House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) implied Friday that there could be enough votes to oust Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas “by the end of this month.”
Pointing to an increase in illegal crossings at the border and the fentanyl trafficking crisis, McCaul argued that Mayorkas’s actions are worthy of impeachment.
“If you look at the founding fathers, when they talked about impeachment, they talk about abuse of power, dereliction of duty … Mayorkas on day one rescinded “Remain in Mexico,” McCaul said Friday in an interview with Fox News, referring to a 2019 policy put in place by former President Trump that requires asylum seekers to await proceedings in Mexico.
“That means instead of arresting, detaining, and removing illegal aliens, they have released them into our society by re-instituting catch and release,” he added. “This has caused injurious harm to the fabric of America.”
His comments come just days after House Republicans opened a series of impeachment hearings against the DHS chief.
During Wednesday’s hearing, House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn) criticized Mayorkas for failing to detain migrants and releasing those who pass an initial screening into the country.
“Secretary Mayorkas is the architect of the devastation that we have witnessed for nearly three years,” Green argued.
He added, “What we’re seeing here is a willful violation of his oath of office,” — repeating an unsubstantiated claim that the border crisis is “intentional.” crisis.”
Earlier this week, Mayorkas pushed back against Republican’s assertion that DHS was encouraging migrants to enter the U.S. illegally.
“After the ending of Title 42 In May … through the end of the fiscal year, DHS removed or returned more noncitizens without a basis to remain in the United States than in any other five-month period in the last 10 years,” he argued.
“In fact, the majority of all migrants encountered at the southwest border throughout this administration have been removed, returned or expelled. A majority of them,” Mayorkas added.
The House voted in November to send articles of impeachment against the DHS secretary to Green’s committee. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) made an attempt to fast-track the process, but her effort was ultimately rejected.
House Republicans plan to hold additional hearings weighing his potential impeachment. The next hearing is expected on Thursday, but it is unclear whether Mayorkas has accepted the invitation to appear.
If they are successful, Mayorkas would be only the second Cabinet secretary to be expelled in history.