Robert Besser
07 Feb 2023, 00:53 GMT+10
WASHINGTON D.C.: In a sign of future political battles over record numbers of illegal crossings under Democratic President Joe Biden, a group of Republicans in the US House of Representatives said they would impeach the country's top border official, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Arizona Representative Andy Biggs said he would file articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, who is blamed by many Republicans for implementing lax border policies.
While the impeachment could find support in the Republican-controlled House, it is unlikely to advance in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
However, it could place further pressure on the Biden administration, which is trying to balance pledges to restore access TO asylum with record crossings at the US-Mexico border.
In November, a leading Biden border official resigned, claiming that Mayorkas had urged him to leave.
Biggs and a dozen fellow Republicans said this week that Mayorkas had intentionally caused a border crisis by cancelling the policies of former President Donald Trump, a Republican.
"This is not negligence, it is not by accident," Biggs said.
However, a US Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the lawmakers should focus on updating the US immigration system, which has not had a major overhaul in decades "instead of trying to point fingers and score political points."
In November, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called on Mayorkas to resign, stressing that Republicans could impeach him if he did not.
In January, Texas Representative Pat Fallon filed a separate impeachment resolution against Mayorkas, accusing him of encouraging illegal immigration.
If impeachment charges are filed, the House Judiciary Committee will conduct an investigation, which could lead to a committee vote on the charges against Mayorkas.
Get a daily dose of Florida Statesman news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Florida Statesman.
More InformationMOSCOW, Russia: A Russian court has extended the detention of Evan Gershkovich, a U.S. reporter for the Wall Street Journal, ...
Israel intensified its deadly bombardment of the Gaza Strip Saturday as renewed fighting with Hamas entered a second day following ...
ARLINGTON, Virginia: This week, the conservative U.S. political network Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP Action), led by billionaire Charles Koch, ...
BEIJING, China: The Chaoyang District Intermediary Court in Beijing has begun compensation hearings for the Chinese relatives of those who ...
Israel resumed its military operation in the Gaza Strip on Friday with heavy bombardments. As strikes continue, the United States ...
LIVINGSTON, Kentucky: CSX railroad said that a failed wheel bearing on a train car caused a derailment on November 22 ...
NEW YORK: A survey by Consumer Reports found that electric vehicles (EV) from 2021 through 2023 model years encountered nearly ...
LONDON, UK: In a report released this week, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said that Singapore and Zurich tied for ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: This week, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it implemented a new aircraft certification policy, which requires ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: As businesses built more warehouses and accumulated machinery equipment, the U.S. economy grew faster than initially forecast in ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: This week, the White House said that Senior Biden administration officials met with the makers of respiratory syncytial ...
CHEYENNE, Wyoming: This week, the Biden administration raised US$3.4 million from a sale of oil and gas drilling rights in ...