Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has denied accountability of the currently burgeoning border crisis, claiming it was not his or President Joe Biden's administration's responsibility.
This denial came amid House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) report on the 64 instances the Biden regime undermined border security. Since the 46th president assumed office in January 2021, at least seven million encounters have been reported from the U.S.-Mexico border. Johnson's report included how Biden manipulated the federal bureaucracy to open our borders to illegal immigrants, human trafficking, fentanyl and potential terrorists.
"It certainly is a crisis. And, well, we don't bear responsibility for a broken system, and we're doing a tremendous amount within the system. But fundamentally, Congress is the only one who can fix it," the DHS executive claimed during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"Do you bear responsibility for what is happening at the border?"
MAYORKAS: "We don't bear responsibility" pic.twitter.com/rCdwOIAIAX
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 11, 2024
He has publicly and in front of Congress said that the border is "secure" repeatedly for years. Then last week, Biden undercut him and admitted the "border is not secure" before pinning blame on his predecessor, former President Donald Trump.
Mayorkas' comments denying responsibility came on the heels of him dodging an effort by House Republicans to impeach him. It looked like the vote was going to succeed, with three GOP defections, until Rep. Al Green (D-TX) was unexpectedly wheeled onto the floor in his hospital scrubs after intestinal surgery. The Texas Democrat tied the vote at 215-215, defeating the resolution. "Sometimes when you're counting votes and people show up when they're not expected to be in the building, it changes the equation," said Johnson. A fourth Republican also switched his vote at the last minute to give GOP leaders the opportunity to bring up the vote again, making the final vote 214 in favor to 216 against.
The representatives accused Mayorkas of "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" while presiding over the border crisis and "breach of public trust" for allegedly lying to Congress by saying the border is "secure" and that DHS has "operational control" of it. But for Mayorkas, the impeachment contains "baseless allegations." He added: "That's why I am not distracted by them and focused on the work of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)."
Meanwhile, a sweeping bipartisan border security reform package in the Senate collapsed last week. The deal had been negotiated for some four months. It was widely seen as a means of unlocking Republican support for a broader supplemental featuring aid to Ukraine, Israel and Indo-Pacific allies, as the New York Post reported. "The system has not been fixed for 30 years. A bipartisan group of senators [has] now presented us with the tools and resources we need … and yet Congress killed it before even reading it," said Mayorkas, following a failed Senate spending plan that would allocate a scant amount to the border, while providing Ukraine and Israel with roughly $80 billion in aid.
Mayorkas impeached by House Republicans
On Feb. 13, the House narrowly impeached Mayorkas in a 214-213 vote. This came exactly a week after an earlier impeachment attempt failed as three GOP congressmen joined Democrats in voting against the measure and another flipped their vote from "yea" to "nay." House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), who missed the earlier vote as he was undergoing treatment for blood cancer, cast the deciding vote on this second impeachment attempt. (Related: TRAITOR TO AMERICA: House will vote to impeach DHS Secretary Mayorkas ASAP, Speaker Johnson reveals.)
The vote coincided with a special election in New York's third congressional district to replace former Rep. George Santos (R-NY). The possibility of Democrats picking up the swing seat puts pressure on Republicans to move quickly.
The right wing has been asserting that Mayorkas is responsible for the high crimes and misdemeanors at the border and for not enforcing immigration laws. Mayorkas and Democrats, meanwhile, contended that it's a matter of policy differences, arguing that Republicans are using impeachment to score political points during an election year.
Last month, Republicans unveiled two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas. The first impeachment article accused Mayorkas of releasing migrants into the U.S. who should have been detained. The second article alleged he lied to lawmakers about whether the southern border was secure when he previously testified that his department had "operational control" of the border, and accused Mayorkas of obstructing congressional oversight of his department.
Visit BorderSecurity.news for more stories related to the worsening migration crisis in the United States.
Sources for this article include:
Please contact us for more information.