Two high-profile GOP senators warned Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday to prepare to face impeachment unless he begins a quick about-face and figures out how to secure the southern border.
Sens. Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz said Mr. Mayorkas has shown a “gross dereliction of duty” in his management of immigration and said if it’s not fixed it “could provide grounds for impeachment.”
“We fully expect that in a few months’ time a Republican-led Congress will hold you to account for your willful negligence regarding the security of the southern border and the safety of the American people.” the two senators wrote.
They said Mr. Mayorkas must quickly provide a plan for what he will do to achieve “operational control” of the border, saying it’s both an imperative and a requirement of the law.
Mr. Mayorkas has brushed aside threats of impeachment, saying he’s focused on his job.
But he’ll likely face impeachment proceedings should the GOP win control of the House.
Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the man most likely to become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee that oversees impeachment, told The Washington Times this week that Mr. Mayorkas “deserves” it.
He said a final decision would be made by the entire House Republican Conference, but he said he sees strong support for the idea.
The border is seeing unprecedented high numbers of encounters with illegal immigrants and record levels of dangerous drugs such as fentanyl being smuggled in.
The Times reported last month that the migrant smuggling economy now totals about $20 billion a year, which a large chunk of that going straight to the cartels that control the drug routes into the U.S.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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