gentleman from -- recognize thes the gentleman from tennessee -- recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. mr. green: i ask unanimous -- i ask unanimous consent that all members have five days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on h.res. 863. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. green: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. green: madam speaker, i rise today to present two articles of impeachment against department of homeland security secretarial han droa mayorkas -- alejandro mayorkas. article 1 charges him with willful and systemic refusal to

comply with the law. article 2 charges him with the breach of public trust. since secretary mayorkas took office, we've all watched the unprecedented crisis a at our -- at our borders unfold. we've seen the chaos. under secretary mayorkas' watch, c.b.p. has reported more than 8.5 million encounters at our borders, including more than seven million apprehensions at the southwest border. even more terrifying is the president 1.8 million known gotaways that border patrol agents detect but are unable to apprehend. millions of those inadmissible aliens are eventually released into our communities. this has never happened before in the history of the country. and it doesn't happen by accident. for nearly a year, the house committee on homeland security conducted a thorough, fair and comprehensive investigation into the causes, costs and consequences of the border crisis. our members saw firsthand numerous parts of the southwest border, spent time with law

enforcement officers on the front lines, and spoke with real americans about how the crisis is affecting them. we also conducted a field hearing and round table on the border that our democrat colleagues refused to attend. burying their heads in the sand as if there wasn't a crisis. we published seven total reports, totaling nearly 400 pages, to which democrats never had a single substantive response. instead, their only response was to simply shout maga louder and louder. and if that's a meaningful response to the millions of americans suffering -- as if that's a meaningful response to the millions of americans suffering from this crisis. we held many hearings at the subcommittee and full committee level and we heard from a variety of witnesses, including former senior d.h.s. enforcement officials, state attorneys general and victims who have been impacted by secretary mayorkas' border crisis. democrats consistently claimed these hearings were a waste of time. tell that to the families of the 150,000 americans who have died

from fentanyl poisoning in 2021 and 2022 alone. throughout this investigation, our subsequent -- and subsequent impeachment proceedings, we found that secretary mayorkas' willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law and his breach of public trust are responsible for this historic crisis. however, for almost a year, however for almost a year democrats turned a blind eye to the crisis while berating us spending what they believe was too much time investigating. the messenger:'s law -- secretary mayor cass' lawlessness. keep that in mind when they claim this impeachment is rushed. the truth is this process has been painstakingly thorough. unlike house democrats we take the use of impeachment seriously. while i do not wish to be standing here presenting these articles, we have exhausted all other options. our oath to the constitution now requires us to exercise this

solemn duty. secretary mayorkas has explicitly refused to comply with the law. he has refused to owe kay the law -- obey the law -- his refusal to obey the law has led to the death of our fellow citizens. and he no longer deserves to keep his job. what's unique here in the history of impeachments is the supreme court just this summer denied the effective states' judicial review on many of these issues, but with the understanding the result of doing so could mean the impeachment of a secretary. in oral argument, justice kavanaugh explained how he understood the position of the biden administration if judicial review was denied saying, and i quote, i think your position is instead of judicial review congress has to resort to shutting down the government or impeachment, or dramatic steps if some administration comes in and says we are not going to enforce laws. or at least not going to enforce

the laws to the degree that congress by law has said the law should be enforced, end quote. in response, the biden administration solicitor general agreed saying, quote, while i think that if those dramatic steps would be warranted, it would be in the face of a dramatic abdication of statutory responsibility by the executive. end quote. today's articles of impeachment outline exactly that, a dramatic abdication of statutory responsibility by secretary mayorkas has occurred. of the articles' 20 pages, six are solely dedicated to the laws second mayorkas has violated, while four more document his lies to congress and the american people. and the violation of his statutory duty to control and guard our borders. we identify numerous unambiguous provisions of the immigration and nationality act he has refused to enforce.

laws requiring him to detain inadmissible aliens and limit his ability to grant people. parole. we also highlight how programs he has created such as various mass parole programs are void of congressional authority. secretary mayorkas' very type of public official, the framers feared, someone who would cast aside the passed by a co-equal branch of government replaced those with his own references, hurting his fellow americans in the process. he has directed the release of millions of inadmissible aliens in the country in violation of the i.n.a. which requires them to be detained. he has abused the statute limiting parole to be issued only on a case by case temporary basis for very specific limited reasons. instead overseeing more than 1.5 million paroles. he's created new categorical programs he in defiance of the statute to further his mass release agenda. he has directed immigration and custom enforcement personnel not

to detain all manner of illegal aliens, including criminal aliens. in his september 2021 enforcement guidance, the secretary even directed that unlawful presence in the country was no longer sufficient grounds for removal and that criminal convictions alone were not enough to warrant i.c.e. attention. this is not about policy differences. we certainly object to secretary mayorkas' policies. but this goes far deeper. according to the democrat-led committees that investigated iran-contra, quote, government officials must observe the law. even when they disagree with it, end quote. or when they think that, quote, congress is to claim for passing laws that run counter to administration policy, end quote. again, we are here because our oath and our duty comp the actions and decisions of secretary mayorkas has left us with no other option than to proceed with articles of impeachment. that is why we must remove him

from office. the time for accountability is now. thank you. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. thompson: madam speaker, i rise in strong opposition to house resolution 863 and the republican sham impeachment of secretary. sergealejandro mayorkas.madam sg here today is a travesty. it's an affront to the united states constitution t will do nothing to solve challenges at our border, and it's a baseless attack on a dedicated public servant. republican members of congress sworn to support and defend the constitution are rejecting the framers' intent and over two centuries of precedent in favor of a politically motivated sham impeachment. republicans have failed to make

a constitutional viable case against impeach. ment neither are the etch imimpeachment charges in h.res. 863 are a high crime and misdemeanor under article 1 of the constitution. impeachment over mere policy disputes was deliberately rejected by the framers and those disputes are best settled in our court system. in fact, the policy disputes identified in articles of impeachment have already been addressed by the courts. the courts have either decided in the biden administration's favor, or the disputes are still working their way through the system. republicans are trying to relitigate court decisions through a sham impeachment, but the constitution doesn't allow that. constitutional experts testified before the committee on homeland security that for a breach of public trust to rise to a high

crime and misdemeanor it would require conduct intended to serve an official's own benefit or the benefit of a foreign power. secretary mayorkas has done nothing of the sort. republicans have misrepresented the law and secretary mayorkas' record to justify this sham impeachment. secretary mayorkas has served our country honorably over 30 years. as a prosecutor and in leadership roles at the department of homeland security. he's been a tireless advocate for the more than 260,000 d.h.s. employees working to secure the homeland every day. he's leveraged all the authorities at his disposal while using every resource provided by congress to secure the border. under secretary mayorkas' leadership, d.h.s. removed record levels of migrants from

the u.s., detained even more people than congress had provided funding for, and prevented record levels of fentanyl from entering our communities. if house republicans were serious about improving conditions along the border, they would provide the department the funding necessary to do so. they have not. at every opportunity republicans have refused to provide resources to the department of homeland security. if house republicans were serious about improving conditions at the border, they would support the bipartisan senate border bill. they have not. republicans take their orders from donald trump. and he told them to reject the senate bill. republicans have been trying to kill the bill before they even knew what was in it. the republican majority is running a do-nothing congress. this sham impeachment effort

isn't really about border security, it would do nothing to solve the border challenges we face. the truth is, the extreme maga republicans running the house of representatives don't want solutions. they want a political issue. house republicans want to distort the constitution and the secretary's record to cover up their inability and unwillingness to work with democrats to strengthen border security. it's about republican politics and subversion of the constitution. bipartisan constitutional law and impeachment experts agree the secretary has not committed an impeachable offense. former secretary of homeland security michael chertoff agrees. even some of my republican colleagues here in the house agree. the gentleman from california, mr. mcclintock, said in a memorandum to house republican colleagues, and i quote, the

problem is that the impeachment articles fail to identify an impeachable crime. unquote. the gentleman from california's right. i suspect some of his republican colleagues agree. even if they won't admit it. secretary mayorkas has faithfully implemented the administration's border policies consistent with the funding congress has provided. just like every other secretary of homeland security before him. democrat or republican. during consideration in the homeland security committee last week, republicans improperly shut down the markup and blocked democrats from offering amendments to the resolution. republicans couldn't bear to consider amendment to their poorly drafted articles of impeachment. they silenced democrats to attempted town entera dose of reality -- attempted to inject a

dose of reality into the proceedings. yesterday before the rules committee republicans again failed to make their case. relying on partisan rhetoric and obvious misinformation before neither the law nor the facts are on their side. the truth is republicans' action show they don't have faith in their own case against the secretary. that's why they lack the courage of their convictions to see their markup to an end. this nonsense has to stop. and it should stop here. republicans need to start doing their work americans sent them here to do. madam speaker, i urge my colleagues to honor their oath to the constitution, listen to the constitutional experts, listen to your own republican colleagues who know h.res. 863 is baseless. drop this sham impeachment. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is

recognized. mr. green: madam speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentlelady from georgia, ms. greene. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for three minutes. ms. greene: i thank the chairman. madam speaker, i rise in strong support of h.res. 863, impeaching secretary alejandro mayorkas. he's guilty of aiding and abetting the complete invasion of our country by buy criminals, gang members, terrorists, murderers, rapists, and over 10 million people from over 160 countries into american communities all across the united states. his willful refusal to secure the border has bankrupted communities, closed down u.s. schools that our children attend, drown drown hospitals and incapacitate law enforcement while empowering criminal cartels and illegal aliens. my democrat colleagues argue

that one cannot be impeached over policy differences. while i argue that breaking our laws is more than just policy differences. 300 dead americans every day from fentanyl poisoning is more than just a policy difference. it's murder. today in my own office narcotics law enforcement officers from georgia told me that seven out of 10 oxycontin or perk set sold on the street are laced with fentanyl and that comes directly across the border from mexico. secretary mayorkas has violated numerous provisions in the immigration and nationality act, including unlawfully directings d.h.s. to mass parole illegal aliens into the u.s. when federal law specifically prohibits this. and unlawfully implementing catch and release policies when federal law specifically mandates the detention and removal of inadmissible aliens.

