Ted Cruz says DHS chief could be impeached over rise in migrant crossings

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WASHINGTON — As GOP lawmakers proceed to antagonize the Biden administration over its immigration insurance policies, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warned Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that his dealing with of the southern border could be “grounds for impeachment.”

Cruz, together with U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, sent a letter to Mayorkas on Tuesday blasting him for “gross dereliction of duty” and citing record-high numbers of crossings on the southern border.

“These astronomically high numbers are due in no small part to the political decision to rescind a number of President Trump’s policies that were stemming the flow of illegal aliens and illicit drugs across the southern border,” Cruz and Graham’s letter stated. “Withdrawing the Remain in Mexico policy, ending Title 42 expulsions, terminating border wall construction contracts, and countless other decisions, coupled with your own lax border policies, act as ‘pull’ factors that have encouraged millions of aliens to undertake the dangerous journey to the U.S.-Mexico border.”

The letter isn’t the primary time Cruz has sparred with Mayorkas, who has been a constant goal of conservative ire over immigration. He has repeatedly floated the thought of impeaching him on his podcast.

The Republican senators additionally stated Mayorkas was answerable for the worsening of the opioid epidemic as DHS has “ceded control of our southern border to the cartels.”

DHS didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Texas has put ahead $4 billion to fund Operation Lone Star, which Gov. Greg Abbott launched in March 2021 to ramp up safety alongside the Texas-Mexico border. Abbott has made border safety the centerpiece of his reelection marketing campaign and has torched Biden administration officers for the rise in migrant crossings. But regardless of his efforts, the number of migrants that officials encounter at the southern border is higher today than it was earlier than the beginning of Operation Lone Star program.

The powerful posture towards the DHS secretary comes as Republicans prep for doable management over the House and Senate after the midterm elections. While any legislative wins are unlikely with President Joe Biden in the White House, one supply of leverage Republicans could achieve is management over congressional oversight.

Cruz previewed what his get together would do with a majority in the Senate — which he described as 60% probably — in an appearance at The Texas Tribune Festival in September.

“You’ll have real oversight,” Cruz stated in entrance of a crowd in Austin. “Senate Judiciary Committee — we haven’t had a single hearing on the chaos at the southern border. One of the first things that is likely to happen is I think the House will impeach Alejandro Mayorkas.”

While he admitted the Senate would by no means be capable of convict Mayorkas, he stated the worth in the impeachment would be having “an extensive trial on his absolute dereliction of duty to put these facts before the American people.”

It was not the primary time a Republican has put out the trial balloon for Mayorkas’ impeachment. More than a dozen GOP lawmakers have already lined up behind the thought of impeachment, according to CNN.