US House Republicans impeach Homeland Security Chief over influx of illegal migrants

Republicans in the US House of Representatives on Tuesday voted 214-213 to impeach Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, over a record influx of illegal migrants crossing the US-Mexico border in the past year.

Hard-line conservative Republican politicians have for months, blamed Mayorkas for unprecedented arrivals of migrants and asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border.

They also accused Mayorkas of willfully refusing to enforce border laws and a breach of the public trust.

This is the first time in 150 years that a cabinet secretary has been impeached in the US with the charges against him likely to be rejected by the Democratic-majority Senate.

The impeachment of Mayorkas is the culmination of months of Republican attacks on him and the Democratic party for their handling of border security which has seen more than six million refugees and migrants arriving the US since 2021, making immigration a key issue in the upcoming presidential election due in November.

The Republicans have also accused the Biden administration of doing away with Trump’s border security policies they claim deterred migrants.

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