Mayorkas faces showdown with GOP over border crisis
Shortly before the midterm elections, when Alejandro Mayorkas was hosting a routine town hall with senior staff members, one person addressed the elephant in the room: Does he plan to resign in the face of the Republican pledge to impeach him?
Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, did not hesitate: I’m not leaving, he replied. I’m not going anywhere.
The staff members in the meeting erupted in applause and cheers, according to two people in attendance who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private event.
On Tuesday, federal border officials began testifying before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. The hearing is the latest piece of an aggressive push to scrutinize Mayorkas that some Republicans have said should result in his impeachment. The panel is led by Rep. James Comer, R-KY., who has already made up his mind that Mayorkas, 63, should be removed for his handling of the record number of unauthorized crossings at the southern border since President Joe Biden has been in office.
Even though the spike in illegal entries is part of a global migration trend, Mayorkas has become the face of the intractable problem, particularly for Republicans who see failures at the border as a winning political strategy in their efforts to take back the White House in 2024.
With a target on his back, Mayorkas is a shield for the Biden White House, which ultimately signs off on immigration policy decisions. In a statement to The New York Times, Mayorkas said that the department would “be responsive to congressional oversight” but that nothing would divert him from his job as secretary. The White House contends senior officials are united behind Mayorkas.
The Times spoke with two dozen people who work or have worked with Mayorkas over the years, at the Department of Homeland Security, at thewhite House and outside government. They describe a more complicated and nuanced picture of Mayorkas and his record two years into the job: an embattled secretary who may have had good intentions with his immigration policy goals but has been hamstrung by elements outside his control.
Those obstacles include a staccato of court orders blocking his efforts, a White House that has struggled to develop a coherent border strategy amid fears of political backlash and a polarized Congress that is unlikely to overhaul outdated immigration laws that have crippled the system for decades.
Still, Mayorkas, who has pledged to execute the Biden administration’s promise to create a fairer and more humane immigration system, is running behind schedule on delivering those results.
He has also had a hard time rescinding Trump- era policies, which the Biden administration repeatedly criticized on the campaign trail. And he is entering what is expected to be an exceptionally difficult period of his career as Republicans open a barrage of personal and professional attacks as they conduct oversight.
“The situation at the southern border is dangerous and chaotic, and Secretarymayorkasmust be held accountable for failing to uphold his responsibility to secure the border,” Comer said in a statement to the Times. For impeachment proceedings to move forward, Speaker Kevin Mccarthy must announce a formal impeachment inquiry.
Thewhite House pushed back against the idea that it had no coherent immigration strategy and pinned the blame on Republican lawmakers who they say have obstructed Biden’s proposal for immigration legislation.
“Secretary Mayorkas has worked against immeasurable odds to lead the Department of Homeland Security out of the depths of the prior administration’s chaos, cruelty and dysfunction to deliver real, lasting and meaningful reform,” said Karine Jean-pierre, the White House press secretary.
On immigration, Mayorkas has advanced policies that do not capture widespread public attention, including some that were left unfinished at the end of the Obama administration. One recent example is the department’s move to protect migrant workers who have witnessed or experienced abusive conditions.