H. Res. 863 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

February 13, 2024. 

Resolved, That Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Secretary 

of Homeland Security of the United States of America, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United 

States Senate: 

Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of 

itself and of the people of the United States of America, 

against Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States of America, in maintenance and 

support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and 

misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE I: WILLFUL AND SYSTEMIC REFUSAL TO COMPLY

WITH THE LAW

The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives ‘‘shall have the sole Power of Impeachment’’ and that 

civil Officers of the United States, including the Secretary of 

Homeland Security, ‘‘shall be removed from Office on Im-
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peachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other 

high Crimes and Misdemeanors’’. In his conduct while Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, in violation of his oath to support and defend the Constitution of 

the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, 

to bear true faith and allegiance to the same, and to well and 

faithfully discharge the duties of his office, has willfully and 

systemically refused to comply with Federal immigration 

laws, in that: 

Throughout his tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas has repeatedly violated laws enacted by Congress regarding immigration and border security. In large part because of his unlawful conduct, millions 

of aliens have illegally entered the United States on an annual basis with many unlawfully remaining in the United 

States. His refusal to obey the law is not only an offense 

against the separation of powers in the Constitution of the 

United States, it also threatens our national security and has 

had a dire impact on communities across the country. Despite 

clear evidence that his willful and systemic refusal to comply 

with the law has significantly contributed to unprecedented 

levels of illegal entrants, the increased control of the Southwest border by drug cartels, and the imposition of enormous 

costs on States and localities affected by the influx of aliens, 

Alejandro N. Mayorkas has continued in his refusal to com-
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ply with the law, and thereby acted to the grave detriment 

of the interests of the United States. 

Alejandro N. Mayorkas engaged in this scheme or course 

of conduct through the following means: 

(1) Alejandro N. Mayorkas willfully refused to comply with the detention mandate set forth in section 

235(b)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 

requiring that all applicants for admission who are ‘‘not 

clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be admitted...shall 

be detained for a [removal] proceeding...’’. Instead of 

complying with this requirement, Alejandro N. Mayorkas 

implemented a catch and release scheme, whereby such 

aliens are unlawfully released, even without effective 

mechanisms to ensure appearances before the immigration courts for removal proceedings or to ensure removal 

in the case of aliens ordered removed. 

(2) Alejandro N. Mayorkas willfully refused to comply with the detention mandate set forth in section 

235(b)(1)(B)(ii) of such Act, requiring that an alien who 

is placed into expedited removal proceedings and determined to have a credible fear of persecution ‘‘shall be detained for further consideration of the application for 

asylum’’. Instead of complying with this requirement, 

Alejandro N. Mayorkas implemented a catch and release 

scheme, whereby such aliens are unlawfully released, 
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even without effective mechanisms to ensure appearances 

before the immigration courts for removal proceedings or 

to ensure removal in the case of aliens ordered removed. 

(3) Alejandro N. Mayorkas willfully refused to comply with the detention set forth in section 

235(b)(1)(B)(iii)(IV) of such Act, requiring that an alien 

who is placed into expedited removal proceedings and determined not to have a credible fear of persecution ‘‘shall 

be detained...until removed’’. Instead of complying with 

this requirement, Alejandro N. Mayorkas has implemented a catch and release scheme, whereby such aliens 

are unlawfully released, even without effective mechanisms to ensure appearances before the immigration 

courts for removal proceedings or to ensure removal in 

the case of aliens ordered removed. 

(4) Alejandro N. Mayorkas willfully refused to comply with the detention mandate set forth in section 

236(c) of such Act, requiring that a criminal alien who 

is inadmissible or deportable on certain criminal and terrorism-related grounds ‘‘shall [be] take[n] into custody’’ 

when the alien is released from law enforcement custody. 