in fact, detention facilities under mayorkas have been mostly vacant because of such unlawful policies. the largest detention facility in california, which can house almost 2,000 illegals, is currently housing only six illegal aliens. he has violated his oath of office and breached the public trust by willfully refusing to ensure the laws passed by congress and signed into law by the president are faithfully executed as required by article 2 of the constitution. he has allowed over 10 million illegal border crossers to invade our country. approximately two million of whom are known got aways. these are people who have completely evaded u.s. authorities. and are roaming interior of the american communities, assaultings, raping, and murdering americans. and god help us if we have a terrorist attack on our land.

his subversion of the law has resulted in the his subversion of the law has resulted in the high es number of illegal alien encounts for the a single day and the highest number in a sing month and the highest number of illegal alien encounters in a single year, surpassing every national record on each account. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has ex-tired. mr. green: i yield the gentlelady 15 seconds. ms. greene: his willful refusal to enforce the law has resulted in the most egregious national security crisis in the history of our country. democrats are in a quandary. either they must own the policies of murder and crime of american citizens, or they can admit secretary mayorkas has broken federal laws and vote to impeach secretary mayorkas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. mr. green: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you, madam speaker.

though she sits on the homeland security committee, representative marjorie taylor greene has raised doubts about 9/11, to the false assertion that 9/11 was done by our own government. she said that's all true. she also thinks jewish space lasers cause wildfires. she fundraises you have a defunding the f.b.i. she's a person whose advice republicans are taking today on this impeachment. i now yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. schiff. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. schiff: welcome, my colleagues, to another week of impeachment unlimited. having no legislative accomplishments to show for their 14 months in pow eric republicans are voting on yet another pointless resolution. unable to provide any evidence against president biden they have now decided to impeach someone else instead. we have serious challenges at the border, no one denies that.

but these are not serious people. by this standard put forward by this hapless majority, every single d.h.s. secretary would have been impeached. this is a policy and p dispute new york city a high crime or misdemeanor. when an administration official tries to extort a foreign leader into helping them cheat in an election, or leads an insurrection against our government, then impeach them. but until then, stop wasting everyone's time. i have known mr. mayorkas since we were prosecutors together. he was a -- he is a person of great integrity. this impeachment is baseless, unconstitution and should be defeated. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from mississippi -- from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. chairman mccaul. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mccaul: thank you, mr.

chairman. thank you, madam speaker. secretary mayorkas took an oath to protect our nation from all enemies foreign and domestic. he has violated that oath and the public trust. today, i intend to personally uphold the oath of office i swore to to my country. in my 25 years dealing with the border as a federal prosecutor and former chairman of this committee, i've never seen it this broken. that's because of one man's actions. his refusal to enforce the law, his rescission of successful policies like remain in mexico. his breach of public trust. his dereliction of duty, has led to eight million encounters, 300 on the terror watch list. 2.3 million aliens released into the interior, enough to fill 13 states. 200,000 young americans have died due to fenlt nil poisoning. these numbers are clear.

secretary mayorkas is the architect of destruction. and the legal justification for his impeachment is strong. and the supreme court decision, the united states vs. the state of texas, the court examined the statute that mandated, quote, the government shall take into custody any alien that has committed an aggravated felon. it's not discretionary. it's mandatory. by failing to uphold this law, he has released dangerous and violent criminal into our communities and has put every american life at risk. supreme court justice store in 1833 said, quote, where a lord admiral has neglected to safeguard the sea that shall be deemed an impeachable offense. that's exactly the case we have here. secretary mayorkas, charged with defense of air, land, and sea, has failed to defend our borders. the founders clearly believed impeachable offenses included

neglect of duty. violation of public trust. injury to society. when asked before the supreme court if impeachment is a proper remedy, president biden's own solicitor general said, quote, in the face of a dramatic abdication of statutory responsibility by the executive branch, such steps would be warranted, end of coat. -- end of quote. secretary may consider -- secretary mayorkas is guilty of those impeachable offenses. he's destroying the fabric of this nation and today i will be voting to remove him from office. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, secretary mayorkas has invested significantly in stopping dangerous drugs like fentanyl entering the country. and launched several efforts

targeting smugglers, gangs and cartels. under secretary mayorkas' leadership, we have more personnel, technology, infrastructure and resources on our borders than ever. i now yield one minute to the gentlelady from nevada, ms. titus. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. titus: thank you very much. considering this impeachment resolution is the fastest i've seen the house g.o.p. all session, that's because it's been -- there's been no collection of evidence. only the manipulation of it. there's been no meaningful, bipartisan engagement, only partisan political stunts. and there's been no due process. instead it's a deliberate disregard for the basis of our legal system. it has no constitutional precedent or basis, no real backing by senate g.o.p. counterparts who are going to hold the trial. no meaningful engagement with policy, and no support from respected legal scholars, political pundits, nor farmer d.h.s. directors.

history will remember this for what it is. and appease. of the most extreme members of the maga base and put simply, the brown nosing of a man with 91 indictment, several convictions and two impeachments. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: madam speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from oklahoma, mr.berry keen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. >> i rise in support -- mr. brecheen: i rise in support of this bill. as was said, if an unworthy man continue in office of a worthy president, the congress can impeach him and the senate can remove him. this impeachment is not about policy differences, though we have them. it is because secretary mayorkas

refuses to enforce the laws that are part of our nation's fabric. the rule of law matters. nobody is above it. including secretary mayorkas. contrary to what he and the president publicly claim, no new laws are needed to stop this crisis. they have created it. section 212 of the immigration and nationality act already grants them the authority to holler halt. we know that mayorkas is aware of this provision on day five of the biden administration the president suspended entry by those coming from u.k., ireland, brazil and south africa. secretary mayorkas has left us with no other option other than impeachment because he refuses to enforce the law. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you very much. madam speaker, republicans say this impeachment is not about policy disagreements but every argument they make is about policies. secretary mayorkas has taken action to secure the border but

he's used different, more humane policies that are not practical, impeachable. i now yield three minutes to the gentlewoman from massachusetts, democratic whip, ms. clark. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for three minutes. ms. clark: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. we all agree, something needs to be done to fix our broken immigration system but when it comes to doing the work, finding the solutions, house democrats have come to the table, president biden has come to the table, the senate has come to the table. but then, there's the house g.o.p. as the maga extremists hole up our national security priorities, our commitment to our allies, and to our own readiness, supposedly to strike a deal on immigration. the president says, let's get it done. and then he did. instead of pursuing a bipartisan compromise, instead of

strengthening the security of our border, advancing humane solutions, and doing their jobs, they're now impeaching the secretary of homeland security without a single allegation of any impeachable crime? not one. impeaching a cabinet member without any evidence of high crimes or misdemeanors, that is the breach of public trust here. so the plan is to impeach the secretary. and then what? the majority -- will the majority invest in border patrol? no. their dream budget fires 2,000 border patrol agents. just yesterday, speaker johnson rid could the men and women of border patrol for supporting the senate bill saying it's probably because it would give them a fair wage. this majority's contempt for working people, even those whose mission is to carry out border

security, has no bounds. this extreme maga majority has repeatedly rejected funding for technology that is needed to stop the flow of fentanyl. but here we are. the extreme ma tba majority, what are they going to do about the border? only this sham impeachment. and they've told us what the future holds. as one member of across the aisle put it, they oppose action on immigration because it would boost biden against trump. that's all they care about. that's what this sham is about. choosing extremism over country, stunts over solutions, and politics over people. that is a breach of trust we all must reject. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from florida, ms. lee.

