Should Mayorkas Be Impeached and Removed from Office?

            The topics of impeachment, removal from office, and even treason are being discussed in the U.S. House of Representatives. The congressional members are not talking about President Joe Biden, but his Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Republicans pressed Mayorkas for answers last week for the increasing numbers of illegal immigrants surging at our border. Each month sets a new record for the numbers of migrants crossing the border illegally.

            Agents for U.S. Customs and Border Protection logged over 221,000 “encounters” with illegal aliens along the border in March 2022. This is a 33% increase over February 2022. Mayorkas tried to tell the House Judiciary Committee that the border is under “operational control” as required by law.

            Republicans did not believe Mayorkas and said that he should be impeached and removed from office for intentionally neglecting his duty to secure the border. They mentioned specifically the vast numbers of illegal migrants crossing into America and no plans by Mayorkas to stop them. Virginia Allen reported the following six highlights from the hearing. 

1. ‘It’s by Design’

“The chaos on our southern border is not an accident,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said during his opening statement about the surge of illegal aliens since Biden was sworn in as president Jan. 20, 2021. …

“President Biden on Day One said there’ll be a moratorium on deportations,” Jordan, ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, said. “He ended [the] ‘Remain in Mexico’ [policy]. He terminated agreements with Northern Triangle countries, and he stopped building the wall.”

The big increase in illegal immigrants at the southern border is an “intentional” result of DHS policies implemented under Mayorkas, the Ohio Republican said, adding: “It’s deliberate. It’s on purpose. It’s by design. …

2. ‘Inherited a Mess’

Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., addressing Mayorkas in his opening remarks, said: “You inherited a mess when you took over the department, and no one can solve overnight the problems left for you by the previous administration.” …

Mayorkas echoed these sentiments in his testimony, saying, ‘we inherited a broken and dismantled system” from the Trump administration.

When Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., challenged Mayorkas on these remarks, the homeland security secretary said he was “speaking of a broken system before the prior administration.”

The nation’s immigration system has been in need of reform for a long time, Mayorkas added.

3. End of Title 42 to ‘Make Matters Worse’

The wave of illegal aliens headed for the southern border only will grow with the end of a public health measure called Title 42, which will “make matter worse,” Jordan said.

The Biden administration has put an expiration date of May 23 on Title 42, which immigration officials have used to deport illegal immigrants from some countries quickly to slow the spread of COVID-19.

“We all know that after Title 42 is repealed, 18,000 immigrants a day are going to result, coming over that border,” Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., said, adding that such a surge will lead to “a total collapse of operational control.” …

4. ‘Comprehensive’ DHS Plan

Republican and Democrat lawmakers questioned Mayorkas on his plan to address the increase in migrants unlawfully coming across the southern border…

The homeland security secretary repeatedly referenced the “six pillars” throughout the House hearing, noting that the plan is both “comprehensive” and “very detailed.”

The DHS plan, using its words, includes: 1) “Surge resources, including personnel, transportation, medical support, and facilities.” 2) “Increase efficiency without compromising the integrity of our screening processes, to reduce strain on the border.” 3) “Administer consequences for unlawful entry, including expedited removal and criminal prosecution.” 4) “Bolster the capacity of NGOs and coordinate with state, local, and community partners.” 5) Target and disrupt transnational criminal organizations and human smugglers.” 6) “Deter irregular migration south of our border, in partnership with other federal agencies and nations.”

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Mayorkas that the only “plan” the homeland security secretary is offering is to “process aliens faster and encourage more to come.”

“We know that to be true,” Roy said. “I know it’s true. You know it’s true. Cartels know it’s true. And people around the world know it’s true, and that’s why people are coming. … The entirety of your plan says that.”

5. Where Are 42 on Terrorist Watch List?

In one of the more lively exchanges of the hearing, Jordan pressed Mayorkas on the whereabouts of the 42 known individuals on America’s terrorist watch list who were caught attempting to cross the southern border since Biden took office.

“Forty-two illegal immigrants … encountered at our border are on the terrorist and no-fly list. Are any of them still in our country?” Jordan asked.

Jordan, whose time expired as he continued to press Mayorkas for an answer, didn’t receive one that appeared to satisfy him.

When it came time for Louisiana’s Johnson to question the homeland security secretary, he first yielded to Jordan.

“Have any of the 42 illegal migrants on the terrorist watch list or no-fly list encountered on our southwest border been released into the United States?” Jordan asked.

“I will provide that data to you with respect to the disposition of each one. I do not know the answer to your question,” Mayorkas replied.

“The secretary of homeland security does not know the answer to the status of 42 individuals who came to our southern border illegally, are on the no-fly list and the terrorist watch list,” Jordan said. “You do not know whether they have been released or not into the country. That’s your testimony.”

6. ‘You Should Be Impeached’

Multiple Republican lawmakers called for the impeachment and removal of Mayorkas, even going as far as to call his handling of border security treasonous.

            I agree with the congressional agreement that Mayorkas should be impeached and removed from office. He either completely lacks the ability to fulfill his responsibilities, or he is purposefully allowing hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter the United States illegally. The numbers are not “normal,” and they are much bigger than they were when Donald Trump was in office. The border was secure under Trump with numbers of migrants coming illegally small enough to be control by border agents. The current problems are caused by Mayorkas and Biden administration policies.