Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) filed an impeachment resolution against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, accusing the Biden administration official of high crimes and misdemeanors for his failure to address the crisis at the southern border.
Greene introduced the resolution on the House floor on Thursday, accusing Mayorkas of failing to maintain “operational control” of U.S. borders which has led to an influx of illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl across the southern border. The resolution marks the second time Greene has filed articles of impeachment against the Homeland Security official after she introduced similar legislation earlier this year.
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“I’m sorry world, we can’t defend your borders anymore, we have a severe national security crisis at our own border,” Greene said in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “I’m done with hearings, reports, and phases. The only answer is impeachment, it’s time.”
The impeachment resolution introduces one charge that alleges Mayorkas violated his constitutional duties since taking office in February 2021. Greene filed the motion as a privileged resolution, which will force GOP leadership to bring it up for a vote within two legislative days. The House adjourned for recess until Monday, meaning the earliest the bill could come up for a vote is next week.
Greene cites a number of federal statutes in the resolution such as the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which requires Mayorkas to maintain operational control of the border, and the Guarantee Clause, which requires him to “protect each of the States from invasion.” The Georgia Republican cited reports that show more than 10 million illegal immigrants have come into the country during his tenure, including the admittance of “terrorists, human traffickers, drugs, and other contraband.”
Mayorkas has testified before Congress eight times so far this year, during which the secretary has previously pushed back against lawmakers’ use of the definition “operational control” as it pertains to the Secure Fence Act.
“The Secure Fence Act provides statutorily that operational control is defined as preventing all unlawful entries into the United States. By that definition, no administration has ever had operational control,” Mayorkas said while testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in March. “The way I define it is maximizing the resources that we have to deliver the most effective results, and we are indeed doing that. We have for the first time since 2011 increased the number of Border Patrol agents.”
The 10 million number referenced in the resolution combines 8 million encounters at the southern border with another 1.8 million “gotaways,” or immigrants who managed to evade U.S. border officials and remain in the country to this day. The remaining number of immigrants includes individuals from Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, and other countries.
The resolution also accuses Mayorkas of failing to stop the flow of fentanyl across the southern border, citing reports that Customs and Border Protection seized approximately 11,200 pounds of fentanyl during fiscal 2021 and another 14,700 pounds the following year.
“Over 70,000 Americans died from fentanyl in fiscal year 2022,” the resolution states. “Fentanyl is now the number one killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. Fentanyl kills approximately 300 Americans a day. This is the amount of fentanyl that has been seized at the border, yet 300 Americans are still being killed by fentanyl poisoning every day. The amount of unseized fentanyl has not even been taken into account.”
Greene previously introduced articles of impeachment against Mayorkas in May, although those efforts were largely stalled by the House GOP as Republicans sought to focus their efforts on impeaching President Joe Biden instead. It’s not clear whether this renewed effort will gain more momentum, but Greene said she was motivated to reintroduce the legislation after eight people died in a car crash caused by a suspected human smuggler in south Texas on Wednesday. Two of the victims were from Greene’s district in Georgia, she said.
The Department of Homeland Security pushed back against the resolution, arguing that policy differences are not grounds for impeachment. A spokesperson for the department noted the U.S. immigration system has been broken for decades, arguing only Congress can pass legislation to fix it.
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“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,” a spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “Under his leadership, the Department of Homeland Security is stopping unprecedented amounts of fentanyl from entering the country, countering threats from the Chinese government, helping communities recover from natural disasters, and working to protect our nation from cyberattacks, terrorism, and targeted violence.
“Instead of continuing their reckless impeachment charades and attacks on law enforcement, Congress should work with us to keep our country safe, build on the progress DHS is making, and deliver desperately needed reforms for our broken immigration system that only legislation can fix,” the spokesperson added.
