UnidosUS Stands with Secretary Mayorkas Against Baseless Impeachment Effort

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Janet Murguía, President and CEO of UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, released the following statement in response to the impeachment hearing scheduled in the House:  

“We stand firmly against the baseless, unwarranted and unfair impeachment hearing against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas scheduled by House Republicans in the Homeland Security Committee today. It’s clear that what House Republicans object to are simply the immigration policies of the Biden administration, which Secretary Mayorkas is faithfully carrying out as is his duty. Policy differences are not a valid basis for impeachment, and this hearing is nothing more than partisan theater. If House Republicans were serious about securing the border or reforming our broken immigration system into one that is humane, effective and functional, they would be working across the aisle toward bipartisan solutions.  

“Secretary Mayorkas has dedicated his career to doing just that. For example, the DACA program was implemented under Secretary Mayorkas’ careful leadership at USCIS during the Obama administration. DACA has provided life-changing relief and opportunities to hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth. It holds strong support nationwide as sound policy that benefits our economy and our communities, and it has an overwhelmingly positive impact on our immigrant youth and our nation. 

“While we have expressed concerns with the Biden administration’s bipartisan negotiations with the Senate on border and immigration policies, we acknowledge that Secretary Mayorkas has rolled up his sleeves to tackle these challenges in good faith. House Republicans have done no such thing. Instead, they passed an extreme, partisan immigration bill (H.R. 2) and are now pursuing an unjustified impeachment of a dedicated public servant. This does nothing to solve the very real migration issues at our southern border or serve the interests of Latinos and all Americans who want and deserve effective, humane solutions. 

“It is also not lost on us and our community that House Republicans have singled out the first Latino Secretary of Homeland Security and one of the few Hispanic members of the cabinet as a scapegoat on the issue of immigration. Of course, Secretary Mayorkas’ leadership extends to all of DHS’s critical missions around national security, cybersecurity and disaster response, and the focus solely on immigration policy to denigrate a lifelong public servant is both telling and reprehensible.  

“Secretary Mayorkas must continue his work on behalf of the American people. I urge Congress to reject this harmful impeachment effort and instead work toward real bipartisan immigration solutions. The Latino community and all Americans want and deserve no less.”