FIRST ON FOX: Congressman Andy Biggs, R-Arizona, is introducing a new article of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, accusing him of violating his oath of office and failing to enforce US immigration law.
The articles were first introduced by Biggs, who has repeatedly called for Mayorkas to be removed from his post in 2021 and accused Mayorkas of “engaging in a pattern of conduct inconsistent with his duties as an officer of the United States.”
Now, with a record 2.3 million encounters with migrants in fiscal year 2022 and more than 251,000 in December alone — and with Republicans taking control of the House — that impeachment pressure has been renewed.
“Secretary Mayorkas has not faithfully kept his oath of office and instead led a reckless abandonment of border security and immigration enforcement at the expense of the Constitution and the security of the United States.” Secretary Mayorkas violated and continues to violate that oath by failing to maintain operational border control and releasing hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens into the interior of the United States.”
It also accuses him of failing to implement the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which requires DHS to take action to “achieve and maintain operational control” of the border.
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Congressman Andy Biggs has reintroduced articles of impeachment against DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnick – AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Finally, it accuses him of violating the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by releasing illegal immigrants into the U.S. despite what Biggs says is a requirement to detain illegal immigrants.
“The Secretary of Homeland Security does not have the ability to simply release these aliens into the interior of the United States,” the articles said. They also cited his termination of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), a Trump-era program that detains migrants in Mexico during their hearings.
“Secretary Mayorkas’ actions have made the border less secure and encouraged aliens to enter the United States illegally rather than taking action to maintain operational control of the border.” His actions undermined the will of Congress and the basic tenants of the Constitution. “
The articles come after Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, introduced articles last month. Those articles included an allegation that Mayorkas “publicly and falsely defamed” border agents who were falsely accused of flogging Haitian migrants in Del Rio, Texas, in 2021.
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The push to impeach Mayorkas has received some potential support from GOP leadership. Current Speaker McCarthy said in November that Mayorkas should resign or possibly face impeachment.
“He cannot and should not remain in this position,” he said. “If Secretary Mayorkas does not resign, House Republicans will investigate every order, every action and every failure to determine whether we can open an impeachment inquiry.”
DHS fired back, saying Mayorkas had no intention of resigning and that the administration had inherited a broken and dismantled immigration system that it had repeatedly said was up to Congress to fix. In a statement Wednesday, DHS put the ball back in Congress’ court.
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“Members of Congress can do better than point the finger at someone else; they must come to the table and work on solutions to our broken system and outdated laws that have not been revised in over 40 years,” the DHS spokesperson said.
The Border Patrol union recently said its agent would potentially support an impeachment push to draw attention to the crisis at the border.
“How else are we going to send the message to Mallorcas and the White House that it really is a disaster down here and we need help?” National Border Patrol Vice President Jon Anfinsen told Fox News at the border.
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Meanwhile, the administration said its recent border measures were “working” after what it said was a dramatic drop in numbers in January following the introduction of expanded border measures last month. He also renewed his calls for Congress to pass a sweeping immigration bill — but that has little chance of passage given that Republicans have resisted including a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants.