Republicans are taking the first steps to formally impeach Department of Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas for his handling of the ongoing southern border crisis.
DailyMail.com confirmed that the first impeachment hearing into Mayorkas will be held by the House Homeland Security Committee next week on January 10.
It comes after officials revealed over 302,000 people crossed the border illegally in December.
It is the highest total for a single month ever recorded in history and it marks the first time migrant encounters have reached over 300,000. In 2020 there were only 400,000 crossings for the whole year.
The House Homeland Security Committee led by Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., has been investigating Mayorkas and compiling a comprehensive report of his ‘derelict of duty’ over several months.
Green told DailyMail.com that his committee’s investigation ‘made clear’ that the border crisis ‘finds its foundation in Secretary Mayorkas’ decision-making and refusal to enforce the laws passed by Congress, and that his failure to fulfill his oath of office demands accountability.’
In November, the Hose voted to refer articles of impeachment drafted by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., to his committee in a 209-201 vote.
Green said that the referral highlighted the ‘importance of our taking up the impeachment process—which is what we will begin doing next Wednesday.’
DailyMail.com confirmed that the first impeachment hearing into Mayorkas will be held by the House Homeland Security Committee next week on January 10.
Migrants set up camp in the Rio Bravo, waiting to enter American Gate 36, since American soldiers close all access to the wire barrier in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on January 2, 2024
Migrants set up camp in the Rio Bravo earlier this week as they try and enter the US
The secretary told MSNBC this morning that he would ‘most certainly’ comply with the committee’s impeachment investigation.
But he said he’s currently focused on finding ‘solution to problems,’ including by working with senators to come to a bipartisan solution on border security measures.
In addition, Mayorkas blamed the ongoing crisis on a 30-year broken immigration system – and also climate change.
He told MSNBC that the challenge of ‘displaced people,’ not only in the U.S., but around the world is due to the ‘effects of climate change, poverty, increasing level of authoritarianism.’
Mayorkas also placed fault on Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott who he says is ‘refusing to cooperate’ with other governors and other local officials to coordinate efforts.
‘It’s a remarkable failure of governance to refuse to cooperate with one’s fellow local and state officials,’ he continued.
Last month Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill making it a criminal offense to enter the state illegally, a move which further allows local law enforcement authorities to detain and deport migrants who cross into Texas.
Local authorities have already been arresting migrants on state misdemeanor charges under Abbott’s immigration program Operation Lone Star. The new law is scheduled to go into effect in March.
Abbott has previously ordered a 1,000 foot floating barrier to be installed in Eagle Pass and the placement of razor wire near the Rio Grande to stop migrants from entering once they cross the river, both moves that were blocked in court.
On Tuesday the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene on its behalf after an appeals court blocked it from removing the razor wire while the lower court battle over the wire fence plays out.
Abbott has also bused thousands of migrants to liberal-run cities like New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles.
A DHS spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg told DailyMail.com Wednesday that there is ‘no valid basis to impeach Secretary Mayorkas’ and slammed Republicans’ ‘extreme impeachment push’ as a ‘harmful distraction from our critical national security priorities.’
‘Secretary Mayorkas and the Department of Homeland Security will continue working every day to keep Americans safe,’ she continued.
On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson and 60 House Republicans are touring the U.S.-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas.
It is the largest congressional delegation in history to go down to the southern border.
In Eagle Pass, the local fire department is under water financially as it is forced to spend an jaw-dropping $21,000 per day on migrant-related emergencies, according to Eagle Pass Fire Chief Manuel Mello.
Migrants set up camp in the Rio Bravo, waiting to enter American Gate 36, since American soldiers close all access to the wire barrier in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on January 2
A migrant man crosses the Rio Grande holding his child in the air to prevent her from getting wet as hundreds of migrants are attempting to reach the United States border to seek humanitarian asylum in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on January 2
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, center, arrives for closed-door negotiations on a border security deal at the Capitol on December 17
Republicans have seized upon border security issues as a main 2024 election issue, which has become a political headache for President Joe Biden.
‘We gotta do something, they gotta give me the money I need to protect the border,’ Biden said upon returning to Washington, D.C., from his Caribbean vacation Tuesday evening.
Before Christmas, the Democratic-led Senate started working through details of a foreign aid package that would also address border security measures.
Mayorkas spent much of the holiday engaged in closed-door discussions and said he is hopeful there is a path forward with the Senate on a deal – despite the ongoing push for his impeachment in the House.
‘For almost three years, the American people have demanded an end to the unprecedented crisis at the Southwest border, and they have also rightly called for Congress to hold accountable those responsible,’ Green continued in the statement to DailyMail.com.
‘That’s why the House Committee on Homeland Security led a comprehensive investigation into the causes, costs, and consequences of this crisis.’