What are the House of Representatives’ motives for calling for Secretary Mayorkas to stand trial?

The GOP-led House of Representatives has sent the Senate Articles of Impeachment for the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas. The filing contains two articles: “Willful and Systematic Refusal to Comply with the Law” and “Breach of Public Trust.”

Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor-Greene, one of Donald Trump’s most loyal congressional members, filed the Articles. The former president and presumed GOP presidential candidate has made the border a central campaign issue, and the move to impeach Secretary Mayorkas is meant to convince voters that the Biden administration is failing in its responsibility at the US-Mexico border. However, Democrats tell a different story, and with Republicans lacking control in the Senate, the impeachment is not likely to move forward.

A broken immigration system with no real policy prescription

The immigration system in the United States is broken. Both parties, immigrants, citizens, human rights organizations, and many in the private sector agree. Nevertheless, Mayorkas’s impeachment is a political move that does not address the root causes of the system’s issues. If President Biden is allowed to nominate a replacement, that candidate would be unlikely to act in a way that is fundamentally different from the way the current secretary has led the Department of Homeland Security. The secretary and the president’s interpretation of the law and the legal authority they pose that GOP members of the house have taken issue with.

The document claims that Secretary Mayorkas is “in violation of his oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic” because, as claimed by Rep. Taylor-Greene, he “has willfully and systemically refused to comply with Federal immigration laws.” The Articles say that the Secretary has “repeatedly violated laws enacted by Congress regarding immigration and border security.” The secretary is blamed for the high numbers of migrants attempting to enter the United States even though there are dozens of factors driving increased migration that are outside the preview of the Department of Homeland Security, one being the economic, political, and social conditions in certain Central-and-South American countries.

While many members of the GOP believe that discouraging migrants from attempting to cross is the best way to limit immigration, it does nothing to address the reasons why so many people are fleeing their homes in search of safety and, hopefully, more prosperous economic conditions.

The Articles blame migrants for placing a major strain on public resources and cite the case of New York City, where 150,000 migrants have “gone through New York City’s shelter intake system,” which Mayor Eric Adams contends has led the city “past [its] breaking point” and that the issue “will destroy New York City.” However, instead of offering federal support to help cities across the country, including border communities, cope with the influx, the GOP sees the solution as removing Secretary Mayorkas from power. The conservative immigration bill that was backed by the White House earlier this year would have required mandatory detention for most migrants crossing the border, but the bill was rejected by GOP leaders in the House, with no alternative offered.

In March, before Congress had passed a funding bill for Mayorkas’ department, he shot back at GOP leaders, blaming them for their inaction. For the secretary, the looming funding cliff put the department’s role at risk when both parties are speaking publicly about their concerns at the border.

Regarding the impeachment, Secretary Mayorkas responded stating that “there is nothing I take more seriously than our responsibility to uphold the law, and the men and women of DHS are working around the clock to do so.” The Biden administration has added that border apprehensions have dropped since their peak in 2023, in part thanks to diplomatic talks with Mexico, which is taking more dramatic actions to stop migrants before they reach the border.

However, Reuters has reported that Mexico’s Presidnet Andrés Manuel López Obrador does not see the strategy as viable in the long-term and views the immigration debate in the US as politically motivated, with neither party interested in addressing the issue’s root causes.

The trial is in the Senate and is set to begin at 1 pm ET on Wednesday.