ms. lee: i rise today in support of the resolution to impeach secretary alejandro mayorkas. we are here today to address one of the most serious responsibilities that we can undertake as congress. the impeachment of secretary alejandro mayorkas. the committee on homeland security has worked dill subsequently to investigate and to consider the causes and the consequences of the catastrophe at our southern border. and i it has concluded that it is necessary and appropriate to pursue this impeachment. since president biden and secretary mayorkas took office, there have been over 8.3 illegal crossings nationwide. we have seen the devastating effects of human trafficking, of fentanyl trafficking, and what happens when we cede operational control of our southern border to the mexican drug cartel. secretary mayorkas has refused to enforce the duly enacted laws passed by this congress. by doing so, he has endangered

our homeland, a direct violation of his oath of office. even in the face of irrefutable evidence to the contrary, he has tbin false testimony to congress, claiming that the border is secure. he's defied court orders ordering the secretary to abandon the illegal programs and spoils that it has implemented which incentivized illegal immigration. house republicans know that border security is national security. and the crisis at our border is a critical threat to national security and the safety of the american people. secretary mayorkas has willfully and deliberately refused to uphold the laws of the united states. he's violated his oath of office. and he has breached the public trust. congress has a constitutional duty to secure our border and to ensure our communities are safe. we cannot allow an executive branch agency head to defy the lawful authority of congress and of the courts in pursuit of poll sthairs contrary to law and endangering americans.

and that is why secretary mayorkas must be impeached. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you very much. madam speaker, the border is not open. in fact, under secretary mayorkas' leadership this administration has removed, returned, or expelled more migrants in three years than the trump administration did in four years. with that, i now yield two minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. correa, the ranking member on our border subcommittee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. correa: thank you. madam speaker, we have something in common. with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. this country, main street, every one of our districts, has a challenge with fentanyl. we've all witnessed the deaths in our communities. good young men and women. from fentanyl from this scourget

secretary his job look at this graph, seizures of fentanyl, 2018, 2900 pounds. 2023, 27 thousand pounds of fentanyl seized. ladies and gentlemen, i just got back again from visiting the border. and again i asked the men and women in uniform, what do you need from us to double these numbers? simple answer, we want more resources, we want more personnel, more drug-sniffing dogs, we want more equipment. some of those agents were struggling. they were working double shifts. women, moms, men, fathers saying, we don't have time for

our families. we have to find another job. and right now, we have a solution. we have legislation that the senate has worked on with senate republicans and senate democrats and the president supporting a solution that will bring resources to the border. and the majority party here refuses to bring that legislation forward for a vote. who is deer like that on their duty? we must step up and make sure we protect main street and help secretary mayorkas do his job and double these numbers. thank you. i yield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: i yield one minute to the gentleman from alabama. mr. strong: on behalf of the local and state leaders unable to bear the weight of thousands

of illegal aliens. on behalf of the thousands of families who lost loved ones at the hands of illegal immigrants and border patrol agents stripped of their tools to do their job. the situation at the border cannot continue. i have seen it firsthand during my trips to the southern border. mayorkas' refusal to enforce the encouraged millions of illegal yeas and nays yaleens to cross the border. they are being released into the united states. this is in clear violation of federal immigration law. failure to act is not an option. the investigation held by the committee confirmed what every american knew to be true, the actions that we will take today against secretary mayorkas are warranted and utterly urgent. our country is under attack and secretary of homeland security is working against america.

i urge my colleagues to act on this critical time. mr. green: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: madam speaker, if my republican colleagues were serious about the border, they would drop this baseless impeachment and bring up the senate bipartisan border agreement for debate, but they aren't serious about reform. speaker johnson made it clear the bill was dead on arrival before he saw the text of the bill. i now yield one minute to the the gentlewoman from illinois, ms. ramirez. mrs. ramirez: on our first homeland security committee hearing, professor bowman made it clear that policy differences are not a legitimate basis for impeachment. there is no legitimate basis for impeachment, yet here we are.

why? republicans believe persecution is a substitute for policy making. when you can't legislate, you punish, right? persecution has been a go-to, and omar, tlaib and mccarthy, government employees and immigrants and now secretary mayorkas. persecution and punishment does not solve problems. republicans are not interested in policy. they shut us down and killed a supplemental they have negotiated for months. they are deflecting attention from their failure to govern to secure their own re-election. if you are serious, the root cause of migration and ep fentanyl. clearly we are not. mr. thompson: yield 15g seconds. mrs. ramirez: we are not serious about solutions, just chaos.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from north carolina, mr. bishop. mr. bishop: many have said what the issue is, many have mischaracterized it. the issue in the articles of impeachment and should be adopted by the house is not a matter of policy or mal administration or incompetence or neglect and not even a matter of refusal to enforce the law. it was stated aptly in the district court opinion that led to the united states supreme court last summer in united states versus texas. the core of the dispute is whether the executive branch may require its officials to act in a manner that conflicts with the

statutory mandate imposed by congress. it may not. you see, the secretary of homeland security, alejandro mayorkas issued guide lins and administrative law not to detain criminal aliens nor those ordered finally removed. that is what he did. and that was flatly contradictory to statutes passed by the congress in the mid-1990's. we are a nation of laws. the supreme court has said it cannot referee this dispute. it is up to congress. and the congress has but one means in this situation to vindicate the law. it cannot help the situation by shutting down the government, by cutting off funding. there is no new cabinet

secretary to refuse to confirm in the senate. there is one means, the impeachment of the secretary who purported to issue law defying the congress that must result in his impeachment. the if law is to have any force and the congress is to remain of any significance in the jurisprudence of the law of the united states. mr. green: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: republicans highlight the secretary's enforcement guidelines as an example of breaking the law. they fail to mention that the conservative sixth conservative court of appeals, the guidance doesn't violate a single word of the statute. the 6th circuit also found that the provisions of immigration law that republicans frequently cite does not create a

judicially enforceable mandate that the department arrest none citizens. i yield one minute to the gentleman from maryland, mr. ivey. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. ivey: the power to impeach is one of the greatest constitutional powers granted to the house of representatives. this awesome responsibility should be reserved for high crimes and misdemeanors. but house republicans have decided to abuse that responsibility for a cheap political stunt. house republicans have not alleged an impeachable offense. policy disdreements are not impeachable. that does not provide grounds to remove a cabinet official. former republican secretary michael chertoff said mayorkas hasn't committed an impeachable

offense. and not impeachable and fail to quote to high crimes and misdemeanors. republicans offered no constitutional scholars as witnesses during their two impeachment hearings but relied on states attorney general's testimony one of which did not say the word impeachment. this unconstitutional process has been predetermined and unjust since it began. it will lower the constitutional bar for future impeachments and will not make our border more secure. therefore, i urge my colleagues to vote no. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: i yield one minute to the gentleman from arizona, mr. crane. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. crane: article 4, section 4

of the constitution often known as the invasion clause says that this government will protect every state from invasion. that is something that clearly this secretary is incomplete dereliction of duty of and i know he swo swore an oath to protect that constitution. i'm not sure how many americans have to die of fentanyl, ms-13 gang members having their kids raped and murdered. we had one in martha stewart a -- we had one in homeland security. but it is high time that this individual be held accountable for his complete dereliction of duty at our southern border. i urge my colleagues to support this resolution. and i think it tells you

everything when my colleagues says it doesn't matter if you impeach -- another 15 seconds. we are going to have someone come in and do the same exact job. thank you for saying the quiet part out loud. your policies are so bad, no matter who you put in there will cause the same amount of damage. the american people are watching. let's get this done. mr. green: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: members are reminded to direct their comments to the chair. and the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: 90% of fentanyl seized is interdifficulted from ports of entry in vehicles dwriffen by u.s. citizens and lawful citizens. if we invest in our ports of entry instead of pursuing this

sham impeachment we can scan more of these vehicles. i yield one minute to the the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: smoking mirrors has never been the foundation of the constitution. that is all we have today to misrepresent to the american people that we are doing serious work. it comes to mind as to whether or not secretary mayorkas is being charged with articles of impeachment because he is a cuban immigrant who came to the united states with his family as political refugees and spent time fleeing the nazis and came here to do his very best for the american people. and yet, we attempt to charge him with willful violation of the law. operational control of the border means zero persons coming across. this has not been the case as relates to any secretary no matter what administration. and yet, we failed in this

process of false smoking mirrors to allow the secretary to be able articulate any charge that might constitute high crimes or misdemeanors. we fail to provide evidence to support the charges. failed to name -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. ms. jackson lee: failed to name the proper target for against secretaryolicy dispute mayorkas. we cannot in any way to suggest that he violated the law or that he benefited from any aspect of his work. this secretary has been denied due process. this is smoking michiganors. the constitution is true. there has been no high crimes or mids or bribery. this is an impeachment that should be immediately dismissed. i ask my colleagues to vote no.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. green: i yield two minutes to the gentleman, mr. pfluger. mr. pfluger: this is a sad day. sad day that we have to be here, but the framers of our constitution that this could occur. we are going to hear this is a policy difference but this is systemic refusal to enforce the law. egregious breach of public trust. and there are no other avenues here that must be a consequence and accountability and that's why we are moving to impeach peach alejandro mayorkas for endangering our country. what is being allowed to happen is a catastrophe but a national security crisis.

