Rep. Rose on Mayorkas’ Impeachment: ‘This Shouldn’t Be A Party-Line Vote’
WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Representative John Rose (TN-06) spoke on the House Floor Tuesday in support of the articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. His remarks were delivered hours before the articles passed 214-213.
The full remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below:
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 some Republicans being absent for health reasons. While I would 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 Sec. 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 Sec. Mayorkas. Essentially, they like the job he’s not doing.
The Immigration and Nationality Act requires that those who clearly don’t meet the requirements for asylum be detained for removal. Yet, in 2021, Sec. Mayorkas wrote to ICE officials quote “the fact an individual is a removable noncitizen 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, Sec. Mayorkas wrote quote “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’s happening. Sec. Mayorkas has sat at the helm of a historic, unconstitutional, catch-and-release scheme that’s resulted in tens of thousands of illegal immigrants being released into the United States with no way of tracking them.
The Firth 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 DHS to be ignoring the limits placed on their parole power.
There have been more than 8.3 million illegal immigrant encounters under Sec. Mayorkas’ watch, more than 1.7 million known gotaways, and more than 360 attempted crossings by immigrants on the terrorist watch list. Yet, unfortunately, we’ll likely see another party-line vote later today.
A Harvard CAPS/Harris poll last month found just 35% of registered voters approve of the president’s handling of immigration. 68% 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 of 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’re already getting a look at what this fiscal year will bring. Numbers show we’ve already reached more than one million encounters since October 1st. In that time, Customs and Border Protection officials have encountered 50 more people whose names are on the terrorist watchlist. 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 quote “the people we care 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.
You can watch the speech here.