WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — House Republicans advanced impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, holding their second hearing Thursday.
“The truth is Sec. Mayorkas has disregarded court orders, laws passed by the United States Congress, and has lied to the American people,” Tennessee Republican Rep. Mark Green, House Homeland Security Committee chair, said in his opening statement. Who wants a secretary who can just disregard the fundamental pillars of the Constitution?”
He added: “Today, we’re here to examine the impact of those actions on the American people and launch into the substance and human cost of Secretary Mayorkas’ open border policies. As a result of the reckless actions by Secretary Mayoraks, no American is safe.”
During the hearing, titled “Voices for the Victims: The Heartbreaking Reality of the Mayorkas Border Crisis,” families impacted by fentanyl overdoses and violent crimes testified on how impacted by the Biden administration’s border and immigration policies have forever impacted their families. While the committee highlighted Mayorkas’s absence.
Among witnesses was Tammy Nobles, who lost her autistic 20-year-old daughter, Kayla Hamilton, after she was allegedly murdered in Maryland by an unaccompanied 17-year-old listed as an MS-13 gang member in El Salvador who broke into her home in July 2022.
In her written testimony obtained by NewsNation, Nobles wrote, “If we had stricter border policies my daughter would still be alive today. Nothing will bring my daughter back nor fix the pain of not having her here, but I want to prevent this from happening to someone else’s child. This isn’t about immigration this is about protecting everyone in the United States.”
Republicans argue that this testimony highlights the need for impeaching Mayorkas.
“We have to act on this. The impeachment process is necessary to send a message to the administration to say [Mayorkas is] not doing his job, and we’re feeling it,” said Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas. “And if this is the way that we have to do it, this is the way it has to be done.”
Republicans have accused Mayorkas of failing to enforce the nation’s laws as a record number of migrants arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has criticized the impeachment effort as baseless. In a statement to NewsNation, DHS accuses Republicans of playing politics and rushing to impeachment.
“You’re hurrying to adhere to an artificial timeline agreed in a backroom deal between Republican leadership who’s holding on by a thread in its most extreme MAGA members, said Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, the highest-ranking Democrat on the committee.
He added: “This isn’t a real impeachment. It’s a MAGA spectacle, paid for by American tax dollars for Republican political gain.”
Ahead of Thursday’s hearing, House Republicans and DHS clashed over whether Mayorkas would appear in person during the impeachment proceedings.
Republicans wanted Mayorkas to attend this week’s hearing or send a written statement. However, Mayorkas declined citing a conflicting meeting with Mexican officials about border enforcement. DHS states that Mayorkas offered public testimony, but asked for a later date that worked with his schedule.
During the hearing, Green accused Mayorkas of playing a game of “cat and mouse” with the committee, stating he would cooperate by finding a time to testify while refusing to work with committee staff.
Thompson disputed Green’s claim calling it “misinformation.”
“Secretary Mayorkas has testified before Congress more than any other Cabinet secretary,” he said. “His willingness to work with the committee has been a welcomed change from the Trump administration, whose official consistently refused to comply with congressional oversight.”
DHS said Mayorkas has testified 27 times in front of Congress in the last three years, the most among cabinet members.
