Texas Republican Representative Pat Fallon filed impeachment articles against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday for “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Fallon had promised to file the impeachment articles before he was officially sworn into Congress last week. The articles have since been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
"Since day one, Secretary Mayorkas’ policies have undermined law enforcement activities at our southern border," Fallon said in a statement to Fox News last week. "From perjuring himself before Congress about maintaining operational control of the border to the infamous ‘whip-gate’ slander against our border patrol agents, Secretary Mayorkas has proven time and time again that he is unfit to lead the Department of Homeland Security."
"His willful actions have eroded our immigration system, undermined border patrol morale, and jeopardized American national security. He has violated the law and it is time for him to go," he added.
The first impeachment article against Mayorkas alleges that the DHS secretary failed to "maintain operational control over the entire international land and maritime borders of the United States."
The second article claims that Mayorkas "in violation of his constitutional oath, willfully provided perjurious, false, and misleading testimony to Congress," referring to testimony he gave at congressional hearings where he claimed that the border was secure.
The third article alleges that Mayorkas "publicly and falsely slandered" border patrol agents who were accused of whipping Haitian migrants in Texas in 2021. It was later found that there was no evidence showing that the border patrol agents struck any of the migrants during the incident.
“It is unfortunate that we have gotten to this point, but it is necessary," Fallon said in a statement. "Secretary Mayorkas’s potential impeachment is not an accident. He has willfully abdicated his duties as Secretary of Homeland Security and actively misled Congress and the American people. To make any progress at our southern border, he must go.”
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