9 million illegal aliens have entered our country since president biden has been in office. 300 people have matched the terror watch list. took less than 20 it took less o do the attacks 9/11 which sent me into 20 years of service to protect our country overseas. yet we're letting the trojan horse into our country that threatens us, yet we have a secretary who refuse tones force the laws on the books. it is the responsible of congress to ensure we are led by individuals committed to upholding the rule of law. the failure to secure the border has been so severe we have to provide accountability. not only is it the system i think refusal to follow the because to but the deconstruction of the rule of

law that will eat away at this country. i'm concern. our country should be concerned. i urge everyone in this house to do something that actually gets accountability, to impeach alejandro mayorkas and get our country secure once again. i yield back. mr. green: may i inquire how much time remains on each side? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee has 37 1/4 minutes. the gentleman from mississippi has 39 3/4 minutes. mr. green: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you very much. madam speaker, daily removals are nearly double what they were compared to prepandemic averages. the vast majority of individuals encountered at the southwest border throughout this administration have been removed, returned, or expelled. secretary mayorkas is enforcing the law. i now yield one minute to the gentleman from california,

dr. ruiz. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. ruiz: thank you. i rise to call out the hypocrisy and extreme lil stunts republicans are displaying with its baseless and unconstitutional impeachment against the secretary of homeland security, alejandro mayorkas. instead of seeking bipartisan solution they voted to cut border security funding, let me repeat, cut border security funding, and are now bringing an impeachment that lacks basis in law just to pull another one of their political stunts. secretary mayorkas has dedicated his career to public various and our country. during his time in the department, he led the development and implementation of daca and led the department's successful response to ebola and zika outbreaks. he's worked tirelessly on combating human traffic and developed an emergency relief program for orphaned youth following the tragic january 2010 earthquake in haiti. secretary mayorkas has done the

work he was tasked to do by the president and more. stop wasting time on yet another extreme political farce. start working with democrats for a bipartisan, real solution. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from mississippi reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: i yield one minute to the gentleman from virginia, mr. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. wittman: i rise today to urge support of h.res. 863, articles of impeachment against homeland security secretary mayorkas. it is clear secretary mayorkas has willfully and systematically refused to comply with u.s. immigration law. an average of 5,000 illegal immigrants are being released into the united states each day which is a flagrant abuse of immigration laws passed by congress, governing the parole, detention and removal of illegal imgrans. for three years, secretary mayorkas has refused to enforce the laws passed by congress.

abused his authority as cabinet secretary. and misled congress and the american people about the crisis and the role his actions and decisions have played in sparking and facilitating it. as a result, we see record amounts of daily fentanyl flowing into our community, rising crime across our country and a massive strain on our localities, school, and community services. since secretary mayorkas' ten uric over 300 individuals on the terrorist watch list have been apprehended by border patrol agents trying to illegally enter the united states at the southern border between ports of entry. cartels in mexico -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. green: 15 seconds. mr. wittman: and cartels across mexico are able to smuggle across a porous southern border. it's led to a complete humanitarian and national security catastrophe. congress must hold the executive branch accountable when they fail to uphold the oath of office and i urge my colleagues to join me in voting in favor of

h.res. 863. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: madam speaker, republicans ignore the fact that no idea mrgs has ever had the resources to detain all border crossers. president trump released over 500,000 people without ever detaining any of them. i now yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york, ranking member of the judiciary, mr. nadler. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. nadler: i rise in oosn to the sham impeachment of secretary mayorkas. this resolution is filled with false and misleading statements that amount to nothing more than policy disagreements. even if it were based in truth, however, policy disagreements are not a legitimate basis for impeachment. impeaching a cabinet secretary is serious, unfortunately, house republicans are not. this sham impeachment ran roughshod over congress. this is not a serious effort.

nor is it a serious resolution. republicans allege that secretary mayorkas should be ill peached simply because he failed to meet the impossible standards set out in our law, standards that no administration, not even president trump's, has ever come close to meeting. for example, they allege that secretary mayorkas has filed detain everyone that the law requires to be held in mandatory detention. but to do so would require congress to appropriate over $35 billion a year, a number 10 time highser than what president trump ever requested. that's why president trump released over 500,000 people at the border and released 1.1 million people from immigration detention into the united states. did we hear from the republicans to impeach those secretaries of homeland security in of course not. president -- republicans never campaigned when president trump used his authority. what's different now?

maybe it's an election year and republicans have no accomplishments to run on? they're cheapening the serious and awesome power of impeachment to score political points. that's shameful. our immigration system has been broken for decades. impeaching a cabinet secretary because you don't like their policies won't repair it. only bipartisan reform can do that. i urge my colleagues to vote no on this resolution and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman -- the gentleman from mississippi reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: i yield one minute to the gentlelady from texas, ms. van duyne. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. van duyne: i rise to support the impeachment of secretary mayorkas. his actions support law breaking and lawlessness and have inflicted a horrificle to on our country. the kind of damage he's done to cities and families is something you expect from a hostile adversary looking to destabilize and destroy america. our cities are overrun, forcing vital services to be cut off or

reduced, shutting down schools to house illegal migrants, turning community centers into refugee camps. all while ignoring the needs of our own citizens. there are more than 110,000 dead americans from fentanyl that's being smuggled by mexican cartels. we see criminal illegal immigrants committing murder, rape, and beating our police in broad daylight. this is far more than a policy difference. this is the death and destruction of our can'try and our people. and i will not stand by and just politely ask the biden administration to please stop the chaos and devastation. in a functioning government, people need to be held accountable when they have deliberatery inflicted harm on our nation and that's exactly what we are doing today. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, if my republican colleagues were worried about the impacts of migration on our local communities, they should

support d.h.s.'s shelter and services program. this is the only program that can provide direct assistance to cities an organizations responding to arriving migrants. instead, they are trying to gut this program and impeach secretary mayorkas, which would accomplish nothing. i now yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. swalwell. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. swalwell: this is not about secretary mayorkas. this is straight up sabotage. maga republicans have never accepted president biden as the president from the day they let an insurrection into this chamber to this day where they're trying to sabotage solution at the border. any shortcomings with mayorkas are your fault. you won't give him the authorities that he needs to carry out more security at the border. and all we've heard for years is noun, verb, border. so you get your border deal.

led by the second most conservative in the senate, and you're walking away from it. you're walking away from it because trump says you can't have it. and this place with you all in charge is looking less and less like the house chamber and more and more like trump's echo chamber. what we need right now is solutions. not chaos. and with you all in charge, you're a party of followers. and with president biden's leadership, democrats continue to show we're a party of leaders. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: i want to remind members that they're to address remarks to the chair. the chair will remind all persons in the gallery that they are here as guests of the house and that any manifestation of approval or disapproval of proceedings is in violation of the house rules. the gentleman from mississippi reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. fallon: thank you, mr. chairman.

thank you, madam speaker. i find it interesting that -- how many democrats or open border caucus member, i apologize for my redundancy there, are willing to house migrants in their own homes, madam speaker. none. zero. nada. they seem to all be for providing sanctuary, provided they don't have to provide it. alejandro mayorkas under oath testified before congress and claimed the border is no less secure than it was previously. does anyone in this chamber actually believe that? does anyone in this country believe that? so let's compare the first three years of president trump and biden's tenures. president trump first three year1, .63 million imlegal crossings. president biden 5.3 million. terror watch list suspects apprehended? president trump, eight in three years. joe biden, 361.

chinese nationals, mostly of military age, military age men, entering illegally, last year under president trump, 450. you should joe biden over 24,000. a 5300 percent increase. no less secure. is that the new math? opioid deaths have doubled. mexican drug cartels are enjoying record profits. alejandro mayor has did this he's weak, he's impotent, he's undermining his own border patrol agents. he's showing the world who he is. he's a sheep in sheep's clothing and the cartel wolves and our enemies across the world are circling. this impeachment is richly deserved and we must fire this bum, this second coming of benedict arnold, forthwith. madam speaker, i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, let's look at the facts. since may 12, 2023, when tower . removed more than 500,000 individuals. that's more people than when donald trump removed in any given year. the border is not open. i now yield two minutes to the gentleman from maryland, mr. raskin, the ranking member of the oversight committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. raskin: thank you, madam speaker. mr. chairman. we are here because the madcap wild goose chase to impeach joe biden has produced no wild geese. even fox news is lampooning the fact that they're own expert witnesses repeatedly say president biden did nothing rock and there are no grounds for impeachment. more than a dozen g.o.p. members in biden majority districts don't want to go anywhere near that fancy production, so the

trump-putin-maga faction, headed up by the distinguished gentlelady from georgia, has been given this worthless trinket of a consolation prize, the opportunity to bring a slapstick impeachment drive against a cabinet member of unimpeachable integrity who has commit nod treason, no bribery, no misdemeanor, nothing indictable or even in-dict-able if you prefer. what makes this farce a tragedy is that secretary mayorkas and others have been working to achieve the border compromise the g.o.p. has been demanding. miraculously they got a bipartisan agreement for billions of dollars more in border patrol officer, immigration judge, fentanyl detection machines, a far tougher border. it was good enough for senator mitch mcconnell and dozens of g.o.p. senators. it was good enough for "the wall street journal." but the house magas would not take yes for an answer. why? because donald trump doesn't

