The lawmakers are set to vote on a resolution brought by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene calling for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in what will be the first test for the case against him.
Some uncertainty remains about the level of support within Ms. Greene’s own party, and among Democrats. While some Republicans are waiting for the House to complete a full impeachment inquiry, others believe it’s time for Mr. Mayorkas to be removed from his position.
“Many times, I’ve extended an olive branch to the Biden administration on border security solutions, but I have lost faith in their ability to do their job, enforce the rule of law, and protect the American homeland. For that reason, I fully support Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resolution,” said Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican whose district has more border than any other member of Congress.
The resolution filed by Ms. Greene accuses Mr. Mayorkas of failing to carry out the laws entrusted to him.
She filed the article as a “privileged” resolution, which means the House must take it up in some fashion within two legislative days. The House is slated to return Monday and be in session through Thursday.
Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, supports impeachment but wasn’t convinced by Ms. Greene’s attempt.
“Being the person that she is, she’s trying to leapfrog what is arguably a process that should follow the committee order,” he said.
Usually, impeachment follows an official “impeachment inquiry.” Republicans have yet to launch such a step, though they have been holding hearings and conducting what could best be thought of as inquiry-lite.
The Homeland Security Committee has produced several reports detailing Mr. Mayorkas’s “dereliction of duty,” complete with a list of times the GOP says he has misled Congress and flouted written laws.
Mr. Stein said GOP leaders need to quickly convert that into an inquiry.
“Frankly, we’re a little surprised that it’s taking this long, given that we’re hemorrhaging people at the border and it’s creating a crisis for our national security,” he said.
“If you appointed a guy like this as secretary of defense, Hawaii would now be under Chinese control. What Mayorkas is doing is not a game. It’s a threat to national security,” Mr. Stein said.
Mark Morgan, former head of Customs and Border Protection, said the case against Mr. Mayorkas is clear.
“From day one, Secretary Mayorkas has abdicated his oath of office; abused his authority; repeatedly lied to the American people and Congress; refused to enforce the law; and actively participated in the unjustified vilification of his own workforce,” he said. “More Americans, as well as migrants, have suffered unimaginable tragedies and died as a direct result of this man’s America last ideology. Impeachment is long overdue.”
But immigrant-rights advocates criticized Ms. Greene’s impeachment push as weak and dangerous.
“To me she’s putting the horse before the cart, and the horse is lame and the cart has a broken wheel anyway,” said Douglas Rivlin, senior communications director at America’s Voice.
He said Republicans are wrong to say the border is open. He said more money has been spent on immigration enforcement in Mr. Biden’s three years than…
