The US Senate voted this Wednesday to dismiss the two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Initially, the US House of Representatives had impeached Mayorkas in February over his approach to the migrant situation at the US-Mexico border, as reported by JURIST.
The specific articles of impeachment put forth the argument that Mayorkas failed to fulfill his duties as outlined by the Immigration and Nationality Act. The allegations suggested substantial consequences, such as unprecedented levels of illegal entrants, the increased control of the Southwest border by drug cartels, and the imposition of enormous costs on the states and localities affected by the influx of aliens.
The impeachment articles notably accused Mayorkas of a “willful and systematic refusal to comply with the law,” relating to his management of the US-Mexico border and immigration affairs. The Senate dismissed this charge by a vote of 51 to 48, on the grounds that it did not meet the constitutional criteria for a high crime or misdemeanor, as stated in Article II of the US Constitution.
The second article of impeachment argued that Secretary Mayorkas committed a “breach of the public trust” by knowingly making false statements and obstructing the lawful oversight of the Department of Homeland Security. The Senate voted 51-49 to dismiss this charge as well, citing the same reasons as before.
In reaction to the Senate’s dismissal, Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer defended it by asserting that “Impeachment should NEVER be used to settle policy disagreements.” On the other hand, Republican Senator Eric Schmitt expressed his dissatisfaction with the outcome, contending that the Senate had an obligation to conduct a full impeachment trial. He placed the responsibility for the crisis at the Southern Border squarely on Secretary Mayorkas, accusing Senate Democrats of sabotaging the institution of the Senate and the Constitution.