want a border solution, he wants a border problem, nothing else to run on. and vladimir putin certainly doesn't want $60 billion going to the heroic people of ukraine, defying his filthy imperialist invasion. democracy and freedom are under siege and all our colleagues can think to do is sell out our democratic allies and sell out the cause of human rights and impeach a cabinet secretary working diligently to solve the immigration problem that they claim to care about. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: i yield one minute to the gentleman from tennessee, mr. rose. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. rose: secretary mayorkas swore an oath to defend the u.s. constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic. unform it seems as though he

hasn't defended it from a single one. since president biden took office there have been more than 7 million illegal encounters and more than 1.7 million got-aways. not once has he signed a policy or taken an action to discourage this from happening. he has doubled down and endorsed catch-and-release policies, ending title 42 and stopping remain in mexico. this version of our constitution willful disregard of our country's laws and unfeathered dedication to help this crisis has left the house with no other option than to impeach secretary mayorkas. i urge the house to join me in impeaching secretary mayorkas and urge the senate to do the

same. mississippi mississippi madam speaker, i remind my colleagues that they voted to terminate the covid-19 national emergency and thus voted to end title 42. in addition, d.h.s. has no role in ending this policy. i now yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from rhode island, mr. magaziner. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from rhode island is recognized. mr. magaziner: the american people want us to work together to solve our challenges at the border. we could be working together to vote on president biden's proposal of 14 billion that would add over 1,000 border patrol and working with the senate on real border reform until donald trump to stop. instead, we are wasting time and energy on an impeachment with no legal basis just because it's what donald trump wants.

here are the facts. congress has allocated funding for 34,000 beds at detention centers. the average daily census was 37,000. the centers are full. the secretary under the law uses his legal discretion decides to who to detain and release, the same discretion that all of his predecessors have used. 52% of migrants were released. nearly a million people. i didn't hear my republican colleagues calling to impeach that homeland security secretary. this is about one thing. politics. no high crimes, no mids, no treason, no bribery. and i would remind our colleagues our oath is to the constitution and not to donald trump. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is

recognized. mr. green: i yield one minute to the gentleman from oregon, mr. bentz. mr. bentz: it has been said that secretary mayorkas is dishonest and deer like that in his duties and has refused to comply with our nation's immigration laws and instructed his employees not to enforce these laws. he has obstructed inquiries regarding entry of illegal aliens. the constitutional standard for impeachment for secretary mayorkas has been satisfied. i want to commend chair green for his excellent work in obtaining this constitutional matter and following regular order in doing so. i yield back. mr. green: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: despite the republicans want us to believe the courts at the highest level have not found that secretary

mayorkas violating the law and courts are where we go to determine whether cabinet secretary is following the law congress wrote not a partisan impeachment. i yield one minute to the the gentlewoman from texas, ms. escobar. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized. ms. escobar: i rise in strong opposition to the g.o.p.'s political stunt of the day impeaching secretary of homeland security moshings moshings -- alejandro mayorkas. the real problem is on immigration reform. my community el paso has been on the front lines of this issue and living with the consequences of congressional failure to act. our federal personnel, local governments and shelters are all overwhelmed. and republicans continue to withhold vital funding that would help address this issue. as a border legislator, i never met a more committed accessible

cabinet member than secretary mayorkas. he is a great public servant doing everything he can with the limited resources congress has given to him. i invite my republicans colleagues who really want to support this. stop playing games and do your job. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from, mr. guest. guest: i rise today to express my support for impeaching homeland security secretary moshings for reasons outlined in both articles of impeachment, article 2, breach of public trust. secretary mayorkas has repeatedly testified falsely

misleading congress and the american pep. he has had said that the southwest border is secure and his department has operational control of the border. secretary mayorkas in his previous appearances before the department ofhomeland security has told me multiple times testifying while under oath that the border is secure. and i know that time and time again secretary mayorkas has appeared before congress but the united states house of representatives and the u.s. senate and has repeated the security of our southwest border. these declarations, madam speaker, are patently untrue and contradict statements made by both his former border patrol chief. president biden who just recently said and admitted that the border was not secure and he went on to say that the border

has not been secured for almost a decade. madam speaker, secretary mayorkas deals with congress and indicate a lack of transparency and attempt to mislead the public on the true conditions that exist at the border. and we as congress must hold secretary mayorkas accountable. this is a gray day in our history, grave day in this nation and not one we take lightly. however in light of all the facts, i urge my colleagues to join me in voting to impeach secretary mayorkas. i yield back. mr. green: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. thompson: my republican colleagues won't admit that this impeachment is a sham, but their

favorite conservative legal experts will. president trump's impeachment attorney, alan deer shall witnesses accused republicans of quote, distorting the constitution and republicans favorite legal witness, jonathan turley said there is no evidence that secretary mayorkas is corrupt or committed an impeachable offense. i yield one minute to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. menendez. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. menendez: i rise today to oppose the partisan sham impeachment proceedings against a public servant secretary alejandro mayorkas. he has done his job while operating within a broken immigration system that this congress has refused to fix. instead of working with house democrats and the biden administration on serious solutions, house republicans are

focused on one thing apiecing former president trump. this is an unconstitutional abuse of power. policy differences are not grounds for impeachment. even worse are the alleged facts that they are bassed on. house republicans worked with groups for center of immigration studies, a southern law poverty designated hate group. when i introduced an amendment it was rejected once in homeland and once in rules because republicans don't want americans to know -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. >> ant thy migrant hate groups form the case that we are listening to today. i urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote no. thank you. and i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi reserves. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. green: i yield one minute to the gentleman from arizona. mr. biggs: you know james ayerdale talking about this impeachment clause saying the power of impeachment are bringing great offenders to punishment a crime that is not easy to describe but for instance corruption. its exercise, the impeachment will arise from acts of great injury to the community and such cannot be reached by an ordinary tribunal. it is necessary here because what you have is a secretary who came in to judiciary. given the language from the safe

and secure -- of 2006 said the border is under operational control. he said no, we have redefined it ourselves. we are comfortable with the new definition. that is a violation of the separation of powers. same secretary to tells his i.c.e. agents you cannot -- mr. green: additional 30 seconds. mr. biggs: he tells the i.c.e. agents you cannot remove 1.2 million people who had due process through the courts and andtive removal orders. he said we don't have to adhere to title 8. that has resulted in great injury to our communities. and that is why he must be impeached because he falls in the definitions that one of the founders said and he is right on the money and i urge everyone to support this movement to

impeach. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from mississippi. mr. thompson: the deficient thinkings of operation control in the secure fence act of 2006 has never been achieved under any administration including the trump administration. this is not grounds for impeachment. i now yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. garcia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlemanfrom california is recognized. mr. garcia: the the majority wants to attack president biden and secretary mayorkas the insane leader claims that immigrants like me and i quote pollute the blood of this country. donald trump's rhetoric is like hitler's and he wants the chaos to continue. border patrol apprehensions more

than tripled in the last few months. let's remember donald trump and maga. donald trump wants to build alligator motes and shoot migrants in the legs and maybe electrify the fence. these are cruel and ridiculous ideas but proposal of donald trump and the maga right. this political stunt should fail and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. green: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from louisiana, mr. higgins. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. higgins: i thank my colleague, chairman of the homeland security committee. and i respect my colleagues across the aisle who have voiced their opposition. it's important that we clarify the legacy that some of us would

condemn by impeaching the secretary responsible for this legacy and my contrast the legacy that my colleagues who oppose the impeachment of secretary mayorkas will support. 300,000 americans dead from cartel drugs. . . . . 100,000 teenage boys and girls lost in the system across the filthiest corners of the criminal organizations in our cities, american sovereignty disintegrated and american soil lost to drug trafficking and cartel bases. millions of single military aged men from over 100 countries, unvetted and released into our country and creeping in every corner of the american society, every city, every town.

our schools overrun by illegals granted free access to american education, infrastructure, and hundreds of reports with no room left for our own children. hundreds of thousands of violent criminals released into our nation despite federal law stating d.h.s. shall detain known criminals who enter america illegally. 1,000 or more known or suspected terrorists allowed to pass freely into the heart of our nation, into my state, into yours. this is the legacy of alejandro mayorkas and by our oath we must impeach this man who has presented an arrogant, defiant tone of denial and lies to congress for three years, seemingly content or even proud to destroy america day by day. so it is that on this day, it shall be written in the historical record of the peoples

house that secretary of department of homeland security alejandro mayorkas has been impeached. so shall it be written, so shall it be done. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. my republican colleagues are starving d.h.s. of necessary border resources while accusing secretary mayorkas of not doing his job. house republicans refuse to consider the white house's $13.6 billion border supplemental border request that would pay for more offices and detention beds. i yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from washington, ms. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes.

