Democrats, Republicans spar over rationale for House GOP effort to impeach Mayorkas at first hearing

Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said at the first impeachment hearing for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday that there isn't an "reasonable alternative" to pursuing impeachment, given the secretary's handling of the border crisis.

Green said there has been 6.7 million encounters with migrants at the southwest border alone under the Biden Administration.

"In addition to these catastrophic numbers are the record 1.8 million known gotaways who have entered the country on Secretary Mayorkas’ watch—individuals that Border Patrol agents know slip across our border, but are not apprehended in large part because cartels overwhelm the agents with large groups of coyote paid and escorted migrants," Green said.

Green said Biden's policies such as "catch and release" are being "exploited" by the cartels, yet Mayorkas has not changed course.   

According to Green, the Biden administration's detention policy has been "release unless there's a compelling reason not to."

He also said the committee has been told that the release rate is 85%. The Biden Administration does not publicly disclose statistics on how many illegal immigrants it releases from the border.

Ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., described the hearing as a "political stunt." He argued that Republicans think impeaching Mayorkas will help them hold the majority. 

Austin Knudsen, attorney general of Montana, Gentner Drummond, attorney general of Oklahoma and Andrew Bailey, attorney general of Missouri recommended at the hearing that Congress impeach Mayorkas. 

Knudsen said the fentanyl crisis is taking a toll on his state and the Biden Administration hasn't done enough to stop it from coming over the border.

Frank O. Bowman, professor emeritus of law at the University of Missouri School of Law, was the Democrats' witness at the hearing. Bowman said disagreement with the administration's policies wouldn't warrant impeaching a cabinet official. 

Republicans disagreed with that position, arguing that Mayorkas is not securing the border, which is part of his duty as secretary of the Homeland Security department. 

Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, said Mayorkas has not been able to explain to the committee what his department's policy is for detaining suspected terrorists who are encountered at the border. At a previous hearing, Mayorkas did not say if suspected terrorists caught at the border were deported. Pfluger said the committee still has not been informed of the status of the suspected terrorists encountered at the border.

"This is the reason that we're having this hearing," he said. "He couldn't explain his policy."

Defending the GOP effort to impeach Mayorkas, Pfluger argued that the secretary hasn't secured the nation against terrorism, criminal gangs, fentanyl or other national security threats threats.