[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 470 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 470
Impeaching Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security,
for high crimes and misdemeanors.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 6, 2023
Mr. Higgins of Louisiana submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Impeaching Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security,
for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Resolved, That Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland
Security, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and that the
following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States
Senate:
Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives
of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people
of the United States of America, against Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas,
Secretary of Homeland Security, in maintenance and support of its
impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors.
article i
Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, in his conduct as Secretary of
Homeland Security, has engaged in a pattern of conduct that directly
violates his constitutional oath as an executive officer of the United
States in the following manner:
Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas was confirmed and sworn in as the
Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States of America on
February 2, 2021. Secretary Mayorkas took a solemn oath, as stated in
section 3331 of title 5, United States Code, to ``support and defend
the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and
domestic'' and to ``well and faithfully discharge the duties of the
office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.''
As the Secretary of Homeland Security, a cabinet-level official
established by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296),
Secretary Mayorkas is vested with the duty to advise the President on
decision making critical to the safety and security of the United
States. Secretary Mayorkas, with his 30-year career as a law
enforcement official, is entrusted by the President to uphold the
mission of the Department of Homeland Security as dictated by statute
and ensure the constitutionality, legality, and efficacy of executive
policy in service of such mission.
Section 4 of Article IV of the Constitution mandates that the
Federal Government ``shall guarantee to every State in this Union a
Republican Form of Government and shall protect each of them against
Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive
(when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.''
Further, section 2(b) of the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (Public Law
109-367) legally obligates the Secretary of Homeland Security ``to
maintain operational control over the entire international land and
maritime borders of the United States.'' Specifically, ``operational
control'' is defined as ``the prevention of all unlawful entries into
the United States, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful
aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband.''
This ``operational control'' standard codified the well-established,
good-faith efforts of securing land and maritime borders to preserve
the sovereignty of the United States.
Secretary Mayorkas is legally bound, by constitutional duty and
sworn oath, to protect the individual States of this Republic and the
citizens therein from threats to our Nation's homeland. He has failed,
beyond a reasonable doubt, to uphold this oath and to protect the
American people as required by law.
Specifically, Secretary Mayorkas has intentionally used his
position as Secretary of Homeland Security to dismantle previously
successful border security resources, enforcement, and policies forcing
border and interior enforcement agents to deprioritize their primary
law enforcement mission.
As a result, the integrity of our international land border with
Mexico has been compromised, creating a clear and present danger to the
American people. This includes, but is not limited to, the following
examples:
(1) Secretary Mayorkas has used his Federal position and
resources to cease all additional construction of border wall
system, fencing, and other associated infrastructure and
technology, which were not only authorized, but also funded, by
the United States Congress. The result of the cessation of
additional construction resulted in several negative
consequences. First, it prevented the completion of border wall
fencing along portions of the United States-Mexico border that
were deemed to be most in need of fencing, thereby increasing
the security vulnerabilities of the United States. Second, the
unused, taxpayer-purchased materials that were intended for
border wall construction and associated infrastructure and
technology were left unattended along portions of the United
States-Mexico border, which not only left it vulnerable to
theft or vandalism, but also increased the danger to Federal
and non-Federal law enforcement along portions of that border
by increasing the risks of dangerous encounters with the
violent cartels overseeing the importation of illegal aliens.
Third, it caused economic damage via the termination of
contracts with contractors and subcontractors who had been
hired to construct the wall and associated infrastructure and
technology.
(2) Secretary Mayorkas has used his Federal position and
resources to both terminate meaningful border security and
immigration enforcement efforts and redirect the official time
and resources of Department of Homeland Security personnel who
are responsible for border security and immigration enforcement
to off-mission tasks. This includes directing the personnel of
the United States Border Patrol, which is a component of the
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to deprioritize patrolling
the United States-Mexico border, while expanding United States
Border Patrol resources to ``process'' illegal aliens on United
States soil. This also includes directing the personnel of
Immigration and Customs Enforcement to cease engaging in
statutorily mandated alien arrest and removal efforts, even
under circumstances involving aliens who were identified as
public safety risks. This also includes directing personnel of
the Department of Homeland Security to cease and desist from
collecting DNA samples from aliens who are apprehended at the
United States-Mexico border, despite the fact that it is a key
tool for identifying terrorists, criminal actors, and false
family units. This also includes directing personnel of the
Department of Homeland Security to deactivate completed sensor
and light infrastructure and technology that was embedded into
previously constructed border wall along the United States-
Mexico border, which has simultaneously reduced operational
awareness of the border environment for both Federal and non-
Federal law enforcement, enhanced the risk of injury or death
for Federal and non-Federal law enforcement, and facilitated
further illegal immigration by making it easier for cartels and
other criminal organizations to operate unnoticed in close
proximity to the United States-Mexico border.
