{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://hern.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=884", "Hern lays out argument for Mayorkas\u2019 impeachment at Homeland Security Committee hearing", "2023-12-06", "2023", "2023-12", "Republican", "House", "OK", "Kevin Hern", "H001082", "hern.house.gov", "hern", "https://hern.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 This morning, Representative Kevin Hern (OK-01) testified at the House Committee on Homeland Security, arguing in favor of the impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.\n\nWatch Rep. Hern\u2019s remarks here.\n\nRemarks as prepared:\n\nChairman Green, I thank you for the opportunity to speak in front of the committee today.\n\nI was the first Member of Congress to call for Sec. Mayorkas to resign in February of 2022.\n\nIn October of that same year, I escalated my demands and called for the impeachment of Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.\n\nSecretary Mayorkas\u2019s tenure has been one of willful destruction to the United States, beyond the point of incompetence.\n\nOn February 2nd, 2021, Secretary Mayorkas swore an oath to \u201cwell and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.\u201d He has failed to uphold his oath, and he has failed to protect the American people.\n\nThe United States is witnessing an invasion, and, instead of fighting it, Secretary Mayorkas is using any means necessary, including violating the Immigration and Nationality Act, to welcome it.\n\nUnder Secretary Mayorkas, the United States has suffered record levels of illegal immigration, spikes in fentanyl trafficking and fentanyl-related deaths, and ten-fold increases in encounters with illegal aliens on Terrorist Screening Databases.\n\nThis has resulted in record cartel profits, countless criminal aliens being ferried into cities across the country, increased migrant deaths, and a demoralized Border Patrol.\n\nIf Biden is not going to do his constitutional duty and make sure he has the right Cabinet members, then it falls upon the Congress to do their job.\n\nSecretary Mayorkas has failed the American people. Keeping him in this role would continue to put Americans in danger.\n\nThere is not enough time in the world to list all of Mayorkas\u2019 failures, but I can highlight a few that warrant immediate impeachment proceedings.\n\nSecretary Mayorkas has consistently ignored rules and laws enacted by Congress, failing on his duty to faithfully execute the law.\n\nSome of these include:\n\n\u00b7 using a \u201cmass parole\u201d policy, which violates the Administrative Procedure Act, to release record amounts of illegal aliens into the country\n\n\u00b7 Abusing the parole system to release hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens into the country, violating the Immigration and Nationality Act\u2019s limits on humanitarian parole\n\n\u00b7 Refusing to reimplement Remain in Mexico after a federal district court decision ordered him to\n\n\u00b7 Restricting which migrants ICE officials are able to detain and deport\n\n\u00b7 Quietly changing the detention policy from \u201crelease only if there is a compelling reason\u201d to \u201crelease unless there is a compelling reason NOT to\u201d - a change we only know about because a federal district court in Florida caught it\n\nIn addition to ignoring orders from the legislative and judicial branches, Secretary Mayorkas repeatedly lies to Congress and the American people. He has testified to this committee, under oath, that the \u201cborder is secure\u201d and that he has \u201coperational control of the Southwest border\u201d.\n\nNo one believes that.\n\nBiden hasn\u2019t seen the real border crisis, but I have \u2013 several times. And thanks to the leadership of Governor Abbott, cities across the nation are getting a small taste of what our border communities have been going through these last three years.\n\nEven the mayor of New York City has had to admit that there is a crisis at our border.\n\nIf this is what security and operational control look like to Sec. Mayorkas, then it\u2019s no wonder he hasn\u2019t fixed the Democrats\u2019 border disaster. Secretary Mayorkas\u2019 behavior continues to threaten the integrity of the constitution and the rule of law.\n\nWhile Impeachment is an extraordinary measure, it is absolutely necessary when faced with a Cabinet Secretary who willfully acts in subversion of the confines of Congressional authority and the letter of the law.\n\nMayorkas has shown deliberate negligence in his failure to enforce existing immigration laws, negligence that can be traced all the way back to the White House, because the Biden/Harris Administration has no intention of securing our border.\n\nMayorkas will face no consequences from his boss because these failures are intentional, and at the specific request of the President and Vice President of the United States.\n\nJoe Biden and Kamala Harris will never fire Secretary Mayorkas because he is performing exactly as instructed. Therefore, impeachment is the only path forward to secure our border and protect our citizens.\n\nThe House of Representatives should thoughtfully pursue impeachment proceedings against Secretary Mayorkas as his actions meet the constitutional standard of \u201chigh Crimes and Misdemeanors.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:14:16Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://hern.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=884"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8735070005059242, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}