ms. jaypal: i rise against this resolution to impeach secretary mayorkas. it has no evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors. are we really debating impeaching a cabinet secretary because house republicans don't like the policies that he advances under a democratically elected president? far from alleging true high crimes and misdemeanors, this resolution relies on the same tired and untrue republican talking points that democrats have demonstrated for months are not true. with this marjorie taylor greene sham impeachment resolution, the majority is bending to the will of the most extreme members of their conference simply because they don't like the policies that secretary mayorkas is pursuing. secretary mayorkas is an excellent and dedicated public servant working tirelessly to protect our national security

and to address a broken immigration system. and this republican congress, the least productive congress in the history of the united states, having passed only 27 bills that have been signed into law, despite over 700 votes in this body is simply trying to distract the american people from the fact they're not doing a single thing to address the lives of ordinary americans across this country. i keep thinking that the house cannot debuts itself further -- debase itself further. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. biggs: i recognize mr. ciscomani for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. ms. ciscomani: thank you for yielding me time.

the house is pursuing impeachment because there's no option left. secretary mayorkas has abandoned his job and he has abandoned the american people. as the charges describe, the secretary has willfully and systematically refused to comply with the law. he's put our communities and our country at risk by doing so. this is not an action we take lightly. the last time a cabinet secretary was impeached was in 1876. this is a historic impeachment for someone with historic failures. the time has ran out for secretary alejandro mayorkas to be able to do his job. in order to secure our communities, protect our homeland, and keep americans safe, secretary mayorkas has got to go. and with that, i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you very much. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to include in the record op-eds from frequently conservative commentators from mr. dershowitz despite his policy disagreements with the biden administration. i also include in the record january 30,2024 editorial by the conservative "wall street journal" entitled "impeaching mayorkas achieves nothing." the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: mr. speaker, i recognize the gentleman from california for two minutes, mr. issa. the speaker pro tempore: the distinguished gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes. mr. issa: thank you, mr. speaker.

this is so frustrating because today we are in fact impeaching a pawn. we're impeaching a pawn for the president. the secretary is being impeached for what he did wrong. he is in fact guilty as alleged. but in fact, he is just part of the high crimes and misdemeanors of the president of the united states. it was the president's decision to undo policies that were working and make a systematic change that in my district with over 55 miles of mexican border, my border agents of reduced to being uber drivers for everyone coming over the border. i'm perfectly willing to listen to people say well, this is a policy difference, but it is not. to faithfully execute the mission, you can have differences in how to do it.

to thwart the very execution of that mission which secretary mayorkas has done is in fact a impeachable offense. i have some sympathy for him because i believe he's justo baying the orders of his boss but that's been said before. that excuse has been used. the fact is he took a oath. he must faithfully execute that oath. if he cannot because the president will not let him do it, then he needs to resign. as we impeach the first cabinet officer in well over a hundred years, the fact is, he should have resigned rather than to do things which were adverse to the constitution, adverse to his oath. but upon the orders and duty of the president, the president can be wrong. the president can order high crimes and misdemeanors. the president can be guilty of them. this president is in fact guilty of that which we are impeaching

the secretary for today, but so is the secretary. and for that reason, i urge a yes vote and yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: may i inquire how much time remains for each side? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee has 22 1/2 minutes. the gentleman from mississippi has 24. the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: thanks very much. this baseless sham impeachment fails to articulate a single charge that rises to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors. the constitutional standard for impeachment, mere policy differences do not amount to impeachable offenses. i ask unanimous consent to include in the record a letter by imminent constitutional scholars opposed to this political stunt as well as a "washington post" op-ed by joshua metz and norm issen,

entitled "why impeaching secretary mayorkas is against the constitution." i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from oklahoma. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. >> earlier in this debate the gentleman says there's been more fentanyl seized at the border than ever before. ms. bice: what he didn't say is there's more fentanyl deaths than ever before and it's a direct result of what's happening across our southern border. i rise in support of the impeachment of secretary alejandro mayorkas. this is one of the most solemn and consequential actions the united states house of representatives can take. and i do not take it lightly. however, under the watch of

secretary mayorkas, we've witnessed the degradation of our border and the willful denial of following laws. fentanyl is the leading cause of death for those 18-45. terrorists on the f.b.i. watch list are being released into the country and the cartels are a multibillion dollar business. the crisis we face today is a threat to every single american causing our communities to be less safe, and it is a direct result of secretary mayorkas' actions. a clear message must be sent to the executive branch that they no longer get to break the law without consequences. secretary mayorkas must be held accountable. with that, mr. speaker, i yield.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma yields back. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you very much. mr. speaker, today three bipartisan former secretaries of homeland security wrote to speaker johnson voicing their opposition to impeach secretary mayorkas. they agree that impeachment for a policy is not constitutionally permissible. they further warn that allowing impeachment of cabinet officials over policy differences would jeopardize our national security. i ask unanimous consent to include in the record the letter from secretary chertoff, napolitano, and johnson. and i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york, mr. goldman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes. mr. goldman: thank you, mr. speaker, and thank you to my friend, the ranking member, for

yielding. i rise today to condemn this rushed, baseless, sham impeachment of secretary mayorkas that will go down in history as one of congress' darkest moments. the republican argument for impeachment boils down to their view that secretary mayorkas has intentionally caused the influx of immigrants over our southern border. never mind that even if true, this is not a high crime or misdemeanor that has ever been used before in the history of our country. never mind that no court has found the secretary or the department of homeland security to have violated the law. and in the united states versus texas case, which my friends on the other side of the aisle like to cite so frequently actually reversed a district court

hearing and held there must be discretion given to the secretary as there has been given to every single department secretary for 27 years. and never mind that every one of those department of homeland security secretaries has interpreted the law the exact same way that secretary mayorkas has, never mind that republicans have sued him to stop him from implement hadding the policy -- implementing the policy changes that the administration tried to put into effect at the border. never mind the republicans are impeaching him for failing to address the problems at the border while, while he has spent months negotiating a bipartisan bill in the senate to do just that. the reason for this partisan stunt is simple, donald trump and house republicans want to use the border as an election year issue rather than actually solve the problems through

necessary legislation. i urge my colleagues who care about the constitution, the rule of law and this institution to vote no. you will otherwise come to regret this and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi reserves. mr. green: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from michigan, general breg man -- bergman. mr. berg: once described the crisis of more than 1,000 border cries sees per day. in december of last year we averaged 10 times perhaps most worryingly, saw 860,000, just a little bit shy of a million

got-aways, border crossers who were detected, but were never apprehended. that's nearly a million potential felons, cartel members, terrorists and drug traffickers allowed into our country. mr. bergman: this crisis has been aided and abetted through the dereliction of duty of secretary mayorkas. as the house homeland security committee has uncovered, mayorkas has violated, subverted and ignored multiple laws by congress while ignoring court orders and lying to congress and the american people. the evidence of his wrongdoings

is damning. it goes well beyond incompetence and his actions which have put our nation at extreme risk cannot, cannot go unanswered. i urge my colleagues to support this resolution. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: republicans are exploiting impeachment power to distract from their inability to pass legislation. here's what republican representative chip roy said in november, quote, i want my republican colleagues to give me one thing, one that i can go campaign on and say we did. one. explain to me one material meaningful, significant thing the republican majority has done. i now yield one minute to the

gentleman from new york, democratic leader, honorable hakeem jeffries. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. jeffries: let me thank the distinguished the gentleman from from the great state of mississippi for yielding for his leadership, for his dignity, for his deeseens shy and continued defense of our. mr. sempolinski: in the face of the extreme attacks coming from the other side of the aisle. mr. speaker, i rise today in strong opposition to this political stunt, this reckless republican effort to impeach secretary mayorkas. let's be clear. secretary mayorkas is a good man, a patriotic man, and a

hard-working man doing the best he can under very difficult circumstances. that's not an impeachable offense. extreme maga republicans have produced no evidence that secretary mayorkas has engaged in a high crime or misdemeanor, no evidence that secretary mayorkas has engaged in an impeachable offense. and no evidence that secretary mayorkas has broken the law or violated the constitution. not a shred of evidence, not a sin tila of evidence, nothing. but extreme maga republican chaos and confusion. and the effort to avoid doing the hard work necessary to find

common ground, to actually address the challenges at the border. what do these impeachment articles have to do with the issue of addressing our broken immigration system? nothing. what do these impeachment articles have to do with building a healthy economy tore every day americans? nothing. what do these impeachment articles have to do with addressing the inflationary challenges and the affordability issues that the american people are experiencing day after day as we work to continue to emerge from a once in a century pandemic that shut down the economy? absolutely nothing. extreme maga republicans have spent this entire congress not

advancing any ideas, acting on any agenda, deciding to work together with us to solve problems for the american people and so you've brought articles of impeachment that are not anchored in reality. you have brought articles of impeachment for one simple reason, because you really want to impeach joe biden. that's what you were directed to do by the puppet master, the former president of the united states, donald trump. you really want to impeach joe biden, but you realize that that is politically unpopular. and so you have brilliantly come up with in your minds, plan b. let's go after secretary mayorkas. no evidence that he's engaged in

wrongdoing, committed a crime or violated the constitution, but let's go after secretary mayorkas. maybe that will satisfy the quest for revenge of the puppet master, because when the puppet master, donald trump says jump, extreme maga republicans say how high. we just got evidence over that the last few weeks. maga republicans have been lecturing america that we have to deal with the challenges at the border. we agree, a bipartisan process has been underway in the senate for months to try to fix our broken immigration system. but as soon as donald trump says no, we actually don't want to do anything about the challenges at the border because politically that might not be good for us, you've walked away from working

together in a commonsense fashion to fix our broken immigration system. instead, what you have to offer the american people is this sham impeachment, this political stunt, this waste of time. but you will not fool the american people. you will actually be held accountable for your inaction and your affirmative-leaning in to doing things that don't advance progress in any way shape or form for the american people. no reasonable american can conclude that you're making life better for them with this sham impeachment. but you will live with this like a scarlet letter. it may succeed, it may not. secretary mayorkas should wear this like a badge of honor.

