OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Rep. Lauren Boebert took to social media again on Wednesday to demand that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas face impeachment in the GOP-controlled House for failing to secure the southern border amid record human and drug smuggling.
The Colorado Republican’s call comes just days before the Trump-era Title 42 policy, implemented during the pandemic authorizing immediate deportation of most illegal immigrants, is set to end, which is expected to trigger another massive wave of migrants.
“Anyone who sees the situation at our Southern Border and thinks it’s okay is clearly not thinking straight. Mayorkas deserves impeachment and he deserves it fast,” she tweeted.
Anyone who sees the situation at our Southern Border and thinks it’s okay is clearly not thinking straight.
Mayorkas deserves impeachment and he deserves it fast.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) May 2, 2023
In February, shortly after the GOP took over the House, another Republican member filed additional articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, alleging he has failed to ensure adequate border security on his watch amid record-high encounters with illegal immigrants and drug smuggling.
According to Fox News, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) introduced a new article of impeachment against Mayorkas that accuses him of violating his oath of office and refusing to enforce duly-passed immigration laws. The report noted further that Biggs has often called for Mayorkas to be removed from his position, accusing him in 2021 of having “engaged in a pattern of conduct that is incompatible with his duties as an Officer of the United States.”
After a record 2.3 million encounters with migrants crossing illegally into the U.S. during the fiscal year 2022 — and in December alone, more than 251,000 — the impeachment push has been renewed after Republicans took over the House in January.
“Secretary Mayorkas has failed to faithfully uphold his oath and has instead presided over a reckless abandonment of border security and immigration enforcement, at the expense of the Constitution and the security of the United States,” the article states, according to Fox News. “Secretary Mayorkas has violated, and continues to violate, this oath by failing to maintain operational control of the border and releasing hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens into the interior of the United States.”
The impeachment article goes on to allege that Mayorkas failed to implement provisions of the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which mandates, among other things, that DHS take several actions to “achieve and maintain operational control” over U.S. borders. The law also called for constructing a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, but after Democrats took control of the House that year, they refused to fund it.
Also, the article accuses the DHS chief of violating the Immigration and Nationality Act for releasing illegal migrants inside the country despite the law’s requirement that they be detained.
“The Secretary of Homeland Security does not have the option of simply releasing those aliens into the interior of the United States,” the article says, adding that he also ended the Migrant Protection Protocols, or MPP, which were implemented during former President Donald Trump’s administration requiring that migrants be kept in Mexico to await the adjudication of their asylum cases.
“The actions of Secretary Mayorkas have made the border less secure and encouraged aliens to enter the United States illegally, instead of taking actions to maintain operational control of the border. His actions have subverted the will of Congress and the core tenants of the Constitution.”
Earlier in February, Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) filed initial articles of impeachment against Mayorkas.
“The articles of impeachment against Mayorkas for ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ known as House Resolution 8, were introduced by Fallon in the House on Monday and have been referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Last week, Fallon vowed to file impeachment articles against Mayorkas after the Congress was sworn in. The effort from Republicans in the House is one of many that the new GOP majority will take as it works to fight the Biden administration on issues related to immigration and the southern border crisis,” Fox News reported at the time.
“Since day one, Secretary Mayorkas’ policies have undermined law enforcement activities at our southern border. From perjuring himself before Congress about maintaining operational control of the border to the infamous ‘whip-gate’ slander against our border patrol agents, Secretary Mayorkas has proven time and time again that he is unfit to lead the Department of Homeland Security. His willful actions have eroded our immigration system, undermined border patrol morale, and jeopardized American national security. He has violated the law and it is time for him to go,” Fallon said.
