United States: Minister responsible for Immigration indicted by Republicans in the House of Representatives
This Tuesday, February 13, Republicans, with a narrow majority in the US House of Representatives, indicted Alejandro Mayorkas, President Joe Biden's Minister for Immigration, accusing him of provoking a crisis at the border between states. -United and Mexico. This indictment of a minister is a first in 150 years of American political life.
Alejandro Mayorkas (our photo) is “the chief architect of the catastrophe,” said Mike Johnson, the Republican leader of the House of Representatives. Getty Images via AFP - WIN MCNAMEE
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Alejandro Mayorkas is “
the chief architect of the catastrophe
”, accused Mike Johnson, the Republican leader of 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
impeachment
of Joe Biden's minister was narrowly adopted by 214 votes to 213. This is the first time in almost 150 years that Congress has decided on such a sanction against a minister.
Joe Biden quickly reacted, denouncing, in a press release, a “
blatant act of political politics which targeted an honorable servant of the State
”. “
Instead of organizing charades like this, Republicans who really care about the
border
should ask Congress for more resources and to strengthen border security
,” the Democratic president further lambasted.
The Conservatives had already tried to indict him, but missed by a handful of votes, in a vote humiliating for them. On February 2, 2024, the Republican general staff thought they had a sufficient number of votes to win this vote, but were taken by surprise by the surprise arrival in the hemicycle of a Democratic elected official, Al Green, who was in convalescence. due to abdominal surgery.
A headache for Joe Biden
The chances that Alejandro Mayorkas will be removed from office at the end of this impeachment procedure are extremely low, but the situation nonetheless remains a headache for 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, most of them close to former President Donald Trump with his very anti-immigration rhetoric, accuse the Democratic president of having allowed the
country
to be "
invaded
", taking as an example the record number of migrants arrested at the border , 302,000 in December.
The last indictment of a minister by Congress dates back to 1876. The Secretary of War, William Belknap, accused of corruption, resigned before the end of the impeachment proceedings. The U.S. 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 put the minister on trial. At the end of the debates, the 100 senators will vote on each article. A two-thirds majority is required to convict, in which case dismissal is automatic and without appeal. Otherwise, Alejandro Mayorkas will be acquitted. With the Senate currently in the hands of the Democrats, the dismissal of the minister is very unlikely.
(
With AFP
)
Also read: Adam Kinzinger, former Republican elected official: “If Trump wins, American democracy risks not surviving”
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