Mayorkas impeached by House as speaker tells Independent he ‘deserved’ it over border ‘catastrophe’

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The articles of impeachment allege that Mr Mayorkas engaged in a “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” by allowing the release of migrants awaiting legal proceedings and breached “public trust” when he told lawmakers the US-Mexico border was secure. “Based upon his activity and inactivity over the last three years, he’s engineered the catastrophe that exacted untold damage on the country, and this is the appropriate step.” As Department of Homeland Security secretary, Mr Mayorkas oversees border enforcement and immigration policies, such as the asylum process and the possible detention of migrants. “History will not look kindly on House Republicans for their blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship that has targeted an honorable public servant in order to play petty political games,” Mr Biden said in a statement. “The Mayorkas impeachment lark was the paltry consolation prize that the MAGA wing of the party got, because they’re not able to bring the Biden impeachment to the floor,” Rep Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, told The Independent just minutes before the vote Tuesday night.