Instead of complying with this requirement, Alejandro 

N. Mayorkas issued ‘‘Guidelines for the Enforcement of 

Civil Immigration Laws’’, which instructs Department of 

Homeland Security (hereinafter referred to as ‘‘DHS’’) 
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officials that the ‘‘fact an individual is a removable noncitizen...should not alone be the basis of an enforcement 

action against them’’ and that DHS ‘‘personnel should 

not rely on the fact of conviction...alone’’, even with respect to aliens subject to mandatory arrest and detention 

pursuant to section 236(c) of such Act, to take them 

into custody. In Texas v. United States, 40 F.4th 205 

(2022), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth 

Circuit concluded that these guidelines had ‘‘every indication of being ‘a general policy that is so extreme as 

to amount to an abdication of...statutory responsibilities’ ’’ and that its ‘‘replacement of Congress’s statutory 

mandates with concerns of equity and race is extralegal...[and] plainly outside the bounds of the power conferred by the INA’’. 

(5) Alejandro N. Mayorkas willfully refused to comply with the detention mandate set forth in section 

241(a)(2) of such Act, requiring that an alien ordered 

removed ‘‘shall [be] detain[ed]’’ during ‘‘the removal period’’. Instead of complying with this mandate, Alejandro 

N. Mayorkas issued ‘‘Guidelines for the Enforcement of 

Civil Immigration Laws’’, which instructs DHS officials 

that the ‘‘fact an individual is a removable noncitizen...should not alone be the basis of an enforcement action against them’’ and that DHS ‘‘personnel should not 
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rely on the fact of conviction...alone’’, even with respect 

to aliens subject to mandatory detention and removal 

pursuant to section 241(a) of such Act. 

(6) Alejandro N. Mayorkas willfully exceeded his 

parole authority set forth in section 212(d)(5)(A) of 

such Act that permits parole to be granted ‘‘only on a 

case-by-case basis’’, temporarily, and ‘‘for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit’’, in 

that: 

(A) Alejandro N. Mayorkas paroled aliens en 

masse in order to release them from mandatory detention, despite the fact that, as the United States 

Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit concluded in 

Texas v. Biden, 20 F.4th 928 (2021), ‘‘parol[ing] 

every alien [DHS] cannot detain is the opposite of 

the ‘case-by-case basis’ determinations required by 

law’’ and ‘‘DHS’s pretended power to parole aliens 

while ignoring the limitations Congress imposed on 

the parole power [is] not nonenforcement; it’s 

misenforcement, suspension of the INA, or both’’. 

(B) Alejandro N. Mayorkas created, re-opened, 

or expanded a series of categorical parole programs 

never authorized by Congress for foreign nationals 

outside of the United States, including for certain 

Central American minors, Ukrainians, Venezuelans, 
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Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Colombians, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans, which enabled hundreds of thousands of inadmissible aliens 

to enter the United States in violation of the laws 

enacted by Congress. 

(7) Alejandro N. Mayorkas willfully exceeded his release authority set forth in section 236(a) of such Act 

that permits, in certain circumstances, the release of 

aliens arrested on an administrative warrant, in that 

Alejandro N. Mayorkas released aliens arrested without 

a warrant despite their being subject to a separate applicable mandatory detention requirement set forth in section 235(b)(2) of such Act. Alejandro N. Mayorkas released such aliens by retroactively issuing administrative 

warrants in an attempt to circumvent section 235(b)(2) 

of such Act. In Florida v. United States, No. 3:21-cv1066-TKW-ZCB (N.D. Fla. Mar. 8, 2023), the United 

States District Court of the Northern District of Florida 

noted that ‘‘[t]his sleight of hand – using an ‘arrest’ 

warrant as a de facto ‘release’ warrant – is administrative sophistry at its worst’’. In addition, the court concluded that ‘‘what makes DHS’s application of [236(a)] 

in this manner unlawful...is that [235(b)(2)], not 

[236(a)], governs the detention of applicants for admis-
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sion whom DHS places in...removal proceedings after inspection’’. 

Alejandro N. Mayorkas’s willful and systemic refusal to 

comply with the law has had calamitous consequences for the 

Nation and the people of the United States, including: 

(1) During fiscal years 2017 through 2020, an average of about 590,000 aliens each fiscal year were encountered as inadmissible aliens at ports of entry on the 

Southwest border or apprehended between ports of 

entry. Thereafter, during Alejandro N. Mayorkas’s tenure in office, that number skyrocketed to over 1,400,000 

in fiscal year 2021, over 2,300,000 in fiscal year 2022, 

and over 2,400,000 in fiscal year 2023. Similarly, during 

fiscal years 2017 through 2020, an average of 130,000 

persons who were not turned back or apprehended after 

making an illegal entry were observed along the border 

each fiscal year. During Alejandro N. Mayorkas’s tenure 

in office, that number more than trebled to 400,000 in 

fiscal year 2021, 600,000 in fiscal year 2022, and 

750,000 in fiscal year 2023. 

