Mayorkas Survives Impeachment, But The Border Drama Is Far From Over
Immigration continues to be a concern for voters and a weapon for Republicans.
Even though Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas just survived impeachment over improper management of the border, illegal immigration remains a top concern for voters, many of whom may now start to blame Biden.
After several months of anticipation, the impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has come to an unceremonious end. This is to say that on Wednesday, April 17th, the US Senate voted to dismiss both of the articles of impeachment that the Republican-led House had brought against Mayorkas.
The vote went about as one would expect with 48 Republicans voting to dismiss the first article, 49 Republicans voting to dismiss the second article, and the Democrats, along with their independent counterparts (Bernie Sanders, Kyrsten Sinema, and Angus King) unanimously voting to dismiss both articles outright. The only quasi-dissenter during the hasty 3-hour session was Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski. Now it deserves mentioned that yes, the label “quasi-dissenter” is a bit hyperbolic, but it is nonetheless an accurate description of her resistance. Not only did she vote completely in line with the other Republicans during the second vote, but furthermore she didn’t technically vote against the dismissal in the first vote either. Instead, she simply opted to vote “present,” which may have some beneficial political connotations regarding how her mostly right-wing constituency sees her, but from a procedural perspective it was, in essence, seen as compliance, not resistance.
This dismissal has angered Republicans, mainly because they feel it is incorrect for the Senate to dismiss articles of impeachment without a trial, something they have not done in over 200 years of legal precedent. To the left, that is not at all a surprise. Their argument: this was never really about Mayorkas at all. Rather, it was simply a way to get at President Biden, and thus the whole trial was doomed from the start due to false motivations.
Regardless of who, if anyone, is right, now that Mayorkas is off the proverbial hot seat, one has to wonder if the right-wing anger will move against someone else, or simply fizzle out. The latter, from what we have seen so far, seems unlikely.
Is Immigration Even A Big Deal In The First Place?
It is not a matter of debate whether or not Americans ‘truly’ care about immigration. According to a recent poll from Gallup, immigration is the most important issue to voters in 2024 with 20% saying this in January and 28% saying this in February. In other words, as of the most recent data immigration as a voter concern has surpassed the economy (12%) and inflation (11%), both of which have, in recent years, consistently been the things people feel most strongly about when deciding who to vote for. In addition to this, given the 8% disparity between January and February of this year, it seems rather obvious that this concern is on the rise.
But why are people so concerned with immigration? Because this is no longer an issue that only “really” matters in border states. In 2023 illegal immigration hit an all-time high, and some outlets estimate that over 7 million illegals have come across the border just since Biden has been in office.
These figures are staggering when you compare them to the Trump years, and therefore it makes sense that people are concerned about it, especially now that they are seeing the effects of so much illegal immigration in unexpected places. To elaborate, this month over 1,300 African immigrants “swarmed” New York City’s City Hall because they were, allegedly, promised green cards and work permits by a Democrat activist group. This gathering was a peaceful one, but the fact remains that the entire nation bore witness to something it wasn’t used to seeing: thousands of young, military-age males organizing and demanding benefits from the government. A government, mind you, that can only pay for these migrant benefits by increasing taxes, and/or pulling from other welfare programs.
This is not the only example of illegal immigrants putting pressure on local populations. Aside from the increase in crime these newly “flooded” areas are seeing and the rise of particularly egregious cases of immigrant violence like the Laken Riley murder, illegal immigration is also having a profound impact on the economy of densely populated places like New York. In other words, New York City, which as it stands now is backing up the metaphorical truck for illegal immigrants with prepaid debit cards and stays in five-star hotels, essentially telling its citizens that they will have to shoulder the burden of these new arrivals. It’s worth noting that these newcomers are also not satisfied with the cities’ charitable efforts.
It makes sense that densely populated urban centers, most of which skew to the left side of the political aisle, would see negative effects associated with increases in illegal immigration. This is mainly due to their robust social safety net policies. But these areas are far from the only ones experiencing unprecedented issues related to illegal mass immigration.
Border Rancher Jim Chilton, who was recently featured on Fox News, said “My greatest fear is running into a group of cartel-led people coming through with guns, AK-47s,” and this is a perfectly reasonable fear.
The reason, over the last three years Chilton has recorded over 3,000 images of illegal migrants crossing his property with camouflage and backpacks, the latter of which, according to people he knows, likely contain drugs that the cartels want transported into America. He is not the only one of these border ranchers with this experience.
Will Biden Take Mayorkas’ Place?
It is safe to say that the concerns of the American population, at least when it comes to the issue of immigration, are warranted. Whether you are a border rancher told to essentially "fend for himself" by Border Patrol, a resident of an urban core struggling to accommodate migrants economically, or a simple citizen in the heartland who has to face the consequences of the contents of those aforementioned backpacks coming to a town near you, illegal immigration at this scale impacts us all. But to bring this back to the botched impeachment, and more specifically what happens next, who is responsible for this state of affairs if not Mayorkas, and will Republicans shift their focus to Joe Biden?
If Democrats and the left-wing media apparatus defended Alejandro Mayorkas, who is arguably the man most directly responsible for the border per his job title, then it is very likely they will defend Joe Biden in the same way. But then again, maybe not.
Unlike Mayorkas, Joe Biden is in the political fight of his life, and some Democrats have seen his administration as a sinking ship for a while now, in part because of the immigration issue. Both Democrats and Republicans have to think about more than this one issue. One of the most prevalent campaign strategies of Biden leading up to the 2024 election was to focus on how then-President Trump was a xenophobe and a racist. To separate himself from this image, one of the first things he did when he got into office was reverse the Trump-era immigration policies via executive order. Trump's Remain in Mexico policy, inclusive of various provisions, mandated that immigrants apprehended at the border stay in Mexico until their scheduled court appearance. In contrast, under the Biden administration, these people are instead released to the interior of the country. Ergo, if Biden was to reverse his decision on this it could open himself up to the same criticisms of racism and xenophobia that he had previously levied against Trump.
As for the Democrats, the Biden Administration has been receiving a fair amount of heat over his lackadaisical management of the border, even by some on his own side. Their gripes are that Biden has not secured the border, and even worse, is trying to hide the problem by bypassing the border altogether and instead flying hundreds of thousands of migrants directly to their final destinations, while also giving them work permits. Biden’s response to these grievances has been, to put it lightly, lackluster.
During a recent interview, Biden stated that he was examining “whether or not I have that power” when asked about taking executive action to secure the border. This was seen by some as him abdicating his responsibility, especially since Biden has historically not had an issue overstepping his authority when it comes to things like student debt forgiveness. As of right now, the White House has gone silent on this potential action, even though many Americans are not content with the state of the border and actively want him to do something.
So, what will Biden do, and how will the Republicans react? No one can say for certain, but one thing is guaranteed. If Republicans choose to intensify their attention on the border in the upcoming months, a move they are likely to make considering its political appeal, the Biden administration will find itself in a difficult position. Should they opt for inaction, it risks a decline in Biden's approval ratings. If Biden is to do something, he is a racist.
It truly is a sticky political wicket. Since trying to pass another lukewarm border security bill like the one that recently failed is not likely to unstick it, even if it does pass, Americans will have to wait to see which political poison he picks as the spotlight on the immigration crisis shifts from Mayorkas, back to President Biden.
Yes!