During his first week in Congress, Rep. Pat Fallon, a Texas Republican, joined impeachment provisions against Alejandro Mayorkas, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, over the immigration crisis on the country’s southern border. Rep. Andy Biggs, a far-right Republican from Arizona, has promised to rein in a similar resolution in the coming weeks that could serve as a model for possible impeachment proceedings.

Fallon’s resolution says Mayorkas has “undermined the operational control of our southern border and encouraged illegal immigration”, also contending he lied to Congress that the border was secure. On the other hand, Democrats say Republicans are threatening to impeach Mayorkas for pure political reasons.

According to CNN, “Key committee chairmen are already preparing to hold hearings on the problems at the southern border, which Republicans say could serve as a prelude to an impeachment inquiry against Mayorkas. Three House committees – Oversight, Homeland Security and Judiciary – will soon hold hearings about the influx of migrants and security concerns at the border”.

“The House Judiciary Committee, which would have jurisdiction over an impeachment resolution, is prepared to move ahead with formal proceedings if there appears to be a consensus within the GOP conference, according to a GOP source directly familiar with the matter. The first impeachment resolution introduced by House Republicans has already picked up support, including from a member of the GOP leadership team”.

The resolution comes amid a busy week in the Biden administration. President Biden visited the border over the weekend for the first time since taking office, promising to hand over more resources to police officers patrolling the area.

Alejandro Mayorkas was in Mexico meeting with officials there on a variety of issues, including the shared migration agreement launched by the Biden administration recently. Mayorkas possibly also discussed coordinating transnational crime with Mexican authorities, according to TheHill.

“It’s exceedingly rare for a Cabinet secretary to be impeached, something that has only happened once in US History – when William Belknap, the secretary of war, was impeached by the House before being acquitted by the Senate in 1876. Yet, it’s a very real possibility now after Kevin McCarthy – as he was pushing for the votes to win the speakership – called on Mayorkas to resign or face potential impeachment proceedings”, CNN reported.

Fallon’s resolution will not move without further action from the Republican Party leadership but would otherwise initiate a process that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy seems to consider carefully.

“House Republicans will investigate every order, every action and every failure to determine whether we can begin the impeachment inquiry”, McCarthy said at a press conference in El Paso, Texas, in November.

“His willful actions erode our immigration system, undermine border patrol morale, and imperil American national security. He must be removed from office”, Fallon said in a release.

DHS said Tuesday that Mayorkas has no plans to resign and argued that the grounds for impeachment pointed out by the GOP were both inaccurate and failed to meet the standards to qualify as high crimes and misdemeanors.

“Secretary Mayorkas is proud to advance the noble mission of this Department, support its extraordinary workforce, and serve the American people. The Department will continue our work to enforce our laws and secure our border, while building a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system”, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Marsha Espinosa said in a statement.

“But even if an impeachment resolution is approved in the House, winning a two-thirds majority in the Senate to convict Mayorkas has virtually no chance of succeeding. Some Senate Republicans, such as Senate GOP Whip John Thune of South Dakota, were noncommittal about backing up such a move. And Democrats are roundly dismissing the idea”, CNN notes.