The House Homeland Security Committee will hold its first impeachment hearing against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Jan. 10, the committee's chairman, Tennessee Republican Rep. Mark Green, said Wednesday.
After the committee finished its investigation in December, Green said House Republicans have enough evidence to impeach Mayorkas, according to Punchbowl News.
Mayorkas allegedly misused taxpayer dollars and ignored border security regulations, Green said.
"Our investigation made clear that this crisis finds its foundation in Secretary Mayorkas’ decision-making and refusal to enforce the laws passed by Congress, and that his failure to fulfill his oath of office demands accountability," the Tennessee Republican said.
The House voted in November to refer the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas to the Homeland Security Committee, and Green said Wednesday that the vote "only served to highlight the importance of our taking up the impeachment process – which is what we will begin doing next Wednesday."
If Mayorkas is impeached, it would be the first impeachment of a Cabinet official since 1876.
The impeachment hearing comes after illegal immigration hit a record high of 3.2 million Customs and Border Protection encounters last fiscal year, which ran from October 2022 through September 2023. This fiscal year appears on track to beat the record, with more than 600,000 encounters of illegal immigrants in the first two months alone.
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