[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 13, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H547]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SECRETARY MAYORKAS MUST BE HELD TO ACCOUNT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Rose) for 5 minutes.
  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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