“Secretary Mayorkas must be held accountable. His duty as secretary is to protect the homeland. It’s not what’s happened. Instead, he refuses to secure the border … The Senate must hold a full and fair trial. It is our Constitutional duty. The House has done its job. Yet Senate Democrats – each and every one of them – is refusing to do theirs.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) spoke today on the Senate floor about Senate Democrats’ attempts to bury charges against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in order to avoid an impeachment trial.

Secretary Mayorkas refuses to take accountability and secure the border. Instead, he continues to ignore the Constitution and existing immigration laws.

The U.S. House of Representative is expected to present the Senate with articles of impeachment against Secretary Mayorkas next week.

Sen. Barrasso’s Remarks:

“Federalist 65 talks about impeachment. This is about the abuse and violation of public trust. Hamilton goes on to say that impeachment is an important power to remedy ‘injuries done immediately to the society itself.’

“This is the case we are here to talk about today and why I bring the book along. Because the charges against Secretary Mayorkas are serious. They’re substantive. The facts in support of them are compelling. They deserve careful consideration by this body.

“Secretary Mayorkas must be held accountable. His duty as secretary is to protect the homeland. It’s not what’s happened. Instead, he refuses to secure the border.

“The House charges that Secretary Mayorkas has ‘willfully and systematically’ refused to enforce border security laws. Secretary Mayorkas wants to open our borders so the entire world from Beijing to Belize can come in. He has turned a secure border into a welcome center.

“Remember in September of 2021, the secretary issued a shocking priorities memorandum. Our country has been shaken as a result of that memorandum, and it has not been forgotten. The memo severely limited who ICE is allowed to arrest – that’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He also revived the ‘catch and release’ program and has abused parole laws.

“In fact, the secretary bragged on MSNBC that he had ‘rescinded so many Trump administration policies, it would take so much time to list them.’ For people who prefer a secure border for our nation and care about our nation’s security, this is an admission of willingness to ignore the law of the land. It also provided an open invitation for illegal immigrants or as the Biden administration calls them, ‘newcomers.’

“After three years of open borders, the number of illegal crossings is up to at least 9.2 million people into this country illegally. Crimes are up. Drug overdose deaths across America are up. What about the number of deportations for criminal illegal immigrants? Well, they’re not being sent back. Deportations are down. Arrests are down. Illegal immigrants are not being detained. Murderers, rapists, other criminals, they’re not being deported. That’s a decision that’s coming out of this administration and the Secretary of Homeland Security. Americans like Laken Riley and Ruby Garcia, they’ve been brutally murdered. America is less safe.

“Secretary Mayorkas claims – he’s come to the Senate and comes to the House and claims – that the border is secure. People laugh knowing how untrue it is. It is a lie to the Senate. A lie to the House. Such a serious matter, though, it’s hard to laugh. Meanwhile, our country is losing control of our borders to the cartels and to the criminals.

“Every fair-minded person knows that these are serious charges. And the Senate must hold a full and fair trial. It is our constitutional duty. The House has done its job. Yet Senate Democrats – each and every one of them – is refusing to do theirs.

“It seems this week that the Democrat leader is scheming to bury these charges against Mayorkas without a full and fair trial. The Constitution demands there be one. The Senate Majority Leader’s actions would turn the Senate from the world’s greatest deliberative body into the world’s quickest dismissal body.

“The Senate Majority Leader is not here on the floor today. He seems to be afraid of allowing the case against the lawless actions of the Secretary of Homeland Security to even be presented to the American people. His plan to bypass the trial breaks the rules, breaks the standards, and breaks the traditions of this body.

“Let us set the record straight. The Senate has always done its constitutional duty. We know the history. The House has sent impeachment articles to the Senate 21 times in the history of this country, and the Senate has never dismissed those articles without the official first resigning. 

“Seventeen of those cases went to trial right here in the Senate and ended in a decision of either guilty or not guilty. Three of the cases were dismissed during the trial. The reason why is that the official resigned or they were expelled before a verdict was reached. One of them never went to trial because the official resigned before the trial began.

“The Democratic Leader doesn’t seem to care about any of this. Not at all. He wants to ignore the charges against Mayorkas without a trial at all. This would be disastrous for the Senate and for our nation.

“So, within the next week, the Senate Democrats must make a choice. Will they provide the transparency that the American people demand? The accountability that the American citizens deserve? Or will the Democrats – each and every one of them – vote to bury these serious charges before the Senate is allowed to hear a single piece of evidence?

“Senate Democrats have now established a history of coddling criminals – people who have come to this country illegally. All hundred Senators have a solemn responsibility to work to keep our nation safe and secure. Without a full and fair trial, there will be no accountability.

“Republicans want the Senate to do what it has always done. Allow the House to present its case, allow the Senate to hold a full trial, and let the American people hear the truth. Holding a full and fair trial is a matter of transparency and accountability. Avoiding a trial would be an act of partisanship at the expense of public trust.”

###