House Republicans Unveil Impeachment Articles Against DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas

House Republicans have filed impeachment articles against U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, charging the nation’s top immigration official with repeatedly violating immigration and border security laws.

The impeachment articles from the House Homeland Security Committee comes before a scheduled vote on Tuesday, Jan. 30 by the committee, which is expected to advance and pave the way for a vote by the full House as early as February.

Illegal border crossings into the U.S. from Mexico hit the highest levels on record last month.

According to a fact sheet released by House Republicans, since President Joe Biden took office, there have been more than 8.3 million illegal border crossings, with 361 border encounters with individuals whose names appear on the terrorist watchlist.

Congressional Republicans say that the policy priorities of Mayorkas are largely responsible for the surge.

ARTICLE I

House leaders say in the first impeachment article:

In large part because of his unlawful conduct, millions of aliens have illegally entered the United States on an annual basis with many unlawfully remaining in the United States. His refusal to obey the law is not only an offense against the separation of powers in the Constitution of the United States, it also threatens our national security and has had a dire impact on communities across the country. 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 the 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.

Also cited as grounds for impeachment is Mayorkas’ implementation of the DHS’ “catch and release” policy, where illegal aliens are released into the U.S. interior without effective measures to ensure they appear at court dates or to are able to be deported.

House Republicans explain that other actions undertaken by Mayorkas violated the law, including willfully exceeding his parole authority, whereby apprehended illegal aliens have been released en masse.

ARTICLE II

The second impeachment article charges Mayorkas with breach of public trust, arguing he violated his oath of office by knowingly obstructing congressional DHS oversight and knowingly making false statements during congressional testimony.

House leaders say Mayorkas “knowingly made false statements” about:

• The border security measures actually being implemented


• The scope and adequacy of the vetting of thousands of Afghans who were airlifted to the U.S. after the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan


• Whether illegal aliens who have no legal basis to remain in the U.S. were actually removed


• A false story about U.S. Border Patrol agents purportedly whipping migrants

The article also says that the DHS Secretary “failed to comply with multiple subpoenas issued by congressional committees,” and denied the Inspector General access to records and information, which hampered legitimate investigations into the department’s activities.

Congressional Statements

If Mayorkas is impeached in the House, it would be a heavy lift to get a conviction and removal by the Senate, which holds a Democratic majority, and where the governing body would need a two-thirds majority.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has blasted individuals and publications that have stated there is no evidence Mayorkas broke the law, and posted on social media platform X a list of numerous federal statutes he is accused of violating.

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A day before the articles were filed, Greene said that Mayorkas’ actions had amounted to treason.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee, called the articles a “sham” and reiterated assertions there is no evidence for the charges.

“What is glaringly missing from these articles is any real charge or even a shred of evidence of high crimes or misdemeanors – the Constitutional standard for impeachment,” Thompson said in a statement.

“That should come as no surprise because Republicans’ so-called ‘investigation’ of Secretary Mayorkas has been a remarkably fact-free affair,” he added. “They are abusing Congress’ impeachment power to appease their MAGA members, score political points, and deflect Americans’ attention from their do-nothing Congress.”