A historic sanction, which the American Congress has not taken in almost 150 years: the Republicans will try on Tuesday February 6 to indict Alejandro Mayorkas, Joe Biden's minister whom they accuse of having caused a migration crisis at the border between the United States and Mexico.
“He is the chief architect of the catastrophe,”
thundered Mike Johnson, the leader of the House of Representatives – an institution which will decide on the fate of the 64-year-old minister in the afternoon.
The chances that Alejandro Mayorkas will be removed from office at the end of this impeachment procedure are extremely low, but the situation nonetheless remains a headache for Joe Biden, nine months before the presidential election.
Republicans, most of them close to former President Donald Trump, accuse the Democratic president of having allowed the country to be
"invaded"
, taking as an example the record number of migrants arrested at the border, 302,000 in December.
The Democrats brush aside this procedure, accusing the Republicans of making the minister a scapegoat in the middle of an election year.
Immigration has emerged as one of the key issues in the campaign for the November presidential election, which will in all likelihood pit President Joe Biden against his Republican rival Donald Trump.
The main person concerned, Alejandro Mayorkas, has repeatedly rejected the Republicans' impeachment procedure, accusing them of
"wasting precious time and taxpayers' money"
in a
"political maneuver"
.
The last indictment of a minister by Congress dates back to... 1876. War Minister William Belknap, accused of corruption, resigned before the end of the impeachment procedure.
Little chance of success
The Constitution provides that Congress can impeach the president, a minister, or federal judges for
"treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors
. "
The procedure takes place in two stages.
First, the House of Representatives votes, by a simple majority, on articles of impeachment detailing the facts alleged against the president: this is what is called
“impeachment”
in English.
This vote will take place on Tuesday afternoon.
If most Republican elected officials are in favor of indicting Alejandro Mayorkas, two parliamentarians from this camp have already indicated that they would vote against, considering the sanction largely disproportionate.
In the event of indictment, the Senate, the upper house of Congress, will put the minister on trial.
At the end of the debates, the 100 senators will vote on each article.
A two-thirds majority is required to convict, in which case dismissal is automatic and without appeal.
Otherwise, Alejandro Mayorkas will be acquitted.
In any case, the US Senate is currently in the hands of the Democrats, which makes a dismissal of the minister very unlikely.