WASHINGTON — He judgment in it Senate against the Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States, Alejandro Mayorkas, for the immigration crisis on the border with Mexico began this Wednesday at the request of the Republicans, but it is expected that the chamber, controlled by the Democrats, will reject it.
The trial began by swearing in senators as jurors while Democrats, who have the majority in the Upper House, seek to end the case before the arguments even begin.
In the middle of an election year, migration has become one of the key issues in the campaign against Democratic President Joe Biden, with his predecessor, Republican Donald Trump (2017-2021).
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will seek to dismiss the trial, arguing that the two accusatory articles presented by the Republican representatives “do not meet the standards for high crimes and misdemeanors” and this could set a dangerous precedent, according to the Democratic senator who seeks to keep the Biden administration official in office.
“For the sake of the integrity of the Senate and to protect impeachment for the rare cases when we really need it, senators should dismiss today’s indictments,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said as he opened the Senate session.
Millions have entered
More than 9 million migrant encounters at the border have been recorded by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) since January 2021, with the arrival of Democrat Biden to the White House.
Republicans accuse Mayorkas, 64, of causing an immigration crisis on the US-Mexico border and have launched impeachment proceedings against him.
In mid-February, the minister was indicted in the House of Representatives, where the conservatives have a majority.
It was the first time in 150 years that a high-ranking cabinet official was impeached. It only happened in 1876 with Secretary of War William Belknap, accused of corruption, but he resigned before the procedure, called “impeachment” in English, ended.
On Tuesday, the accusation against Mayorkas was officially sent to the Senate, which must, as the Constitution requires, try the minister.
The procedure formally began in the afternoon, but Democrats consider that Republicans are using the minister as a scapegoat and will dismiss him, despite evidence of the immigration crisis on the border and in different cities in the country.
Schumer has pledged to do everything possible to expedite the trial and dismiss it, perhaps as soon as Wednesday.
The Constitution establishes that Congress can impeach the president, a minister or federal judges in cases of treason, corruption or other serious crimes and misdemeanors.
Waste of time
Alejandro Mayorkas has repeatedly rejected the Republicans’ accusations and accused them of “wasting precious time and taxpayers’ money.”
But the immigration crisis that affects the lives of Americans is worrying and is an electoral issue. The situation continues to be a headache for Joe Biden, less than seven months before the presidential elections.
Republicans accuse the Democratic ruler of having allowed an “invasion.”
They give as an example the record number in December, when the US border patrol intercepted migrants or asylum seekers who crossed the border without visas or immigration permits 302,000 times.
Trump accuses migrants who entered the country illegally of having committed heinous crimes and crimes.
The Republican magnate threatens to expel migrants en masse if he wins the November elections. They “poison” the blood of the country and “are killing” the United States, he repeats at his rallies.
But neither available police statistics from large American cities nor studies by experts show that to be true.
Meanwhile, the White House accuses conservatives of sabotaging a bipartisan attempt to find a solution to the immigration crisis.
And the House of Representatives refuses to even vote on a text that includes restrictions that they themselves have requested, considering it too lax.
Source: With information from AFP and AP
