The Mayorkas impeachment case has become a "political weapon" in the battle between the two parties in the United States

　　The Mayorkas impeachment case has become a "political weapon" in the battle between the two parties in the United States, using the immigration issue to maximize their respective political interests.

　　□ Wang Yitong

　　The U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas on the evening of February 13, local time, making the latter the first cabinet minister to be impeached by the House of Representatives since 1876.

This shows that the partisan dispute between the Democrats and Republicans over immigration issues has further intensified.

　　The impeachment case awaits consideration by the Senate

　　On the 13th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the above-mentioned impeachment case by a slim margin of 214 votes to 213 votes.

However, according to US media reports, Mayorkas is not expected to be removed from office when the case finally comes to the Senate for consideration.

　　According to U.S. legal procedures, after the impeachment case is passed by the House of Representatives (currently Republican members hold the majority), it must be submitted to the Senate for consideration.

In the Senate, if this impeachment case is to be established, it needs the support of two-thirds of the senators. The Democratic Party, which has a majority of seats in the Senate, will obviously not let it pass easily.

Therefore, the possibility of the impeachment case being dismissed in the Senate is very high.

　　However, regardless of the prospects of Mayorkas' impeachment case, there is no doubt that it has become a powerful "hands on" for the Republican Party to attack the Democrats and the Biden administration.

　　According to previous reports, the House of Representatives held a vote on impeaching Mayorkas as early as the 6th of this month, but the vote in favor was not more than half, and the impeachment failed.

Republicans hold a majority in the House of Representatives, but only by a slim margin.

At that time, 214 Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to impeach Mayorkas, but all 212 Democrats and 4 Republicans voted against, and the impeachment failed.

In the second round of voting on the 13th, in order to gather enough support votes, the Republicans invited Scalise, the party's second-ranking figure who was seriously ill, to come to Washington to vote.

　　Mayorkas is the Biden administration’s highest-ranking official responsible for U.S. border security.

He served as director of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service from 2009 to 2013 and as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2016, becoming the highest-ranking Cuban-American in the Obama administration.

In November 2020, U.S. President Biden officially nominated Mayorkas as Secretary of Homeland Security and said he was "proud" of choosing such a Hispanic immigrant to serve as Secretary of the Department.

　　It is reported that only in 1876 in the history of the United States was a cabinet official impeached due to criminal proceedings, but he resigned before the vote.

　　Fight over immigration escalates

　　Immigration is one of the focus issues in this year's U.S. presidential election.

In this impeachment case, Republicans accused Mayorkas of "intentionally and systematically refusing to abide by the law" on immigration issues, leading to the failure of immigration control at the U.S.-Mexico border and violating public trust. They also accused him of obstructing congressional investigations.

　　The American media predicts that with the development of the impeachment case, the battle between the two parties over immigration issues will further escalate.

　　U.S. official data shows that in the first 11 months of last year, about 2.7 million illegal immigrants entered the United States, of which about 2.2 million entered from the southern border.

It was also reported that 302,000 illegal immigrants entered the United States from the southern border in December last year, setting a new monthly high.

　　As the U.S. election approaches, both parties are hyping up the immigration issue to serve their own political interests.

The reason is that during the Trump administration, the border control policies led by the Republican Party were relatively strict and controversial.

Trump himself has also made many extreme remarks on immigration, causing great dissatisfaction among Democrats.

After Biden came to power, he completely suspended the border control policies during the Trump administration, which directly led to the influx of a large number of immigrants and put great pressure on border states.

Some Republican-dominated states send immigrants to Democratic-dominated states in order to shift the contradiction to the Democratic Party.

　　Analysts believe that the Republican Party intends to use this impeachment to attack the Biden administration for its ineffective handling of immigration issues, thereby boosting the election of Republican candidates.

Multiple previous polls have shown that in addition to economic issues, immigration issues have become the main "political weakness" of Biden and the Democratic Party.

According to a recent joint survey by ABC and the Washington Post, Biden's approval rating on the immigration issue is only about 18%, the lowest score for any president since the poll began in 2004.

　　It is foreseeable that as Mayorkas is impeached and the U.S. presidential election begins, the opposition between the Democratic and Republican parties on immigration issues will further intensify.

　　On the other hand, although the impeachment case is expected to be unlikely to pass the Senate controlled by the Democratic Party, it will still increase the pressure on the Democratic Party and the Biden administration in terms of immigration policy. In the future, they will have to "deregulate" and "control" immigration. Try to find balance.

　　Political infighting intensifies and criticism continues

　　The Mayorkas impeachment case highlights the intensification of partisanship and political infighting between the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States.

Regarding how to view the impeachment case, American political and legal circles seem to be divided into two distinct factions based on their political parties.

The two sides criticized each other and refused to give in to each other on this issue.

　　According to Agence France-Presse, Biden condemned Republican lawmakers on the 13th for impeaching Mayorkas, which he called "a blatant example of unconstitutional partisan politics."

"History will not look kindly on House Republicans targeting an honorable public servant in a blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship in order to play dirty political games," he said in a statement.

　　Democratic Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Mia Ellenberger also said in a statement that the impeachment was proceeding "without any evidence or constitutional basis."

　　In contrast, Republican Congressman Mark Green, chairman of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee, accused Mayorkas of "blatantly refusing to implement laws passed by Congress and enacting policies that deliberately make our country less secure."

He also denounced the border policies of the Democratic Party and the Biden administration for exacerbating immigration problems.

　　Some analysts pointed out that the Mayorkas impeachment case should become a landmark event in the competition and game between the Democratic and Republican parties this year.

As the date of the presidential election approaches, the Democratic and Republican parties will continue to look for each other's "soft spots" to attack, and both parties will continue to use loopholes in U.S. law to deal more and heavier blows to their opponents.

　　What worries the American people and knowledgeable people even more is that some US media predict that the Mayorkas impeachment case may further lower the threshold for impeachment, causing the two parties to use impeachment more widely for partisan disputes.

　　An Associated Press report held the same view, arguing that impeachment of officials was previously rare in American history, but now it is increasingly being used as a "political weapon."

Sources say Mayorkas is not the only Biden administration official House Republicans want to impeach.

They have made a long list of "impeachment lists," including Vice President Harris, Attorney General Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Defense Secretary Austin.