Fox News legal analyst and George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley poured cold water on the possibility of impeaching the head of the Department of Homeland Security on Monday. Alejandro Mayorkas.
House Republicans released a proposal containing two articles of impeachment, one accusing Mayorkas of violating immigration laws and the other accusing him of betraying “the public's trust.”
But Turley argued that Republicans have not yet established a legitimate basis for impeachment. The constitution allows for impeachment for felonies, misdemeanors, treason, and bribery.
“The truth is, impeachment isn't done for being a bad cabinet member or even a bad person. That's a very narrow standard,” Turley explained. “The Framers rejected terms like misgovernment to make sure to limit this. And the important thing to remember is that we have only impeached one cabinet minister in history, and that is impeachment.” It was seen as a highly abusive use of the law, and impeachment occurred after the person had left office.However, past Congresses have recognized the dangers of this.Crossing the Rubicon “And then they start firing cabinet members because they're not doing a good job. And Mayorkas is clearly not doing a good job.”
“But it's clearly a job that President Biden likes. He's praised Mayorkas and he's implementing Joe Biden's policies. And those policies have brought us to today in a national security crisis.” And I completely agree with the Republicans on all of these points. But I don't agree with the methods that are being used here,” Turley continued.
Turley then said, “We have open borders. This is a big crisis,” but said this was “a policy decision made by the president.” The court has said presidents can prioritize enforcement of federal laws, and this is not the first president to be challenged over lack of enforcement at the border. ”
“Donald Trump came in and looked at the law, and it was the same law that Joe Biden was operating, and he figured out how to get what he wanted done. And then along came Joe Biden. , his business model is to do what he's doing now. At the core is the same law, and if people don't like it, eventually the law will have to change ” co-host Steve Doocy said.
“Mr. Mayorkas is someone who will carry out exactly what the president's policies say,” Turley said. “The president has said repeatedly that he likes what Mayorkas does and doesn't do. Now, most Americans don't. It’s all about it.” (Related: What the Biden White House conveniently omits in its latest border security story)
The first article of impeachment relates to record levels of illegal immigration, and the House Homeland Security Committee alleges Mayorkas played a major role through the issuance of the impeachment complaint in September 2021. memo In it, he directed immigration authorities to restrict immigration. The memo states that the mere fact that an individual is a “removable non-national” is not sufficient “as a basis for enforcement action against them.”
The second article alleges that Mayorkas lied to Congress, saying the southern border was “secure” and “closed” and “as good as ever.” The committee also noted statements by Mr. Mayorkas that corroborated the false story that Border Patrol agents whipped illegal immigrants.
border guard encountered More than 2.2 million migrants will cross the southern border in 2022, and more than 2 million will cross the southern border in 2023. From October to December alone, there were more than 629,000 illegal encounters at the southern border.