(2) American communities both along the Southwest border and across the United States have been devastated by the dramatic growth in illegal entries, the 

number of aliens unlawfully present, and substantial rise 

in the number of aliens unlawfully granted parole, cre-
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ating a fiscal and humanitarian crisis and dramatically 

degrading the quality of life of the residents of those 

communities. For instance, since 2022, more than 

150,000 migrants have gone through New York City’s 

shelter intake system. Indeed, the Mayor of New York 

City has said that ‘‘we are past our breaking point’’ and 

that ‘‘[t]his issue will destroy New York City’’. In fiscal 

year 2023, New York City spent $1,450,000,000 addressing Alejandro N. Mayorkas’s migrant crisis, and 

city officials fear it will spend another $12,000,000,000 

over the following three fiscal years, causing painful 

budget cuts to important city services. 

(3) Alejandro N. Mayorkas’s unlawful mass release 

of apprehended aliens and unlawful mass grant of categorical parole to aliens have enticed an increasing number of aliens to make the dangerous journey to our 

Southwest border. Consequently, according to the United 

Nations’s International Organization for Migration, the 

number of migrants intending to illegally cross our border who have perished along the way, either en route to 

the United States or at the border, almost doubled during the tenure of Alejandro N. Mayorkas as Secretary of 

Homeland Security, from an average of about 700 a 

year during the fiscal years 2017 through 2020, to an 
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average of about 1,300 a year during the fiscal years 

2021 through 2023. 

(4) Alien smuggling organizations have gained tremendous wealth during Alejandro N. Mayorkas’s tenure 

as Secretary of Homeland Security, with their estimated 

revenues rising from about $500,000,000 in 2018 to approximately $13,000,000,000 in 2022. 

(5) During Alejandro N. Mayorkas’s tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security, the immigration court 

backlog has more than doubled from about 1,300,000 

cases to over 3,000,000 cases. The exploding backlog is 

destroying the courts’ ability to administer justice and 

provide appropriate relief in a timeframe that does not 

run into years or even decades. As Alejandro N. 

Mayorkas acknowledged, ‘‘those who have a valid claim 

to asylum...often wait years for a...decision; likewise, 

noncitizens who will ultimately be found ineligible for 

asylum or other protection—which occurs in the majority of cases—often have spent many years in the United 

States prior to being ordered removed’’. He noted that 

of aliens placed in expedited removal proceedings and 

found to have a credible fear of persecution, and thus referred to immigration judges for removal proceedings, 

‘‘significantly fewer than 20 percent...were ultimately 

granted asylum’’ and only ‘‘28 percent of cases decided 
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on their merits are grants of relief’’. Alejandro N. 

Mayorkas also admitted that ‘‘the fact that migrants can 

wait in the United States for years before being issued 

a final order denying relief, and that many such individuals are never actually removed, likely incentivizes migrants to make the journey north’’. 

(6) During Alejandro N. Mayorkas’s tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security, approximately 450,000 unaccompanied alien children have been encountered at the 

Southwest border, and the vast majority have been released into the United States. As a result, there has 

been a dramatic upsurge in migrant children being employed in dangerous and exploitative jobs in the United 

States. 

(7) Alejandro N. Mayorkas’s failure to enforce the 

law, drawing millions of illegal aliens to the Southwest 

border, has led to the reassignment of U.S. Border Patrol agents from protecting the border from illicit drug 

trafficking to processing illegal aliens for release. As a 

result, during Alejandro N. Mayorkas’s tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security, the flow of fentanyl across 

the border and other dangerous drugs, both at and between ports of entry, has increased dramatically. U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection seized approximately 

4,800 pounds of fentanyl in fiscal year 2020, approxi-
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mately 11,200 pounds in fiscal year 2021, approximately 

14,700 pounds in fiscal year 2022, and approximately 

27,000 pounds in fiscal year 2023. Over 70,000 Americans died from fentanyl poisoning in 2022, and fentanyl 

is now the number one killer of Americans between the 

ages of 18 and 45. 

