Impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas
The House of Representatives votes to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas
Accused	Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security
Proponents	Mike Johnson (Speaker of the House of Representatives)
Date	February 13, 2024 (2024-02-13) ⁠–⁠ present (2 months, 2 weeks and 3 days)
Charges	Dereliction of duty, perjury, contempt of Congress
Cause	Mexico–United States border crisis
Congressional votes
First vote in the U.S. House of Representatives
Accusation	Failure to comply with Federal immigration laws and breaching the public trust
Votes in favor	214
Votes against	216
Present	0
Not voting	1
Result	Failed
Second vote in the U.S. House of Representatives
Accusation	Failure to comply with Federal immigration laws and breaching the public trust
Votes in favor	214
Votes against	213
Present	0
Not voting	4
Result	Y Approved

On January 28, 2024, House Republicans indicated their intention to move forward with two articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, alleging "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" in regards to federal immigration laws and breach of the public trust. On January 31, Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee approved the articles along party lines for referral to the full House.

A full House vote on February 6 to impeach failed to pass in a 214–216 vote, with four House Republicans joining the minority Democratic Party in voting against the impeachment resolution. Mayorkas was impeached in a second vote on February 13, on a 214–213 vote, with three House Republicans voting "no".

Mayorkas is the first Cabinet member to be impeached since Secretary of War William W. Belknap in 1876. Mayorkas is expected to be acquitted by the Senate, which is controlled by a Democratic majority.

Background

On November 23, 2020, President-elect Joe Biden announced his plan to nominate Alejandro Mayorkas, who had previously served in the Obama Administration as Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and later as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, to be Secretary of Homeland Security. Mayorkas was confirmed by the United States Senate in a 56–43 vote. This made Mayorkas's appointment one of the most contested of all Biden's cabinet nominees.

In August 2021, Congressman Andy Biggs introduced a resolution to impeach Mayorkas. It was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary and saw no further action.

Ahead of the 2022 United States House elections, several Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives expressed support for the idea of impeaching Mayorkas if their party won a House majority. After Republicans won narrow control of the House for the 118th United States Congress, several impeachment resolutions were introduced and referred to committees without further action, including ones introduced by Pat Fallon in January 2023, Andy Biggs in February 2023, Marjorie Taylor Greene in May 2023, and Clay Higgins in June 2023.

On November 9, 2023, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia filed a motion to impeach Mayorkas, citing a dereliction of duty and saying he "failed to maintain operational control of the [Southern] border". The motion to impeach failed to pass on November 13, with the House voting 209–201 to defer the resolution to the House Homeland Security Committee. Eight Republicans joined all Democrats in blocking the measure.

Impeachment articles

The resolution with the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas was introduced to the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene on November 13, 2023. An amended resolution was reported from the House Committee on Homeland Security on February 3, 2024.

Article 1

Article 1 of the impeachment alleges that Mayorkas "willfully and systematically refused to comply with Federal immigration laws". The article focuses on the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. The act requires that migrants be detained while waiting for an Asylum decision.

Article 2

Article 2 of the impeachment alleges that Mayorkas "breached the public trust" by lying to Congress and hindering the House Republican-led investigation into the Department of Homeland Security.

House votes

First vote

On February 6, 2024, the House of Representatives voted to not impeach Mayorkas with 216 voting against and 214 voting in favor. Four Republican members broke party ranks to vote against the impeachment: Ken Buck (CO-04), Mike Gallagher (WI-08), Tom McClintock (CA-05), and Blake Moore (UT-01). Steve Scalise (LA-01), the House majority leader, was absent for the vote due to being treated for cancer. Representative Al Green of Texas was the final member to arrive, casting his no vote to tie 215–215 while wearing hospital scrubs after he had finished abdominal surgery. Moore changed his vote to no shortly before the Speaker called the vote, allowing Republicans to vote again on the impeachment in the future as part of a motion to reconsider.

Vote to impeach

Party		Yes	No	Not voting
	Republican	214	4	1
	Democratic	N/A	212	N/A
Percentage		49.8%	50.2%	N/A
Total votes		214	216	1

Second vote

Following the first vote, Homeland Security Chair Mark Green (TN-07) said that Republicans intend to vote to impeach Mayorkas a second time when Scalise returns. On February 9, the House Republican Caucus said they would vote again to impeach Mayorkas on Tuesday, February 13. On February 13, 2024, the House voted 214–213 to impeach Mayorkas. Ken Buck, Mike Gallagher, and Tom McClintock again opposed the effort by their conference. Four representatives missed the vote. Democrat Judy Chu missed the vote due to contracting COVID-19, while the three others were Floridian Representatives who had flight delays: Republicans Brian Mast and María Salazar, along with Democrat Lois Frankel.

Vote to impeach

Party		Yes	No	Not voting
	Republican	214	3	2
	Democratic	N/A	210	2
Percentage		50.1%	49.9%	N/A
Total votes		Y 214	213	4

Senate trial

The Senate began its impeachment preceedings on April 16, 2024. The impeachment managers are Mark Green, Michael McCaul, Andy Biggs, Ben Cline, Andrew Garbarino, Michael Guest, Harriet Hageman, Clay Higgins, Laurel Lee, August Pfluger, and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Under Senate rules, the impeachment trial must begin within one legislative day.

See also

• Mexico–United States border crisis