Secretary Mayorkas Must Be Held to Account

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROSE. Madam Speaker, today the House will vote again on two Articles of Impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

A lot of attention has been paid to the fact that the impeachment vote failed to pass the House last week due to a Republican being absent for health reasons. While I would have, of course, rather that it had passed, it did serve to highlight that House Republicans are largely in this fight to secure our national borders all by ourselves.

House Democrats know that Secretary Mayorkas has intentionally failed to secure our borders, but most agree with President Biden's open- border policy, so not one single House Democrat joined with us to impeach Secretary Mayorkas. Essentially, they like the job he is doing or, should I say, not doing.

The Immigration and Nationality Act requires that those who clearly do not meet the requirements for asylum be detained for removal. Yet, in 2021, Secretary Mayorkas wrote to ICE officials: ``The fact an individual is a removable noncitizen therefore should not alone be the basis of an enforcement action against them.''

The law says an alien who is deportable on certain criminal and terrorism-related grounds should be taken into custody. Again, Secretary Mayorkas wrote: ``Personnel should not rely on the fact of conviction . . . alone.''

Our laws say parole can only be granted on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. That is far from what is happening. Secretary Mayorkas has sat at the helm of a historic, unconstitutional catch and release scheme that has resulted in tens of thousands of illegal immigrants being released into the United States with no way of tracking them.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded in Texas v. Biden that Mayorkas' DHS was ignoring the limits Congress placed on their parole authority. Let me say that again. The court found that DHS was ignoring the limits placed on their parole authority.

There have been more than 8.3 million illegal immigrant encounters under Secretary Mayorkas' watch, more than 1.7 million known got-aways, and more than 360 attempted crossings by immigrants on the terrorist watch list. Yet, unfortunately, we will likely see another party-line vote later today.

A Harvard CAPS/Harris poll last month found that 35 percent of registered voters approve of the President's handling of immigration, and 68 percent of registered voters say they believe the administration should make it tougher to enter the United States illegally. Half of those voters identified as Democrats. This shouldn't be a party-line vote, Madam Speaker.

Contrary to what we hear coming from many in the mainstream media, last week's vote was not so much a defeat for House Republicans as it was a defeat for our national security and the rule of law. When the executive branch goes rogue, the Constitution doesn't request, it requires that the legislative branch holds it to account.

We are already getting a look at what this fiscal year will bring. Numbers show we have already reached more than 1 million encounters since October 1. In that time, Customs and Border Protection officials have encountered 50 more people whose names are on the terrorist watch list. This further underscores the dereliction of duty taking place at the Department of Homeland Security.

Last week, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy referred to illegal immigrants as undocumented Americans and called them ``the people we care about most.'' That refers to what the Democratic Party cares about most. I could not disagree with that statement more. I care most about the hardworking Tennesseans I represent, those who play by the rules and embrace legal immigration. It is with them in mind that I will proudly vote again to impeach Secretary Mayorkas.

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