(8) Alejandro N. Mayorkas has degraded public 

safety by leaving wide swaths of the border effectively 

unpatrolled as U.S. Border Patrol agents are diverted 

from guarding the border to processing for unlawful release the heightening waves of apprehended aliens (many 

who now seek out agents for the purpose of surrendering 

with the now reasonable expectation of being released 

and granted work authorization), and Federal Air Marshals are diverted from protecting the flying public to assist in such processing. 

(9) During Alejandro N. Mayorkas’s tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security, the U.S. Border Patrol has 

encountered an increasing number of aliens on the terrorist watch list. In fiscal years 2017 through 2020 combined, 11 noncitizens on the terrorist watchlist were 

caught attempting to cross the Southwest border between ports of entry. That number increased to 15 in 

fiscal year 2021, 98 in fiscal year 2022, 169 in fiscal 

year 2023, and 49 so far in fiscal year 2024. 
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Additionally, in United States v. Texas, 599 U.S. 670 

(2023), the United States Supreme Court heard a case involving Alejandro N. Mayorkas’s refusal to comply with certain Federal immigration laws that are at issue in this impeachment. The Supreme Court held that States have no 

standing to seek judicial relief to compel Alejandro N. 

Mayorkas to comply with certain legal requirements contained in the Immigration and Nationality Act. However, the 

Supreme Court held that ‘‘even though the federal courts 

lack Article III jurisdiction over this suit, other forums remain open for examining the Executive Branch’s enforcement 

policies. For example, Congress possesses an array of tools to 

analyze and influence those policies [and] those are political 

checks for the political process’’. One such critical tool for 

Congress to influence the Executive Branch to comply with 

the immigration laws of the United States is impeachment. 

The dissenting Justice noted, ‘‘The Court holds Texas lacks 

standing to challenge a federal policy that inflicts substantial 

harm on the State and its residents by releasing illegal aliens 

with criminal convictions for serious crimes. In order to reach 

this conclusion, the Court...holds that the only limit on the 

power of a President to disobey a law like the important provision at issue is Congress’ power to employ the weapons of 

inter-branch warfare...’’. As the dissenting Justice explained, 

‘‘Congress may wield what the Solicitor General described as 
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‘political...tools’—which presumably means such things 

as...impeachment and removal’’. Indeed, during oral argument, the Justice who authored the majority opinion stated 

to the Solicitor General, ‘‘I think your position is, instead of 

judicial review, Congress has to resort to shutting down the 

government or impeachment or dramatic steps...’’. Here, in 

light of the inability of injured parties to seek judicial relief 

to remedy the refusal of Alejandro N. Mayorkas to comply 

with Federal immigration laws, impeachment is Congress’s 

only viable option. 

In all of this, Alejandro N. Mayorkas willfully and systemically refused to comply with the immigration laws, failed 

to control the border to the detriment of national security, 

compromised public safety, and violated the rule of law and 

separation of powers in the Constitution, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. 

Wherefore Alejandro N. Mayorkas, by such conduct, has 

demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national and 

border security, the safety of the United States people, and 

the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted 

in a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule 

of law. Alejandro N. Mayorkas thus warrants impeachment 

and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold 

and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the 

United States. 
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ARTICLE II: BREACH OF PUBLIC TRUST

The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives ‘‘shall have the sole Power of Impeachment’’ and that 

civil Officers of the United States, including the Secretary of 

Homeland Security, ‘‘shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other 

high Crimes and Misdemeanors’’. In his conduct while Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, in violation of his oath to well and faithfully discharge the duties 

of his office, has breached the public trust, in that: 

Alejandro N. Mayorkas has knowingly made false statements, and knowingly obstructed lawful oversight of the Department of Homeland Security (hereinafter referred to as 

‘‘DHS’’), principally to obfuscate the results of his willful and 

systemic refusal to comply with the law. Alejandro N. 

