House delivers Mayorkas impeachment articles to Senate

The U.S. House of Representatives presented articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on Tuesday afternoon.

“Impeachment is Congress’ only viable option,” Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., said at the transfer ceremony. “Alejandro N. Mayorkas willfully and systemically refused to comply with the immigration laws, failed to control the border to the detriment of national security, compromised public safety, and violated the rule of law and separation of powers in the Constitution to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.”

Mayorkas faces two articles that the House passed back in February: first, a willful and systemic refusal to comply with law and, second, a breach of public trust.

Republicans argue that many of Mayorkas’ policies—chiefly practices relating to the so-called catch-and-release of migrants, as well as an overall failure to detain migrants—have contributed to the record-breaking 2.5 million encounters at the U.S. southern border in 2023. Those practices, Republicans contend, go against U.S. law that mandates the detainment of undocumented persons.

Secondly, Republicans like Green argue that Mayorkas knowingly misled the public on several occasions by asserting that the border was “secure” during multiple hearings before Congress or in public statements.

What does that mean for Mayorkas? While Republicans in the House have adamantly stressed the inadequacies of Mayorkas’ performance in the role, Democrats in both chambers believe the impeachment is politically motivated. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., blasted the articles of impeachment ahead of their arrival.

“The Senate will convene on Wednesday as a court of impeachment,” Schumer said. “Impeachment should never be used to settle a policy disagreement…this would set an awful precedent for Congress…that’s absurd, that’s an abuse of the process.”

The articles are expected to fail to win a conviction in the Democratically controlled Senate, and it’s unclear whether they have the support of all Republicans in the chamber.

“It’s a power Congress must not exercise frivolously,” Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said. “It would be beneath the Senate’s dignity to shrug off our clear responsibility and fail to give the charges we heard today clear consideration.”

The Mayorkas impeachment also comes as Republicans continue their five-month investigation into Joe Biden they launched in November—a second investigation Democrats contend is politically motivated.

Dig deeper:  Read my report on the considerations that ultimately led the House to vote on the Mayorkas impeachment effort.