WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House of Representatives is poised to impeach the Secretary of Homeland Security. Alejandro Mayorkas It's a highly partisan and highly unusual attack on a Cabinet member over border security, drawing concern from constitutional scholars and condemnation from Democrats.
House Republicans claim Mr. Mayorkas “refuses to comply” with immigration laws, resulting in a record surge of migrants. border between us and mexico and that his actions and comments “betrayed the public's trust.” A House vote on the charges is scheduled for Tuesday, although Democrats say the charges are false and do not warrant impeachment.
It is the first time a Cabinet secretary has been impeached since 1876, and the first time a sitting secretary has been impeached — 148 years ago, Secretary of War William Belknap resigned just before the vote.
“It's clear that Secretary Mayorkas has chosen which laws to implement,” Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said in a hearing before the vote. .
of impeachment prosecution The attack on Mr. Mayorkas comes as border security quickly becomes a top political issue in the 2024 election, with particularly powerful attacks aimed at the president. joe biden by the Republican Party, led by the front-runner for the presidential nomination. donald trump.
In what Mayorkas calls the era of global migration, record numbers of people are arriving at our southern borders and fleeing many countries around the world. Many immigrants apply for asylum and are conditionally released into the United States, often in cities unequipped to provide them with housing and other assistance while they await the years-long judicial process that determines whether they can stay. It has arrived.
House Democrats are expected to unite in opposing the two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, arguing that the process is a sham for constitutional treason, bribery or other crimes that do not fall under the category of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” .
“This is a complete waste of time,” Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colorado, said during Monday’s hearing.
Impeachment of Mayorkas quickly became a topic in the House after a lull in Republican efforts to impeach Biden over his son Hunter Biden's business dealings and a prolonged investigation into the Biden family.
Greene's committee has been investigating the Secretary of Homeland Security for much of the past year, but a resolution by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a Trump ally, will end the investigation. The problem was brought to the forefront. The committee quickly held two hearings in January before announcing two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas.
The director, a former federal prosecutor, did not testify in his own capacity but submitted a rare letter to the committee. defend his work.
Tuesday's vote marks a strange political juncture for Mr. Mayorkas, who is traveling to the Senate for policy negotiations. bipartisan border security packagereceived high praise from a group of senators involved in this effort.
The bill, passed Sunday and headed for a test vote Wednesday, is one of the most ambitious immigration reforms in years.But other Republicans condemn bipartisan effortHouse Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said they were “dead on arrival.”
It is far from clear that Mr. Johnson, who has one of the smallest House majorities in modern times, has the support of nearly all Republicans needed to impeach Mr. Mayorkas. Some resistance remained ahead of the scheduled vote.
Even if Republicans are able to impeach Mr. Mayorkas, he is not expected to be convicted in the Senate trial, which has been handled calmly by Republican senators. In fact, the Senate could simply refer the matter to a committee for its own investigation, delaying immediate action.
impeachment, used to be rare In the United States, it is increasingly used not only as a constitutional check on the executive branch but also as a political weapon.
House Republicans are prioritizing impeachment, censure and other reprimands against officials and members this Congress, setting new standards that alarm scholars about how to punish perceived violations. ing.
Experts say Mayorkas has become embroiled in a policy dispute with Republicans who do not support the Biden administration's approach to the border situation.
Constitutional law expert Jonathan Turley said impeachment should not be based on “bad ministers.” “Regardless of what else Mr. Mayorkas may or may not have done, he has not committed bribery, treason, or any high crime or misdemeanor,” attorney Alan Dershowitz wrote.
Deborah Perlstein, director of the Princeton Law and Public Policy Program, who testified before the panel, said in an interview that “this impeachment is exactly what this impeachment was not supposed to be.”
As president, Trump was impeached twice. First in 2019 for a corrupt phone call with the president of Ukraine seeking a favor to dig out Biden, then his rival, and later for inciting the riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Impeached. He was acquitted on both counts of impeachment in the Senate.
Belknap was impeached over kickbacks on government contracts, but was acquitted in a Senate trial.