(3) Secretary Mayorkas has used his Federal position and
resources to suspend an array of regulatory and guidance-based
policies that had been promulgated and used during previous
administrations to both discourage the flow of illegal aliens
into the United States and empower Federal immigration
enforcement officials to prevent aliens from unlawfully
entering into the United States, especially along the United
States-Mexico border. Effective policies that Secretary
Mayorkas ordered suspended include--
(A) the catch-and-release prohibition, which ended
the practice of releasing unlawfully present aliens
into the United States during the pendency of their
immigration cases;
(B) the implementation of the Remain in Mexico
Policy (otherwise referred to as the Migrant Protection
Protocols), which required that non-Mexican nationals
seeking asylum in the United States were required to
wait in Mexico pending the adjudication of their asylum
claims;
(C) the use of statutory expedited removal, which
allowed Federal officials to remove forthwith any alien
who is apprehended anywhere in the United States within
two years of his or her unlawful entry;
(D) full implementation of public health emergency
exclusion authority as authorized pursuant to section
362 of the Public Health Service 26 Act (42 U.S.C.
265), which allowed Federal officials to deny the entry
of any aliens seeking entry at or between United States
ports of entry during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
(E) numerous other regulatory and guidance changes
to ensure the more rapid enforcement of Federal
immigration law.
Secretary Mayorkas' actions and inactions, in his capacity as an
executive officer of the United States, have caused a loss of any sane
or objective assessment of ``operational control'' of the United
States-Mexico border, resulting in the most significant border invasion
in our Nation's history concerning persons and illicit drugs.
According to 2020 reports, under the final year of the Trump
administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered 400,651
aliens seeking to enter the southwest border of the United States. Of
these apprehensions, only 3 were individuals on the Terrorist Screening
Database and 30,557 were unaccompanied alien children. The detected
criminal runner ``got aways'' totaled approximately 136,000. Over
1,000,000 pounds of illegal drugs were stopped at the border during
that timeframe.
Since the start of the Biden administration and appointment of
Secretary Mayorkas, encounters at the southwest border have swelled far
beyond the enforcement and processing capacity of the U.S. Customs and
Border Protection. This has been accompanied by increases in attempted
entries of terrorists and unlawful aliens, and a decrease in the
interdiction of illegal drugs.
According to the 2021 reports, during the transition from the
Trump administration to the Biden administration, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection encountered 1,734,686 aliens, seeking to enter the
United States, representing a 332 percent increase from the prior year.
Over 80 percent of this increase occurred under the Biden
administration. Of these apprehensions, 15 were individuals on the
terrorist screening database and 144,837 were unaccompanied alien
children, an increase of 373 percent from just the year prior. The
detected criminal runner ``got aways'' nearly tripled to approximately
389,000. The amount illegal drugs stopped at the border dropped by
145,923 pounds to 913,326 pounds.
According to the 2022 reports, during the first full year of
Secretary Mayorkas' command at the Department of Homeland Security,
U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered 2,378,944 aliens,
representing a 37 percent increase from the prior year and over 493
percent increase compared to 2020. Of these apprehensions, 98
individuals were on the terrorist screening database, and 149,093 were
unaccompanied alien children. In this time period, the number of known
criminal runner ``gotaways'' increased to 600,000, an increase of 54
percent from the previous year and a 341 percent increase from just two
years prior. Meanwhile, illegal drugs stopped at the border dropped to
655,780 pounds, only 62 percent of the amount stopped in 2020.
To date, under the Biden administration and Secretary Mayorkas,
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has encountered over 5,200,000
aliens at the southwest border. Additionally, there have been over
1,500,000 known criminal runner ``gotaways'', aliens who have
intentionally evaded law enforcement and entered the United States
illegally. These numbers reflect the continual disintegration of any
reasonable measure of ``operational control'' under the direction of
Secretary Mayorkas.
