Impeaching Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, for high crimes and misdemeanors.

IV 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, Sec- 1 retary of Homeland Security, is impeached for high crimes 2 and misdemeanors and that the following articles of im- 3 peachment be exhibited to the United States Senate: 4 Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of 5 Representatives of the United States of America in the 6 name of itself and of the people of the United States of 7 America, against Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Secretary 8 of Homeland Security, in maintenance and support of its 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR470.IH HR470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 470 IH impeachment against him for high crimes and mis- 1 demeanors. 2 ARTICLE I 3 Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, in his conduct as Sec- 4 retary of Homeland Security, has engaged in a pattern 5 of conduct that directly violates his constitutional oath as 6 an executive officer of the United States in the following 7 manner: 8 Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas was confirmed and 9 sworn in as the Secretary of Homeland Security of the 10 United States of America on February 2, 2021. Secretary 11 Mayorkas took a solemn oath, as stated in section 3331 12 of title 5, United States Code, to ‘‘support and defend the 13 Constitution of the United States against all enemies, for- 14 eign and domestic’’ and to ‘‘well and faithfully discharge 15 the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So 16 help me God.’’ 17 As the Secretary of Homeland Security, a cabinet- 18 level official established by the Homeland Security Act of 19 2002 (Public Law 107–296), Secretary Mayorkas is vest- 20 ed with the duty to advise the President on decision mak- 21 ing critical to the safety and security of the United States. 22 Secretary Mayorkas, with his 30-year career as a law en- 23 forcement official, is entrusted by the President to uphold 24 the mission of the Department of Homeland Security as 25 dictated by statute and ensure the constitutionality, legal- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR470.IH HR470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 470 IH ity, and efficacy of executive policy in service of such mis- 1 sion. 2 Section 4 of Article IV of the Constitution mandates 3 that the Federal Government ‘‘shall guarantee to every 4 State in this Union a Republican Form of Government 5 and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on 6 Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when 7 the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Vio- 8 lence.’’ 9 Further, section 2(b) of the Secure Fence Act of 10 2006 (Public Law 109–367) legally obligates the Sec- 11 retary of Homeland Security ‘‘to maintain operational 12 control over the entire international land and maritime 13 borders of the United States.’’ Specifically, ‘‘operational 14 control’’ is defined as ‘‘the prevention of all unlawful en- 15 tries into the United States, including entries by terror- 16 ists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, nar- 17 cotics, and other contraband.’’ This ‘‘operational control’’ 18 standard codified the well-established, good-faith efforts of 19 securing land and maritime borders to preserve the sov- 20 ereignty of the United States. 21 Secretary Mayorkas is legally bound, by constitu- 22 tional duty and sworn oath, to protect the individual 23 States of this Republic and the citizens therein from 24 threats to our Nation’s homeland. He has failed, beyond 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:29 Jun 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR470.IH HR470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 470 IH a reasonable doubt, to uphold this oath and to protect the 1 American people as required by law. 2 Specifically, Secretary Mayorkas has intentionally 3 used his position as Secretary of Homeland Security to 4 dismantle previously successful border security resources, 5 enforcement, and policies forcing border and interior en- 6 forcement agents to deprioritize their primary law enforce- 7 ment mission. 