- Republicans in the US House of Representatives said they would impeach the country’s top border official, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
- Arizona Representative Andy Biggs said he would file articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, who is blamed by many Republicans for implementing lax border policies
- This could place further pressure on the Biden administration, which is trying to balance pledges to restore access TO asylum with record crossings at the US-Mexico border
WASHINGTON D.C.: In a sign of future political battles over record numbers of illegal crossings under Democratic President Joe Biden, a group of Republicans in the US House of Representatives said they would impeach the country’s top border official, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Arizona Representative Andy Biggs said he would file articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, who is blamed by many Republicans for implementing lax border policies.
While the impeachment could find support in the Republican-controlled House, it is unlikely to advance in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
However, it could place further pressure on the Biden administration, which is trying to balance pledges to restore access TO asylum with record crossings at the US-Mexico border.
In November, a leading Biden border official resigned, claiming that Mayorkas had urged him to leave.
Biggs and a dozen fellow Republicans said this week that Mayorkas had intentionally caused a border crisis by cancelling the policies of former President Donald Trump, a Republican.
“This is not negligence, it is not by accident,” Biggs said.
However, a US Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the lawmakers should focus on updating the US immigration system, which has not had a major overhaul in decades “instead of trying to point fingers and score political points.”
In November, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called on Mayorkas to resign, stressing that Republicans could impeach him if he did not.
In January, Texas Representative Pat Fallon filed a separate impeachment resolution against Mayorkas, accusing him of encouraging illegal immigration.
If impeachment charges are filed, the House Judiciary Committee will conduct an investigation, which could lead to a committee vote on the charges against Mayorkas.