it's worthless. it's flake and fraudulent and foolish and i urge everyone to vote no so we can get back to doing the real business of the american people. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: members are reminded to direct their comments to the chair. the gentleman from mississippi reserves. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. green: i yield three minutes to the the gentlewoman from north carolina, mrs. foxx. ms. foxx: i thank the gentleman for yielding and his great work. secretary mayorkas career is on the chopping block where it rightfully belongs. he has failed to apply the laws that would stop this invasion at the southern border. to those who claim this impeachment is for purely political purposes, you are dead

wrong. this is upholding the rule of law that governance our republic, the same rule of law that secretary mayorkas has ignored and information saken every day. he has had opportunities to enforce the laws that are on the books but has chose i don't know not to. he has earned his own impeachment. let's be clear our constitutional system is predicated on the idea that congress creates laws and the executive branch enforces those laws. allowing this abuse of our constitutional system to go unchecked could spell the beginning of the end for our republic. i am proud to serve as a co-sponsor of these impeachment articles. the rule of law must be restored at the border immediately. and with that, i yield back my time to the gentleman from tennessee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back.

mr. green: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mississippi mississippi republicans use the language of invasion and great replacement theory. but, look, invasion in the constitution means invasion during an act of war by a foreign nation or narks from -- snarks from within. i direct your attention to federalist paper 43. the entry migrants of escaping crisis for a better life is not invasion. i now yield -- i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. green: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from texas, chairman arrington. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman is recognized. mr. arrington: just a comment about this not being an invasion. no honest or objective american from sea to shining sea could characterize what is happening at our southern border as an invasion and destroying our country and because of the willful neglect and the dereliction of duty and because of the faithlessness to this constitution and first job to provide a common defense. i thank chairman green for restoring the dignity and integrity of the impeachment process. i think it is important that we are careful that we make the fullness of due process an important feature restoring what has happened over the last two impeachments. this is a year-long process. and i appreciate your fidelity to the constitution and integrity of this institution.

bottom line, mr. speaker, i believe that the impeachment clause in the constitution according to our founders was to give remedy for this very circumstance to remove someone who had violated their public trust in a way that resulted in systemic injury to society. chairman green, thank you for your leadership. i stand with you. this is the right and responsible thing to do in faithfulness to the constitution and the protection of the america n people and sorchtd of the greatest nation in human history. i yield back. mr. green: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: the extreme maga republican stunt to impeach secretary mayorkas is baseless. the democratic staff of the committee on homeland security

thoroughly documented the failures in fact and law in the articles of impeachment contained in house resolution 868. i ask unanimous consent that it be included in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. thompson: i yield to the gentlelady from texas, two minutes, ms. jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: in the time we have had to debate one of the most sacred and deliberative responsibilities of the united states congress and that is impeachment proceedings, there has been not been one i oatha truth and/or facts that suggest that secretary mayorkas is in fact guilty of the articles of impeachment against him. one, the willful violation of the law, and the benefit to himself from anything that he might have done or that he did

not do. but what it has done is given to this nation, a nation of laws and nation of immigrants the sense that you cannot flee naziism, cannot flee cuba and for more than two decades come to this country to serve your beloved adopted country. you cannot be the u.s. department of justice attorney or deputy secretary and now the secretary of homeland security without those who find it strange to have you lead in this way with your diversity. this is a question of stunts over solutions. the constitution was created to create a more perfect order and that is that under that constitution, precious rights fall under the fifth amendment and 14th amendment. due process. let me say, mr. speaker, this secretary of homeland security was not allowed to bring his own

witnesses. the majority did not allow the minority to have its day of witnesses. there were no constitutional scholars who pointed to the facts in large numbers as they would have that this is in fact a fraud and froth with misrepresentations. operational control is zero people crossing the border. that means they're not crossing for entertainment or business, but that they are just there. this is wrong, this is wrong-headed, this is a stunt and does not bequeath or equal to the constitution which is to create a more perfect union. vote against these articles of impeachment. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from mississippi reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from montana, mr. zinke.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. zinke: montana is about the same size as here to chicago plus two miles. it's a long, long border. and the few b people we have are generally deployed down south. so my friend and gentleman from new york said what evidence do we offer. what evidence of negligence? what evidence of wrongdoing? i'd say it's pretty easy to find. it's found in every street, every county, every state across this nation. the evidence is found in every fentanyl pill and death. the evidence is found in every woman that's raped along our border. the evidence is found in every child trafficking case and in every city to include billings,

chicago and washington, d.c. he it's found in every evidence of children being sex trafficked. and i can go on. the evidence of negligence is the willful and blind turning of this horror that we have on our southern border. our northern border, while not discussed a lot is wide open, as this country doesn't have a border. and in montana this administration can't even prevent a balloon. so the evidence is clear, compelling, and not in dispute. the lack of action and blindful and willingness to do nothing is deserving no less than impeachment. mr. speaker, i yield back.

the gentleman from the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from mississippi. mr. thompson: mr. mayorkas is doing his job by the resources adotted by this -- adotted by this department. congress never appropriated sufficient resources to detain all individuals who should be detained under the republicans' reading of the law. i now yield three minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. castro. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. castro: thank you. this impeachment against secretary mayorkas is a sham. the process was a sham. the charges are a sham. you might wonder if that's the case, why go through all this trouble? well, last november, a colleague of mine from the state of texas stood up in this chamber and asked for one meaningful

accomplishment that the republican congress has accomplished this session. the answer was nothing. that colleague was not a democrat on this side of the aisle but a republican, a republican who asked the question whether somebody could name one meaningful accomplishment. so the answer to my question is why does this happen when you have no record of accomplishment to run on, nothing on education, nothing on health care, nothing about creating jobs, nothing on the environment, nothing about keeping people safe. this is what you do. you put on a circus. that's why we're here today. if you need an example, let's look to the last few days for years, republicans have used immigrants as political

scarecrows. using them like scarecrows to put up in the face of americans and scare americans that every single one of these people, including the 6-year-old child is coming to harm you and hurt you. and because they have no positive policy solutions, man, they sell that really hard. you hear it on every radio interview, every television interview, you hear it on television on fox news, every single place they use these people to scare americans. that's how they want to win. that's why we're here. because there's nothing else, nothing else left. and on the border -- i would as- mr. thompson: additional 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. castro: even when president biden made the comment he'd be

willing to shut down the border because it's overwhelmed, the republican speaker says that that proposal that would allow for it, what they've been asking for supposedly for years, they say it's dead on arrival, they're not going to do it. this is a show trial. it's a sham. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from mississippi reserves. mr. green: i yield two minutes to mr. izel. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> i spent time as a sheriff and 42 years as a law enforcement officer. if i hadn't done my job as a sheriff, i would have been fired and removed from office. mr. speaker, secretary mayorkas has not done his job. he has willfully ignored immigration laws passed by the congress and allowed our

southern border to turn into utter chaos. his breach of the public trust cannot go unanswered. mr. ezell: i vote to hold him accountable in committee last week and will do so today on the floor. i urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this impeachment and hold secretary mayorkas accountable for his actions. and with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you very much. mr. speaker, i know yield two minutes to the gentleman from california. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes. >> i rise to oppose this impeachment of secretary mayorkas by extreme maga republicans. house republicans failed to meet the constitutional standard for impeachment. they've failed to provide evidence for high crimes and

misdemeanors because no evidence exists. mr. barragan: the republicans ramp about the challenges at the southern border and the only plan is to remove the person from the room working on a bipartisan basis to get tough on border policies i don't agree with? republicans are not serious about border security, this is all about politics for them. they've consistently opposed legislation to increase funding for more border patrol agents at the southern border, more customs and border protection, more money to combat fentanyl from coming across the southern border, something they love to talk about but don't want to put in resources to make sure they're not coming over and even said no to $1 billion in i.c.e. detention beds. this is a republican talking point. and they've said no to this, too. so why are we wasting floor time on political games with the

fact-free impeachment resolution instead of legislation to improve the lives of americans? because house republicans can't govern. they want to distract from their weekly embarrassments. their own members admit they haven't accomplished anything. this sham impeachment is not a accomplishment but another embarrassment because they're a do nothing congress. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from mississippi reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: may i inquire how much time is remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee has 12 1/2 minutes. the gentleman from mississippi has 12. mr. green: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. green: i'd like to address some of the misinformation that's been provided by my colleagues on on the other side

of the aisle. they said republicans cut border patrol. it's been the administration that brought district of columbia decrease -- brought decreasing requests and we've given them more than they asked for. our bill, house resolution 2 would provide 3,000 new border patrol agents and the supplemental request by the president is like 1,400. you can't say we're resourcing less when we're providing numbers for more. that's just disinformation. it's false. this notion that seizures are up, if you pour more water through a small pipe, you're going to catch -- there's more volume coming at the fence, they're going to seize more, i get that.

