Fight to secure the border

On Feb. 13, I joined 213 other House Republicans in voting to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. This marked an important step in our fight to hold the administration's chief border official accountable for his disastrous handling of our southern border. As House Republicans' investigation made clear, Mayorkas has disregarded, ignored or abused multiple laws, court orders and rulings, and has undoubtedly breached the trust of Congress and the American people.

Republicans have produced a mountain of evidence to justify impeaching Mayorkas. Let's start with his refusal to comply with the law, specifically the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). He has failed to comply with INA by implementing a mass catch-and-release scheme, where migrants are released into the United States without effective mechanisms to ensure they show up before an immigration court. Mayorkas's own Department of Homeland Security has admitted that 40% of catch-and-release migrants have disappeared. And by granting parole to more than 1.7 million illegal immigrants, he has abused a statute under INA that permits parole to be granted "only on a case-by-case," temporarily, and "for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit."

Another justification for impeachment is that Mayorkas has breached the trust of Congress and the American people. In addition to violating his duty to control the border and keep our nation safe, he has repeatedly lied under oath. He told Congress that the border was under control. That was a lie. After making that false statement, he claimed he never said such a thing. That too was a lie. He also told Congress that "the border is no less secure than it was previously" -- another bald-faced lie. In addition to lying under oath on numerous occasions, Mayorkas has stonewalled our oversight efforts, including failing to comply with subpoenas.

The consequences of Mayorkas's failure to uphold his oath to support and defend the Constitution are alarming. More people were caught illegally crossing the border in the first year of this administration than the entirety of President Donald Trump's four-year term. Unsurprisingly, the situation on our border has only gotten worse. There have been 35 straight months where illegal immigrant encounters were higher than any month under President Trump. The border crisis is also taking a significant toll on taxpayers. According to a study conducted last year, housing and other services provided to those who have been released into America on Mayorkas' watch, or entered as known gotaways, could exceed $451 billion.

Impeachment isn't something to take lightly. It is a tool that should be used only as a last resort. But Mayorkas gave us no other option. The American people are demanding their leaders take action to end the invasion of our southern border. Impeaching Mayorkas is just the latest example of House Republicans' commitment to delivering Americans a nation that's safe and a border that's secure. But make no mistake. The fight to bring an end to the worst border crisis in our nation's history is far from over.

JASON SMITH represents Missouri's 8th Congressional District.