Texas
Kevin McCarthy calls on DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to resign during visit to Texas border
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U.S. Home Minority Chief Kevin McCarthy known as on Homeland Safety Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to resign over the administration’s border coverage Tuesday, promising to launch investigations subsequent 12 months that would culminate in impeachment.
“We’ll use the facility of the purse and the facility of subpoena. Let me be clear, these answerable for this catastrophe shall be held accountable,” McCarthy mentioned at a information convention in El Paso. “If Secretary Mayorkas doesn’t resign, Home Republicans will examine each order, each motion and each failure to find out whether or not we are able to start impeachment inquiries.”
Republicans have made border safety considered one of their main assault factors on Democrats and the Biden administration — which is able to solely enhance subsequent 12 months with Republicans set to take management of the Home. U.S. Border Patrol recorded its highest ever variety of migrant arrests on the southwestern border final month, with practically 2.4 million encounters for the fiscal 12 months.
Talking after he toured the border with members of the Texas Republican delegation, McCarthy additionally mentioned he would have congressional hearings on border safety on the border subsequent 12 months if he turns into Home speaker. Republicans nominated McCarthy for the speakership final week, however the ultimate vote isn’t till January.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, wrote to Mayorkas final month warning him that impeachment could possibly be on the books if unlawful crossings don’t scale back. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, additionally signed onto the letter.
The Division of Homeland Safety didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon McCarthy’s remarks.
Having congressional hearings exterior of Washington isn’t with out precedent. Members will often schedule discipline hearings throughout “state work intervals” when members are of their house districts, and Democrats have scheduled discipline hearings this 12 months to spotlight environmental and infrastructure points. However the usage of discipline hearings for border points will increase the visibility of Republicans’ needling of Democrats on a problem that even many Democrats really feel their very own get together has not adequately confronted.
McCarthy’s speakership bid has additionally taken a problem from the Republican convention’s proper flank, additional incentivizing him to accentuate his message. McCarthy mentioned Tuesday that “we by no means do impeachment for political functions,” and that any impeachment can be topic to a radical investigation.
McCarthy made his remarks throughout a Tuesday go to to the El Paso border with fellow Republican Reps. Tony Gonzales, Dan Crenshaw, Brian Babin and August Pfluger — all Texans. Reps. Mark Inexperienced, R-Tennessee, and Kat Cammack, R-Florida, additionally joined within the go to.
Texas border Republicans have been calling for elevated sources for border patrol, who they are saying are overworked and affected by low morale. Crenshaw is making a bid to be the chair of the Home Homeland Safety Committee subsequent 12 months, which might have oversight on border safety points.
Earlier than the go to, the Republican lawmakers walked alongside the border, the place migrants yelled for assist from the Mexican facet of the obstacles. The lawmakers later served a Thanksgiving meal to Border Patrol brokers.
Senate Republicans made an identical go to to the border in March, with Sens. John Thune and John Barrasso, the second- and third-ranking Republicans, becoming a member of Cruz and several other different members. The senators wrote to President Joe Biden afterward imploring him to advance insurance policies to safe the border.
Republicans are calling on the administration to reimplement a controversial coverage below President Donald Trump that compelled asylum seekers to attend out their circumstances in Mexico. Asylum seekers at present can enter the US to attend for his or her courtroom hearings, which may be years after their first entry. A number of Republican attorneys basic additionally pushed a federal decide Monday to keep up Title 42, a Trump-era measure that lets the federal government expel migrants with a purpose to comprise the unfold of COVID-19. A courtroom order is on monitor to raise Title 42 later subsequent month.
“Now that Title 42 might finish, we’re bracing for a tsunami,” McCarthy mentioned Tuesday.
Texas Democrats dismissed Tuesday’s border tour as concern mongering and xenophobia, with little in the best way of efficient coverage proposals.
“It’s a damaged file,” mentioned U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, in an interview Tuesday. “They go right down to the border. They costume of their camouflage fits. They take footage with among the guardsmen that [Gov. Greg] Abbott has there. It’s all picture ops. The time has handed for picture ops and visits. The time to behave is now.”
Garcia emphasised the necessity to reform immigration coverage to permit extra authorized pathways for immigration and to streamline asylum case hearings so candidates don’t wait in authorized limbo for years. Each are targets {that a} handful of border Republicans have mentioned they might be keen to work throughout the aisle on. Gonzales, the San Antonio Republican, mentioned Tuesday he has known as the Biden administration to search out bipartisan border coverage and invited Biden to go to the border.
Garcia additionally pushed for complete reform to permit recipients of Deferred Motion for Childhood Arrivals to stay within the nation. The U.S. Home already handed in March 2021 the Dream and Promise Act, which might grant everlasting resident standing to many DACA recipients. The Senate now solely has a couple of legislative weeks left within the present congressional session to move the invoice, and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus are lobbying laborious for the higher chamber to prioritize it.
Senate Democratic management expressed optimism about passing the invoice, with Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, telling reporters final week that at the very least 4 Republicans have been more likely to cross over and vote for the invoice. Democrats want 10 Republicans to beat the filibuster and vote to move the invoice.
Ivan Pierre Aguirre contributed reporting from El Paso and Ciudad Juárez.