing to constrain the record numbers of migrants arriving at the border.
“This isn’t just a southern border issue, it’s affecting our whole country and we have to do something about it,” Greene said, after introducing a motion that the Republican-led House will need to vote on in the next two days it is in session.
Since Biden took office in 2021, U.S. border agents have made more than 5 million arrests of migrants making irregular crossings – that is, not through a controlled border station – over the U.S.-Mexico border. Many are fleeing economic and political turmoil in Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
Republicans fault Biden and Mayorkas – Biden’s top border official – for rolling back restrictive policies put in place by former President Donald Trump, a Republican.
Both Biden and Trump are seeking another term in office in 2024, with Trump the leading candidate for the Republican nomination.
In response to the impeachment motion, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said lawmakers should stop “their reckless impeachment charades and attacks on law enforcement” and instead “deliver desperately needed reforms for our broken immigration system.”
The spokesperson pointed out that Mayorkas had testified before congressional committees eight times this year and said policy disagreements were not a basis for impeachment.
Greene introduced the motion as privileged, meaning the House must take it up within two legislative days, although it could be delayed with procedural votes such as sending it to a committee for review.
Greene told reporters that she had been unable to reach Republican Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday morning about introducing the articles of impeachment.
Even if Mayorkas is impeached in the House, the effort is almost certain to fail in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
