WASHINGTON – House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday that he intends to hold a floor vote to remove Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas “as soon as possible” for allegedly facilitating illegal immigration without precedents along the border between the United States and Mexico.
The House Homeland Security Committee will hold a review Tuesday on the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, 64, as Republicans blame the border crisis on the Biden administration’s policies.
“When we return next week, by necessity, the House Homeland Security Committee will move forward with articles of impeachment against Secretary Mayorkas. Thereafter, a floor vote will be held as soon as possible,” Johnson (R-La.) wrote to his fellow Republicans in a letter called “Dear Colleagues.”
Mayorkas would be the second Cabinet secretary in U.S. history to be indicted (after Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876), setting up what would be an acrimonious Senate trial in an election year focused on immigration actions. of President Biden.
Johnson issued the notice as bipartisan Senate negotiations on a supplemental spending package that would include border funds collapsed.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he intends to hold a floor vote on the removal of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas “as soon as possible.” REUTERS
The House speaker wrote that “the Senate appears unable to reach any agreement” to include in Biden’s proposed $106 billion bill that would primarily fund military aid to Ukraine and Israel.
“If the rumors about the contents of the draft bill are true, it would have been dead on arrival in the House anyway,” Johnson wrote.
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“Since the day I was sworn in as Speaker, I have assured our Senate colleagues that the House would not accept any counterproposal if it did not truly resolve the problems created by the administration’s subversive policies.”
Johnson’s letter comes just a day after reporting that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a longtime foe of former President Donald Trump, accused the former CEO of pressuring Senate Republicans to They canceled any border agreement so that Trump could retain a main element of the anti-Biden campaign.
Johnson is voting to impeach Mayorkas for allegedly facilitating unprecedented illegal immigration along the US-Mexico border. AP Mayorkas (above) would be the second Cabinet secretary in US history to be indicted, after Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876. REUTERS
The speaker wrote that if Biden is serious about border security, he should take unilateral steps to make changes that signal to Republicans that he would implement the provisions of any agreement.
“The facts show that President Biden and his Secretary of Homeland Security, Mayorkas, have willfully ignored and actively undermined our nation’s immigration laws,” Johnson wrote.
“My office has documented at least 64 specific actions taken by your administration that effectively opened our border and established the current chaos. Instead of accepting responsibility, President Biden is now trying to blame Congress for what he himself intentionally created.”
Johnson continued: “Many of our constituents have asked an important question: ‘What is the point of negotiating new laws with an administration that will not enforce the laws already in place?’ If President Biden wants us to believe that he is serious about protecting our national sovereignty, he must demonstrate his good faith by taking immediate steps to ensure it. He should sign an order right now to end the mass release of illegals and dangerous people into our country. If he wants our conference to see him as a good faith negotiator, he can start with the stroke of a pen.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre said at her regular briefing Friday that the effort to impeach Mayorkas was “shameful” and “wasteful.”
The number of illegal crossings at the southern border hit a monthly record of more than 302,000 in December, according to data released Friday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.), whose panel will review the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas on Tuesday, said: “The December numbers serve as further undeniable evidence that Secretary Mayorkas must be accused.”
“This secretary is totally unsuitable for the position he holds,” Green said. “He has neglected to uphold his oath to protect the homeland and comply with the laws of the United States.”
Green said, “This secretary has intentionally opened our borders, sending a clear message to everyone: entering this country illegally means being released into the interior, with little or no chance of removal, and the world has responded accordingly.”
The vast majority of people who cross illegally are allowed to enter the United States to await court rulings on their asylum status and are entitled to work permits while their applications are pending through a backlogged review system.
Mayorkas, who has repeatedly insisted in congressional hearings that “the border is secure,” said this month that more than 85% of those detained for illegally crossing the border were being released in the United States, compared to 71% in October and 74% in November.
The Biden administration has also established a special “parole” program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans that allows a total of 30,000 people per month from those countries to enter the United States by ordinary means, such as flying, and then wait for sentences of their cases.
The number of illegal southern border crossings reportedly hit a record high of more than 276,000 in December. REUTERS Johnson wrote that if Biden is serious about border security, he should take unilateral steps to make changes that signal to Republicans that he would implement the provisions of any agreement. AFP via Getty Images
Nearly 2.5 million people were apprehended after illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2023, which ended Sept. 30, in addition to approximately 670,000 “escapes” who evaded authorities, up from nearly 2 .4 million in fiscal year 2022 and 1.7 million in fiscal year 2022. 2021.
Biden halted construction of Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall on his first day as president and in June 2021 ended Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, which required most asylum seekers to wait. decisions in Mexico.
The border crisis is a burden for Biden to face his expected revenge against Trump. A Pew Research poll released last month found that only 32% of Americans believed Biden could make “sound decisions on immigration policy.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn