House lawmakers officially delivered articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the U.S. Senate Tuesday.
House Republicans, who first approved the articles back in February, are demanding the Senate hold a full trial.
Ahead of the delivery of the articles, back on the House side of Capitol Hill, Mayorkas himself faced lawmakers' questions, including from New Yorkers, during an unrelated appearance before a House committee.
Republicans blasted the Biden administration over its handling of the border, invoking the asylum surge in New York.
“You have helped make every state a border state, every county a border county, and every city a border city, including my home in New York,” said Nassau County Rep. Anthony D’Esposito.
Mayorkas fired back, arguing that the “source of the challenge in New York City is varied.”
“One source of that is a public official’s decision to deliberately not communicate,” he said, before he was interrupted by Suffolk County Rep. Nick LaLota, who moved onto his next question.
Mayorkas was seemingly about to invoke the governor of Texas, who has sent migrants to New York.
Democrats and the White House continue to blame Republicans for the implosion earlier this year of the Senate-crafted border deal, which ultimately fell apart amid the objection of former President Donald Trump.
Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman accused his Republican colleagues of trying to preserve a campaign issue ahead of November.
“You baselessly impeach the secretary who's trying to solve our problems at the southern border, because you want to win it. You want to win in November. You don’t want to solve the problem,” he said.
Goldman also questioned why Republicans sent the articles of impeachment to the Senate Tuesday. An impeachment trial there could derail pending legislative work, including approval of aid to Ukraine and Israel.
Democrats throughout the hearing argued for investing in the asylum processing system.
Newly-arrived Rep. Tom Suozzi, who made immigration a centerpiece of his special election win on Long Island in February, said, “If we could cut down that period to adjudicate these asylum cases, of which 80% of the people will be denied asylum and many of whom will be then deported immediately, it'll discourage other people from paying the coyotes and coming over to do this stuff.”
Immigration policy remains the third rail on Capitol Hill, with Congress going decades without passing major reforms.
In recent months, the issue has been tied in discussions of foreign aid for Ukraine and Israel, holding up that assistance in the process.