WASHINGTON: The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives narrowly voted on Tuesday to impeach President Joe Biden’s top border official, as immigration shapes up to be a major issue in this year’s elections.

By a vote of 214-213, the House approved two articles of impeachment accusing Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of not enforcing US immigration laws, which Republicans argue led to record flows of migrants across the US-Mexico border, and making false statements to Congress.

The vote marked just the second time in US history, and the first time in almost 150 years, that the House has impeached a member of a president’s cabinet.

Tuesday’s vote reversed an embarrassing legislative defeat that Speaker Mike Johnson suffered last week when a similar effort fell short. Republican Repres­entative Steve Scalise, who missed last week’s vote while he received treatment for cancer, provided the deciding vote on Tuesday.

Republicans hold a slim 219-212 majority in the House.

“Secretary Mayorkas has wilfully and consistently refused to comply with federal immigration laws, fuelling the worst border catastrophe in American history,” John­son said following the vote.

A poll last month showed that immigration was voters’ No 2 concern, following the economy.

No Democrat backed Tuesday’s impeachment, while three Republicans — Representatives Ken Buck, Tom McClintock and Mike Gallagher — defied their leadership in voting ‘no’. They also voted against impeachment last week.

A fourth Republican, Blake Moore, had also voted ‘no’ last week in a procedural manoeuvre in order to allow the bill to be brought back for another vote at another date.

Mayorkas has said he does not bear responsibility for the border situation, blaming it instead on a broken immigration system that Congress has not been able to fix.

Constitutional experts, and even some Republicans, have said the House investigation of Mayorkas failed to provide evidence of the “high crimes and misdemeanours” that the constitution cites as reasons for impeachment. Instead, they cast the fight as merely “policy disputes”.

“History will not look kindly on House Repu­blicans for their blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship that has targeted an honourable public servant in order to play petty political games,” President Biden said in a statement.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2024