House Republicans pressed forward with efforts to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday, holding their second and final impeachment hearing over what they call a “dereliction of duty” at the southern border.
Thursday’s testimony included witnesses who have lost family members to violent crime or drug overdoses. Republicans are trying to make the case that the Biden administration’s border policies have made America less safe.
During emotional testimony, two grieving mothers told lawmakers about the daughters they’ve lost. Tammy Nobles’ daughter Kayla was murdered by a suspected MS-13 gang member who was released by border patrol into the U.S.
“Had DHS employees performed a visual inspection of his body they would have seen MS-13 gang-related tattoos disqualifying him from entering the U.S.,” Nobles said.
Josephine Dunn’s daughter Ashley died of fentanyl poisoning.
“This weapon of mass destruction has killed over 100,000 Americans on our soil for two years in a row. Under Secretary Mayorkas’ leadership or lack thereof, fentanyl is an invasion. The weapon of mass destruction has caused unimaginable numbers of deaths, un-measurable damage to our country’s families, families including my own,” Dunn told lawmakers.
Republicans say these tragedies could have been prevented.
“The truth is Secretary Mayorkas has disregarded court orders, laws passed by the United States Congress, and has lied to the American people,” said Committee Chairman Rep. Mark Green, (R-TN)
Democrats maintain Mayorkas has not committed an impeachable offense, and argued the inquiry is not the way to bring about immigration reform.
“The president retains exclusive constitutional power to replace Secretary Mayorkas with another official who he would charge with pursuing the exact same policies here,” Deborah Pearlstein, a constitutional law expert from Princeton University, testified.
Pearlstein told lawmakers that Congress has the most power to affect change at the border.
“For the purpose of actually addressing the needs and easing the pain of the people who live in this country, the framers of the Constitution thought that no one in government could do more to make a difference than you,” she said.
Republicans acknowledged Congress does have the ability to pass immigration reform legislation, but they accuse Mayorkas of completely reversing or ignoring laws already on the books.
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