Rep. Roy memo making case for Mayorkas impeachment picks up support from Texas Republicans

EXCLUSIVE: A detailed memo written by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, which outlines the case for impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, has been circulated among Republican lawmakers from the Lone Star State and is picking up some support amid fierce GOP criticism over the Biden administration’s border strategy.

In the memo sent to the lawmakers this week, a copy of which was obtained by Fox News, Roy says Mayorkas "has failed to secure our borders and has endangered Americans in the process, and in so doing, has violated his oath to the Constitution, failing to defend it and failing to faithfully execute the laws of the United States."

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The 13-page document makes the case for impeaching the Cabinet official, saying he has violated his oath by ignoring laws of the U.S. and instead "establishing a wide-open border to issue legal status to as many illegal migrants as possible."

He goes on to allege that the resultant crisis has harmed Americans economically, put their health at risk, empowered cartels and put citizens at risk of physical harm. Specifically it points to the ending of border wall construction, a refusal to expel most migrants under Title 42 and the ending of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP).

Mayorkas has rejected such claims, saying the Biden DHS is seeking to balance enforcement with U.S. asylum laws – while denying Republican claims that the border is open.

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"Our mission is to protect the American public and to administer the laws of our nation," he said in August. "Consistent with that, our efforts will uphold our laws and will uphold our values. That includes the laws of humanitarian relief, as well as the laws of enforcement."

"We will work relentlessly to thwart illegal immigration, and to adjudicate asylum claims fairly and efficiently. Both are embedded in the law and we are committed to upholding both. As we work to meet these long-standing challenges, we do not turn our backs on our values, our principles, our humanity, and our proudest traditions," he said.

But Republicans have been calling for the removal of Mayorkas for some time, occasionally including talk of impeachment.

The Roy memo says that "for the undeniable and unavoidable damages imposed to Texans and Americans as a whole, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas should be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors in his role as the Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security."

It’s a call that has found agreement and support from some of his Republican colleagues in Texas -- who have been some of the most vocal in their criticism of the Biden administration’s border policies.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas – who has previously signed onto an impeachment resolution -- told Fox News that the impeachment push was "appropriate" and said he believed that by allegedly inducing people to cross the border illegally, both Mayorkas and Biden could be impeached.

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"By inducing people to commit criminal acts against the laws of the United States, including coming into the U.S. illegally, Secretary Mayorkas as well as President Biden have committed a crime as a principal and it is absolutely sufficient to have both Mayorkas and the president impeached," he said. "But with the president there's a lot of other paragraphs that can be added as articles of impeachment as well."

Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, offered similar support for congressional action to remove Mayorkas.

"As Texans, we have been sounding the alarm on the Southern Border for quite some time. The Biden Administration inherited a solution and created a crisis. All Joe Biden and his ‘Border Czar,’ Kamala Harris, had to do was nothing," he said in a statement. "Instead, they unraveled President Trump’s proven solutions and have partnered with cartels in allowing a humanitarian and national security crisis to metastasize on our Southern Border, specifically Texas." 

"The contents of the Roy memo detail the justification for impeaching Mayorkas, which is why I am supporting and pushing for legislative action which would accomplish that very thing," he said.

Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, told Fox there are "legitimate reasons for considering the removal of Secretary Mayorkas over his failure to uphold our immigration laws and keep our border safe and secure." 

Meanwhile, Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said Biden and Mayorkas "have intentionally failed to uphold their oath to faithfully execute the laws of the United States of America."

"Evidentially, rule of law has little value to the Biden administration and to the Democratic party who continue to support illegal and unlawful activities," he said. "Therefore, it is clear that Secretary Mayorkas is wholly incapable of leading the Department of Homeland Security."

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While such calls face little chance of gaining Democratic support that would be needed with a Democrat-controlled House and a split Senate, the effort is the latest indicator of how serious Republicans -- particularly those in border states -- are viewing the situation at the southern border.

On Saturday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy wrote directly to Biden requesting an "urgent meeting" after numbers were released that showed more than 192,000 encounters at the southern border in September.