The vote in the House of Representatives has been delayed. While we wait, here’s a reminder about what this impeachment vote is all about.
What is Mayorkas accused of?
The Republicans accuse Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and “breach of public trust” over his handling of the migrant crisis at the US’s border with Mexico.
They accuse him of failing to enforce immigration policies, allowing for a record number of illegal border crossings in recent months. And they also claim he lied about whether the border was secure, when he testified to lawmakers that his department had “operational control” of the border.
How did Mayorkas respond?
In a seven-page letter, he said “false accusations do not rattle me” and called them “politically motivated”.
“The problems with our broken and outdated immigration system are not new,” he wrote. “Our immigration laws were simply not built for 21st century migration patterns.”
Mayorkas also wrote that his parents came to the US from Cuba, which instilled in him a “reverence for law enforcement”.
What has Biden said?
In a statement on Monday, the Biden administration said it was “an unprecedented and unconstitutional act of political retribution that would do nothing to solve the challenges our nation faces in securing the border”.