8 As a result, the integrity of our international land 9 border with Mexico has been compromised, creating a 10 clear and present danger to the American people. This in- 11 cludes, but is not limited to, the following examples: 12 (1) Secretary Mayorkas has used his Federal 13 position and resources to cease all additional con- 14 struction of border wall system, fencing, and other 15 associated infrastructure and technology, which were 16 not only authorized, but also funded, by the United 17 States Congress. The result of the cessation of addi- 18 tional construction resulted in several negative con- 19 sequences. First, it prevented the completion of bor- 20 der wall fencing along portions of the United States- 21 Mexico border that were deemed to be most in need 22 of fencing, thereby increasing the security 23 vulnerabilities of the United States. Second, the un- 24 used, taxpayer-purchased materials that were in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR470.IH HR470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 470 IH tended for border wall construction and associated 1 infrastructure and technology were left unattended 2 along portions of the United States-Mexico border, 3 which not only left it vulnerable to theft or van- 4 dalism, but also increased the danger to Federal and 5 non-Federal law enforcement along portions of that 6 border by increasing the risks of dangerous encoun- 7 ters with the violent cartels overseeing the importa- 8 tion of illegal aliens. Third, it caused economic dam- 9 age via the termination of contracts with contractors 10 and subcontractors who had been hired to construct 11 the wall and associated infrastructure and tech- 12 nology. 13 (2) Secretary Mayorkas has used his Federal 14 position and resources to both terminate meaningful 15 border security and immigration enforcement efforts 16 and redirect the official time and resources of De- 17 partment of Homeland Security personnel who are 18 responsible for border security and immigration en- 19 forcement to off-mission tasks. This includes direct- 20 ing the personnel of the United States Border Pa- 21 trol, which is a component of the U.S. Customs and 22 Border Protection, to deprioritize patrolling the 23 United States-Mexico border, while expanding 24 United States Border Patrol resources to ‘‘process’’ 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR470.IH HR470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HRES 470 IH illegal aliens on United States soil. This also in- 1 cludes directing the personnel of Immigration and 2 Customs Enforcement to cease engaging in statu- 3 torily mandated alien arrest and removal efforts, 4 even under circumstances involving aliens who were 5 identified as public safety risks. This also includes 6 directing personnel of the Department of Homeland 7 Security to cease and desist from collecting DNA 8 samples from aliens who are apprehended at the 9 United States-Mexico border, despite the fact that it 10 is a key tool for identifying terrorists, criminal ac- 11 tors, and false family units. This also includes di- 12 recting personnel of the Department of Homeland 13 Security to deactivate completed sensor and light in- 14 frastructure and technology that was embedded into 15 previously constructed border wall along the United 16 States-Mexico border, which has simultaneously re- 17 duced operational awareness of the border environ- 18 ment for both Federal and non-Federal law enforce- 19 ment, enhanced the risk of injury or death for Fed- 20 eral and non-Federal law enforcement, and facili- 21 tated further illegal immigration by making it easier 22 for cartels and other criminal organizations to oper- 23 ate unnoticed in close proximity to the United 24 States-Mexico border. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR470.IH HR470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HRES 470 IH (3) Secretary Mayorkas has used his Federal 1 position and resources to suspend an array of regu- 2 latory and guidance-based policies that had been 3 promulgated and used during previous administra- 4 tions to both discourage the flow of illegal aliens into 5 the United States and empower Federal immigration 6 enforcement officials to prevent aliens from unlaw- 7 fully entering into the United States, especially 8 along the United States-Mexico border. Effective 9 policies that Secretary Mayorkas ordered suspended 10 include— 11 (A) the catch-and-release prohibition, 12 which ended the practice of releasing unlawfully 13 present aliens into the United States during the 14 pendency of their immigration cases; 15 (B) the implementation of the Remain in 16 Mexico Policy (otherwise referred to as the Mi- 17 grant Protection Protocols), which required that 18 non-Mexican nationals seeking asylum in the 19 United States were required to wait in Mexico 20 pending the adjudication of their asylum claims; 21 (C) the use of statutory expedited removal, 22 which allowed Federal officials to remove forth- 23 with any alien who is apprehended anywhere in 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR470.IH HR470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HRES 470 IH the United States within two years