WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nexstar) — Ahead of a government funding deadline, Republicans in Congress are moving forward with efforts to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, accusing him of not enforcing immigration laws.
Austin Congressman Michael McCaul is supportive of his colleagues’ move to impeach Mayorkas, citing his concerns about how the secretary has handled immigration enforcement and issues at the southern border.
“It’s a failure to follow, then execute the law, the failure to detain and remove those coming into the country illegally,” the Republican said in an interview with Nexstar.
Democrats are dismissing the impeachment efforts as baseless. During last week’s hearings, U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi slammed Republicans, suggesting that Republicans are they are the ones who are misusing their power.
“We used to come together to resolve policy disputes but now Republicans are trying to use the awesome power of impeachment instead. The Constitution doesn’t let us do that. The Constitution requires high crimes and misdemeanors,” Thompson said.
McCaul disagreed, pointing to the founding fathers’ concerns about neglect of duty in particular.
“Going back to what the founding fathers envisioned…they talked about things like abuse of power and neglect of duty,” he said. “Hamilton talked in the Federalist papers about injuries done immediately to society itself, which clearly there’s been a lot of damage to the fabric of America over the last two and a half, three years.”
Secretary Mayorkas addressed the immigration challenges during a recent border visit to Eagle Pass but pointed to the need for legislative changes on Capitol Hill in order for DHS to enforce those laws. He highlighted the importance of legislative fixes to address a broken immigration system.
The secretary has not been vocal about Republicans’ efforts to impeach him.
Watch the full interview with Congressman McCaul below:
Republicans try to tie foreign aid with border deal
Ongoing talks in the Senate regarding a border deal come months after the House passed the “Secure the Border Act.” Some Republicans are now threatening a partial government shutdown unless their demands for enhanced border security are met.
In response to these threats, McCaul expressed concerns about the potential impact on international relations, especially in the midst of global political challenges like in Ukraine, the Middle East and Taiwan. He instead is suggesting a short-term resolution to fund essential measures, rather than resorting to a government shutdown.
“I always appreciate my colleagues’ points of view, I don’t think shutting down the government is ever a constructive idea,” McCaul said. “I think the better idea would be to have a short-term resolution to get these funding measures.”
Congress will have to take action on appropriation bills that provide funding for various federal government programs and agencies by Friday, in order to avoid a partial government shutdown.
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