The House of Representatives has voted against progressing a resolution to impeach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Nov. 13, pulling the brakes on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) effort to challenge the official overseeing the Biden administration’s handling of the border crisis.
A Democrat motion sought to send the resolution back to the Homeland Security Committee, which is conducting its own investigation into Mr. Mayokas. Eight Republicans joined Democrats to pass the motion in a 209-201 vote.
After the vote, Ms. Greene had a message to the Republicans who voted with Democrats to shelve her resolution. “They’re gonna have to face their voters. The American people are fed up,” she told reporters.
“My articles of Impeachment on Mayorkas have been sitting for months in the Judiciary Committee, and many of the same Republicans that voted with Democrats to refer back to committees sit on the Judiciary Committee,” the Georgia lawmaker said.
“So they stood with the Democrats to protect Secretary Mayorkas and prevent his impeachment by putting it back in the Judiciary Committee where they can put articles of impeachment up on the shelf to collect more dust.”
Ms. Greene introduced the legislation on Nov. 9, requiring that the Republican-controlled House consider the legislation within two legislative days.
Greene’s Accusations
The privileged resolution, which demanded immediate action, alleged that Mr. Mayorkas had allowed “willful admittance of border crossers” and asserted that he is obligated to safeguard the United States against what she termed an “invasion.”Ms. Greene further alleged that Mr. Mayorkas had contravened the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which mandates border perfection. According to the law, a border can only be deemed operationally secure when there is no unauthorized entry of individuals or contraband into the county.
“Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, in his inability to enforce the law, has engaged in a pattern of conduct that is incompatible with his duties as a civil officer of the United States,” Ms. Greene’s resolution stated.
Speaking to journalists on Capitol Hill on the same day she moved to force a vote on the resolution, Ms. Greene said, “America can’t wait anymore. This is a national security crisis and people are dying every single day … We have a duty to make sure that people that serve in the federal government are upholding our laws. Secretary Mayorkas is breaking the law. Our country has been invaded.”
The lawmaker drove the point home, saying, “This shouldn’t be happening,” speaking to the deaths of her constituents allegedly at the hands of illegal aliens.
“We can’t wait any more on Washington, D.C. No more strongly worded letters, committee hearings; no more clips on the press; we have to do something about it. And so that’s why I reintroduced my articles of impeachment.”
Ms. Greene asserted in her press release that Mr. Mayorkas has been involved in actions that, if proven true, could have serious implications. The accusations suggested that, since taking office, Mr. Mayorkas had allegedly contributed to what was described as a “complete invasion” of the United States by deliberately facilitating the influx of drugs, terrorists, and illegal aliens.
Among the allegations, it was claimed that Mr. Mayorkas provided misleading information under oath regarding the operational control of the U.S. borders. According to these claims, Mr. Mayorkas purportedly stated both that the borders were under control and conversely that operational control had never been achieved. If substantiated, this would imply false testimony to the American people and a violation of his oath of office.
Other Republican Concerns
House Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee released a 50-page interim staff report on Nov. 13 asserting that Americans are footing a multibillion-dollar bill for illegal immigrants who have been released in the interior of the United States or have escaped law enforcement custody under the current administration.This is according to information gathered from state records, media reports, and publicly available information that counts the cost of coping with the massive influx of illegal immigrants to the United States, according to citations in the report.
“Every day, millions of American taxpayer dollars are spent on costs directly associated with illegal immigration and the unprecedented crisis at the Southwest border sparked by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ policies,” the report states.
A DHS spokesperson responded to Ms. Greene’s resolution from late last week, telling The Epoch Times in an emailed statement, “While the House majority has wasted months trying to score points with baseless attacks, Secretary Mayorkas has been doing his job and working to keep Americans safe.”
