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WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — House Republicans are advancing impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, holding their second hearing Thursday.
You can watch the hearing at 9:30 a.m. ET here on this page.
The hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee will feature testimony from Tammy Nobles, who lost her autistic 20-year-old daughter, Kayla Hamilton, after she was allegedly murdered in Maryland by an unaccompanied 17-year-old listed as an MS-13 gang member in El Salvador who broke into her home in July 2022.
In her written testimony obtained by NewsNation, Nobles wrote, “If we had stricter border policies my daughter would still be alive today. Nothing will bring my daughter back nor fix the pain of not having her here, but I want to prevent this from happening to someone else’s child. This isn’t about immigration this is about protecting everyone in the United States.”
Republicans argue that this testimony highlights the need for impeaching Mayorkas.
“We have to act on this. The impeachment process is necessary to send a message to the administration to say [Mayorkas is] not doing his job, and we’re feeling it,” said Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas. “And if this is the way that we have to do it, this is the way it has to be done.”
Republicans have accused Mayorkas of failing to enforce the nation’s laws as a record number of migrants arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has criticized the impeachment effort as baseless. In a statement to NewsNation, DHS accuses Republicans of playing politics and rushing to impeachment.
Following a record-setting fiscal year for encounters along the southern border, new data obtained by NewsNation reveals that encounters this month have surpassed the numbers observed last January.
Ahead of Thursday’s hearing, House Republicans and DHS clashed over whether Mayorkas would appear in person during the impeachment proceedings.
Republicans wanted Mayorkas to attend this week’s hearing or send a written statement. However, Mayorkas declined citing a conflicting meeting with Mexican officials about border enforcement. DHS states that Mayorkas offered public testimony, but asked for a later date that worked with his schedule.
DHS also highlighted that Mayorkas has testified 27 times in front of Congress in the last three years, the most among cabinet members.