Secretary Mayorkas has undermined the law enforcement capacity of
the Department of Homeland Security. Frontline agents have been pulled
from their law enforcement responsibilities and into ``processing''
roles, turning Federal law enforcement into facilitators of illegality
and leaving significant gaps in our security infrastructure along the
United States-Mexico border.
As a result, the number of criminal runner ``gotaways'' has
steadily risen, enabling criminals to enter the country undeterred.
According to law enforcement sources, these aliens have criminal intent
and are the most likely to be involved with the human, sex, and drug
trafficking activities of transnational criminal organizations. These
aliens then disappear into the interior of the United States and plug
into existing criminal networks.
Secretary Mayorkas, in his conduct as an executive officer of the
United States and the policies enacted under his direction, has so
deprioritized border enforcement that he has ceded control of large
portions of the United States-Mexico border to dangerous Mexican
cartels. Along some segments of the United States-Mexico border,
cartels have even established a presence on the United States side of
the border and, in some cases, on Federal property. This has allowed
the cartels to greatly increase their ability and capacity for human
and drug smuggling.
Secretary Mayorkas has overseen a stunning increase in the flow of
illicit drugs into the United States from Mexico and elsewhere around
the globe, including the People's Republic of China. Under Secretary
Mayorkas' tenure, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized enough
illicitly manufactured fentanyl to kill over 3,300,000,000 Americans,
nearly 10 times the population of the United States. Law enforcement
officers have acknowledged that only a fraction of illicit controlled
dangerous substance drugs are intercepted at the border, and a vast
amount of the illicit fentanyl entering the United States is doing so
between ports of entry.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
illicitly manufactured fentanyl caused the deaths of 110,236 Americans
in 2022. It has become a leading cause of death for adults between the
ages of 18 and 45. Most illicitly manufactured fentanyl found in the
United States is being manufactured with raw chemical precursors from
the People's Republic of China, trafficked through Mexico, and funneled
into the United States between ports of entry along the United States-
Mexico border.
For over two years, Secretary Mayorkas has failed to take
corrective measures necessary to restore a professional standard of
``operational control'' over the southwest border of the United States.
Far from achieving this mission, Secretary Mayorkas has diminished the
integrity of our border, allowing dangerous cartels to operate human
and drug trafficking operations, and the result has been illegality,
injury, and death for untold thousands at the border and on the
interior of the United States.
Secretary Mayorkas' willful dereliction of his oath and
constitutional obligation to protect the United States and their
citizenry from the invasion of illegal aliens and illegal drugs,
including illicit fentanyl, warrants his removal from the Office of
Secretary of Homeland Security.
Wherefore Secretary Mayorkas, by such conduct, thus warrants
impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to
hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United
States.
article ii
Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, in his conduct while Secretary of
Homeland Security, engaged in a pattern of conduct that undermined the
sovereignty of the United States as follows:
Secretary Mayorkas' ongoing violation of the Immigration and
Nationality Act demonstrates his blatant disregard for upholding the
laws of the sovereign United States. Section 212(d)(5)(A) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)(A)) grants the
Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to parole aliens on a
``case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons'' or ``significant
public benefit, provided that the aliens present neither a security
risk nor a risk of absconding''.
In direct violation of the intent and spirit of the law, Secretary
Mayorkas has overseen the abuse of parole authority under such section
212(d)(5)(A). At the direction of Secretary Mayorkas, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection has unlawfully used this authority to triage
overcrowded processing facilities, releasing aliens into the interior
of the United States without proper detention and vetting.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, parole
authority under such section 212(d)(5)(A) was used 268,268 times
between October 2021 and November 2022, at the international land
border with Mexico. This form of ``administrative catch-and-release''
has been carried out under the direct command of Secretary Mayorkas.
Any law enforcement professional would know that massive abuses of
parole authority are a clear threat to the safety and security of the
American people. Aliens are being released without proper screening,
enabling them to disappear into the United States with little hope that
they will appear for immigration court proceedings. Secretary Mayorkas'
broad application of parole authority clearly violates the ``case-by-
case'' standard outlined in such section 212(d)(5)(A).
Secretary Mayorkas has demonstrated a blatant disregard for the
statutory limits of the Immigration and Nationality Act. He has
unlawfully abused his authorities and has willingly and maliciously
released record numbers of illegal aliens into the United States,
violating Federal law, undermining the sovereignty of the United
States, and jeopardizing the security of the American citizenry.
Wherefore, Secretary Mayorkas, by such conduct, thus warrants
impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to
hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United
States.
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