but tell me why a hit of fentanyl went from $95 to $28 a hit when this president took office? it's because the supply and demand of fentanyl. it's supply and demand curve. and that's because it's pouring across our southern border. it's pouring across the southern border because cartels are jamming folks through the crossing sites and border patrol agents are having to move off the border to control that and we have a wide open border and have shown this in our five phases of investigation, videos of camouflage wearing, carpet shoe wearing people with backpacks full of drugs coming through the remote parts of the border. to suggest that just because seizures are up somebody is doing their job? that's meaningless. i want to make a point here because several people have said if we were concerned about border protection, we would bring up the senate negotiated

bill. well, you know, i thought they had to pass it over there before we could bring it up. i thought you had to actually pass -- i haven't heard the bill has even passed the senate. so this ago youization we -- accusation somehow we aren't for border patrol because we haven't taken up this bill is false because it hasn't even passed the senate yet. i heard someone say secretary mayorkas has done his job. the last poll said 85% of americans think the secretary is failing. yeah, keep singing that song. we've been at this for almost a year. rushed? some gentleman said no court ruled mr. mayorkas is not disobeying the law? the fifth circuit court did rule. and then they said it's been overturned. and no, they decided they aren't

going to decide and said you don't have standing here. so the case wasn't technically even heard. you don't have standing, have a nice day. to suggest that that was overturned -- the fifth circuit court's ruling on the lawlessness of this secretary is just wrong. it's wrong. i now yield two minutes to the gentleman from mississippi, mr. guest. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. guest: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to push back and tell you what is happening here is not political theater as my friends on the other side of the aisle wish to make this. the democrats have sought to blame republicans saying that our inaction has helped cause this border crisis, but i will tell you that nothing is further from the truth. almost a year ago, this body

passed h.r. 2, a border security bill. a border security bill that would find a record number of customs and border patrol agents, a bill which would give raises to those men and women who are there on the frontlines trying a bill which would invest in technology to stop the illegal flow of drugs coming across our borders, a border which would have started wall reconstruction. that bill has sat in the other chamber and sat in the senate and schumer has refused to bring that bill to the floor. this body also passed the homeland security appropriations bill, giving the homeland security department more money than that department has ever received. we funded those additional agents. we funded those pay raises. we funded additional detention beds.

and what has happened to our proposings bill? it also sits in the senate waiting for the senate to take action. and today my friends across the aisle, they seek to hide behind this senate bill that was crafted behind closed doors in the cover of darkness, a bill that did not include anything from the house of representatives, did not include homeland security chairman mark green or ranking member bennie thompson. three senators out of 100 sat down and crafted a bill. mr. green: another minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for an additional minute. guest: that bill with no input on behalf of the house of representatives. we are now supposed to adopt that bill before it even passes the senate. i want to give you a number, mr. speaker. that number is 370,000.

that is the number of immigrants who came into our country last month alone. that's not a year, that's not six months. that is a single month, 370,000. yet our homeland security secretary continues to maintain that the border is secure. and my friends across the aisle seek to blame republicans for this crisis. their blame is misplaced. if they want to blame someone what is happening the on the southwest border, they need to look in the mirror and look at what their secretary and president has done. they can no longer blame republicans for their failures. and i will close with this, mr. speaker, if we are unable to hold secretary mayorkas for his

failures, for his failure to enforce the law we can hold no one accountable. secretary mayorkas must be impeached. mr. green: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi. mr. thompson: the administration is enforcing the law. i.c.e. is detaining over 38,000 people, 4,000 more than congress has provided funding for. if republicans want d.h.s. to detain more people, they should provide the funds that the administration has asked for in the supplemental request. former president trump, they cheered the doubling of drug seizures and now view it as a problem. this is hypocrisy at its finest. d.h.s. has seized more fentanyl and arrested more criminals for

fept nil-related crimes in the last two years than in the previous five years. this impeachment has been a preplanned political stunt from the beginning. i request unanimous consent to include in the record a "new york times" article detailing how secretary of homeland security -- excuse me, i request unanimous consent to include in the record "new york times" article detailing how homeland security committee chairman mark green promised donors that the house would impeach secretary mayorkas prior to launching any inquiry. get the popcorn, he said. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: i would yield to myself as much time as i would

consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. green: mr. speaker, i think that most of my colleagues here and a lot of people back home certainly know that i had the unbelievable privilege to introduce saddam hussein on the night of his capture. and as i was sitting there talking to saddam hussein i asked him why he invaded kuwait and gave me justifications about who owned which oil field and he pointed to the palm of his hand, all of civilization comes from the tigris and euphrates river. what he was saying he was the king of the world. how does a person get there. the old adage comes to mine, absolute power, if you get tyranny. our founders were brilliant and

following that they would divide power out and separate three branches of and separate power between the federal government and the states, local governments. but they did develop three equal and separate branches of government with the legislative branch writing the laws and the executive branch executing the laws and in the iran-contrahearing, the democrats said you can't pick and choose which law you want to enforce. also fascinating that you know, here we are, they say it's about policy, this is about a systemic, planned mechanism to undo the immigration laws passed before just because the current secretary doesn't think that ought to be. he is supposed to execute those

laws. criminal felons and he has directed his employees not to do that. violating the laws passed by this body, telling this separate but equal branch of government, i don't care what you say or have passed as law, i don't care that you represent the voice of the american people. i'm the guy who knows the best way to do it and i'm going to do it my way. that is the road to tyranny. that is power and one man's hands and that is not what our constitution says it's supposed to be. and he took an oath to that constitution to defend that constitution that says this branch writes, that branch executes. he has violated his oath of office. he has subverted the laws that this body has passed and thus basically said i don't care about the congress.

that is unacceptable. and whether he were a republican or a democrat, standing that way, i would be here today doing everything i could to remove him from office, because when i was 17 i took an oath to the constitution and i was willing to take a bullet for the people of this country and he throws it in the garbage. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mississippi mississippi even some house republicans have acknowledged that there is no constitutional basis for impeachment. representative mcclintock called this effort an unconstitutional abuse of power and reckless partisan and unserious. representative buck said, it's he not an impeachable offense.

this is a policy difference. besides failing to articulate a single charge that would meet the constitutional impeachment standard of high crimes and mids, this sham impeachment has been marred by procedural failures. i ask unanimous consent to include in the record documentation of those procedural failures. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from mississippi reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: i have no more speakers and am prepared to close after the gentleman from mississippi closes. mr. thompson: i have no more speakers and am prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. thompson: i yield myself the balance of my time. mr. speaker, the statements from the other side this afternoon have misrepresented the facts

and the laws of this baseless sham impeachment. this extreme maga republican majority is about stunts rather than solutions. this political stunt is about play indicating extreme elements within the republican conference rather than doing what's right for america. because it's clear that republicans have failed to make the case for impeachment, they have tailed to articulate a single high crime or misdemeanor, the other side of the aisle reeks of desperation. sadly, many republicans appear willing to undermine the constitution they claim to hold dear to achieve cheap political points. i am hoping my colleagues across the aisle will join us in upholding the oath we all swore to the constitution. i urge my colleagues to reject

house resolution 863. vote no on this sham impeachment. and with that, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. green: i yield the balance of my time. as you heard the evidence that is compelling. the constitutional history and the framers' intent are clear, we the people representatives have no option but to exercise this duty when executive branch officials refuse to comply with the laws we have passed, imperil the constitutional order and this historical record is unambiguous, the framers believed that executive pramp who failed the constitution should no longer hold office. secretary mayorkas refused to comply with the law and lied to congress and breached the public

trust and in closing, my question to my colleagues is this if secretary mayorkas plate ant disregard for the laws we have passed is not enough to warrant action, why are we here? what is the point of passing laws if we awe lot the executive branch to violate those laws with impunity? do we care for our responsibilities and allow an official to defile laws passed by the people's house. that would be dangerous precedent and abdication of our duty. and opening our border to migrants and breaching the trust. our constitution and our constituents. it is therefore incumbent upon us on this will solemn day to fulfill our ocean to the constitution and exercise the power to impeach. i urge my colleagues to join

me. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee yields back. all time for debate has expired. the previous question is ordered on the resolution as amended. further consideration of house resolution