of his or her 1 unlawful entry; 2 (D) full implementation of public health 3 emergency exclusion authority as authorized 4 pursuant to section 362 of the Public Health 5 Service 26 Act (42 U.S.C. 265), which allowed 6 Federal officials to deny the entry of any aliens 7 seeking entry at or between United States ports 8 of entry during the COVID–19 pandemic; and 9 (E) numerous other regulatory and guid- 10 ance changes to ensure the more rapid enforce- 11 ment of Federal immigration law. 12 Secretary Mayorkas’ actions and inactions, in his ca- 13 pacity as an executive officer of the United States, have 14 caused a loss of any sane or objective assessment of ‘‘oper- 15 ational control’’ of the United States-Mexico border, re- 16 sulting in the most significant border invasion in our Na- 17 tion’s history concerning persons and illicit drugs. 18 According to 2020 reports, under the final year of 19 the Trump administration, U.S. Customs and Border Pro- 20 tection encountered 400,651 aliens seeking to enter the 21 southwest border of the United States. Of these apprehen- 22 sions, only 3 were individuals on the Terrorist Screening 23 Database and 30,557 were unaccompanied alien children. 24 The detected criminal runner ‘‘got aways’’ totaled approxi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR470.IH HR470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HRES 470 IH mately 136,000. Over 1,000,000 pounds of illegal drugs 1 were stopped at the border during that timeframe. 2 Since the start of the Biden administration and ap- 3 pointment of Secretary Mayorkas, encounters at the 4 southwest border have swelled far beyond the enforcement 5 and processing capacity of the U.S. Customs and Border 6 Protection. This has been accompanied by increases in at- 7 tempted entries of terrorists and unlawful aliens, and a 8 decrease in the interdiction of illegal drugs. 9 According to the 2021 reports, during the transition 10 from the Trump administration to the Biden administra- 11 tion, U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered 12 1,734,686 aliens, seeking to enter the United States, rep- 13 resenting a 332 percent increase from the prior year. Over 14 80 percent of this increase occurred under the Biden ad- 15 ministration. Of these apprehensions, 15 were individuals 16 on the terrorist screening database and 144,837 were un- 17 accompanied alien children, an increase of 373 percent 18 from just the year prior. The detected criminal runner 19 ‘‘got aways’’ nearly tripled to approximately 389,000. The 20 amount illegal drugs stopped at the border dropped by 21 145,923 pounds to 913,326 pounds. 22 According to the 2022 reports, during the first full 23 year of Secretary Mayorkas’ command at the Department 24 of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR470.IH HR470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HRES 470 IH tion encountered 2,378,944 aliens, representing a 37 per- 1 cent increase from the prior year and over 493 percent 2 increase compared to 2020. Of these apprehensions, 98 3 individuals were on the terrorist screening database, and 4 149,093 were unaccompanied alien children. In this time 5 period, the number of known criminal runner ‘‘gotaways’’ 6 increased to 600,000, an increase of 54 percent from the 7 previous year and a 341 percent increase from just two 8 years prior. Meanwhile, illegal drugs stopped at the border 9 dropped to 655,780 pounds, only 62 percent of the 10 amount stopped in 2020. 11 To date, under the Biden administration and Sec- 12 retary Mayorkas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection 13 has encountered over 5,200,000 aliens at the southwest 14 border. Additionally, there have been over 1,500,000 15 known criminal runner ‘‘gotaways’’, aliens who have inten- 16 tionally evaded law enforcement and entered the United 17 States illegally. These numbers reflect the continual dis- 18 integration of any reasonable measure of ‘‘operational con- 19 trol’’ under the direction of Secretary Mayorkas. 20 Secretary Mayorkas has undermined the law enforce- 21 ment capacity of the Department of Homeland Security. 22 Frontline agents have been pulled from their law enforce- 23 ment responsibilities and into ‘‘processing’’ roles, turning 24 Federal law enforcement into facilitators of illegality and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR470.IH HR470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HRES 470 IH leaving significant gaps in our security infrastructure 1 along the United States-Mexico border. 2 As a result, the number of criminal runner 3 ‘‘gotaways’’ has steadily risen, enabling criminals to enter 4 the country undeter [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]