United States: The Minister responsible for Immigration is charged in the House of Representatives

Republicans, with a small majority in the US House of Representatives, have impeached Alejandro Mayorkas, President Joe Biden’s immigration secretary, accusing him of fueling the conflict on the US-Mexico border. This minister’s indictment is the first in 150 years of American political life.

Alejandro Mayorkas is the “main architect of the tragedy”, he has accused Mike Johnson, the leader of the Republican party in the House of Representatives, who decided on the fate of the 64-year-old minister in the early evening of Tuesday, February 13. And the accusation of the minister of Joe Biden was passed by a vote of 214 against 213. This is the first time in almost 150 years that the Congress has decided on sanctions against the minister. Joe Biden has responded quickly, denouncing, in a press release, “a clear act of corrupt politics that has targeted an important public servant”. “Instead of doing tactics like this, Republicans who care so much should have asked Congress for more resources and to strengthen border security,”

President Joe Biden from the Democratic party has blamed. The Conservatives had already tried to impeach him, but failed by a few votes, in a humiliating vote. On February 2, 2024, the Republican party headquarters thought they had enough votes to win this vote, but they were surprised by the surprise arrival in the House of Representatives building, the elected official of the Democratic party, Al Green, who was in good health condition for abdominal surgery. Headache for Joe Biden The likelihood that Alejandro Mayorkas will be removed from power at the end of this impeachment process is very low, but the situation is still bothering Joe Biden, less than nine months before the presidential election.

Immigration has emerged as one of the key issues in the November presidential campaign. Republicans, many of whom are close to former President Donald Trump in his anti-immigration rhetoric, accuse the Democratic president of allowing the country to be “invaded”, taking as an example the record number of immigrants apprehended at the border, 302,000 in December. The last indictment of a minister by Congress began in 1876.

The Secretary of War, William Belknap, accused of corruption, resigned before the end of the impeachment trial. The US Constitution provides that Congress can impeach the president, a minister, or federal judges for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” The Senate, the upper house of Congress, will therefore have to take the minister to court. At the end of the debates, 100 senators will vote on each article. A two-thirds majority is required for conviction, in which case dismissal is automatic and without appeal. Otherwise, Alejandro Mayorkas will be released. With the Senate currently in the hands of the Democrats, the dismissal of the minister is highly unlikely.