Mayorkas engaged in this scheme or course of conduct 

through the following means: 

(1) Alejandro N. Mayorkas knowingly made false 

statements to Congress that the border is ‘‘secure’’, that 

the border is ‘‘no less secure than it was previously’’, 

that the border is ‘‘closed’’, and that DHS has ‘‘operational control’’ of the border (as that term is defined 

in the Secure Fence Act of 2006). 

(2) Alejandro N. Mayorkas knowingly made false 

statements to Congress regarding the scope and ade-
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quacy of the vetting of the thousands of Afghans who 

were airlifted to the United States and then granted parole following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan after 

President Biden’s precipitous withdrawal of United 

States forces. 

(3) Alejandro N. Mayorkas knowingly made false 

statements that apprehended aliens with no legal basis 

to remain in the United States were being quickly removed. 

(4) Alejandro N. Mayorkas knowingly made false 

statements supporting the false narrative that U.S. Border Patrol agents maliciously whipped illegal aliens. 

(5) Alejandro N. Mayorkas failed to comply with 

multiple subpoenas issued by congressional committees. 

(6) Alejandro N. Mayorkas delayed or denied access 

of DHS Office of Inspector General (hereinafter referred 

to as ‘‘OIG’’) to DHS records and information, hampering OIG’s ability to effectively perform its vital investigations, audits, inspections, and other reviews of agency programs and operations to satisfy the OIG’s obligations under section 402(b) of title 5, United States 

Code, in part, to Congress. 

Additionally, in his conduct while Secretary of Homeland 

Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas has breached the public 

trust by his willful refusal to fulfill his statutory ‘‘duty to 
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control and guard the boundaries and borders of the United 

States against the illegal entry of aliens’’ as set forth in section 103(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

Alejandro N. Mayorkas inherited what his first Chief of the 

U.S. Border Patrol called, ‘‘arguably the most effective border security in our nation’s history’’. Alejandro N. Mayorkas, 

however, proceeded to abandon effective border security initiatives without engaging in adequate alternative efforts that 

would enable DHS to maintain control of the border and 

guard against illegal entry, and despite clear evidence of the 

devastating consequences of his actions, he failed to take action to fulfill his statutory duty to control the border. According to his first Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, Alejandro N. 

Mayorkas ‘‘summarily rejected’’ the ‘‘multiple options to reduce the illegal entries...through proven programs and consequences’’ provided by civil service staff at DHS. Despite 

clear evidence of the devastating consequences of his actions, 

he failed to take action to fulfill his statutory duty to control 

the border, in that, among other things: 

(1) Alejandro N. Mayorkas terminated the Migrant 

Protection Protocols (hereinafter referred to as ‘‘MPP’’). 

In Texas v. Biden, 20 F.4th 928 (2021), the United 

States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit explained 

that ‘‘[t]he district court...pointed to evidence that ‘the 

termination of MPP has contributed to the current bor-
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der surge’...(citing DHS’s own previous determinations 

that MPP had curbed the rate of illegal entries)’’. The 

district court had also ‘‘pointed out that the number of 

‘enforcement encounters’—that is, instances where immigration officials encounter immigrants attempting to 

cross the southern border without documentation—had 

‘skyrocketed’ since MPP’s termination’’. 

(2) Alejandro N. Mayorkas terminated contracts for 

border wall construction. 

(3) Alejandro N. Mayorkas terminated asylum cooperative agreements that would have equitably shared the 

burden of complying with international asylum accords. 

In all of this, Alejandro N. Mayorkas breached the public trust by knowingly making false statements to Congress 

and the American people and avoiding lawful oversight in 

order to obscure the devastating consequences of his willful 

and systemic refusal to comply with the law and carry out 

his statutory duties. He has also breached the public trust by 

willfully refusing to carry out his statutory duty to control 

the border and guard against illegal entry, notwithstanding 

the calamitous consequences of his abdication of that duty. 

Wherefore Alejandro N. Mayorkas, by such conduct, has 

demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national and 

border security, the safety of the American people, and to the 

Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in 
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a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule 

of law. Alejandro N. Mayorkas thus warrants impeachment 

and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold 

and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the 

United States. 

Attest: 

Clerk.