Washington, D.C. — Today in a letter to Congress, 26 national security leaders who served in Republican and Democratic administrations expressed concerns over the potential impeachment of Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and urged legislators to focus on solutions to address border and migration challenges.
“Initiating such proceedings not only threatens to undermine national security but sets a perilous precedent that could have dire implications for the stability of our government,” the former officials say in the letter, addressed to the chairman and ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee. “Impeaching Secretary Mayorkas would only serve to distract from the pressing need to implement effective policy solutions to rectify our immigration system and fortify America’s national security.”
The group, including many Council on National Security and Immigration leaders, argued that a partisan impeachment will make it more difficult to address migration’s root causes and to improve the functionality of the Department of Homeland Security. Instead, the leaders call on Republicans and Democrats to collaborate on “solutions that strengthen our borders, treat migrants with dignity, and reduce backlogs that delay decisions on asylum claims, legal immigration petitions, and other cases and applications.”
“The way to provide security and order is for Republicans and Democrats to negotiate solutions, not to engage in political theater clearly designed for an election season,” said signatory Elizabeth Neumann, former DHS Assistant Secretary for Threat Prevention and Security Policy in the Trump administration. “The men and women of the Department of Homeland Security, up to and including Secretary Mayorkas, should be able to focus 100% of their attention on keeping America safe.”
“We agree with these national security experts. Congress’ attention should be on solutions to our border and immigration challenges,” said Jennie Murray, President and CEO of the National Immigration Forum. “The current global migration trend requires balanced policies rather than actions that divide and polarize.”
Signatories of the letter include:
Jayson Ahern, Former Commissioner (A), U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Ross Ashley, Former Assistant Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency
Thomas Atkin, Former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Transborder Security, National Security Council
Douglas Baker, Former Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Senior Director for Border and Transportation Security Policy
Alan Bersin, Former Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
William Booher, Former Public Affairs Director, Federal Emergency Management Agency
Ed Cash, Former Director, Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Gus Coldebella, Former Deputy and Acting General Counsel, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Gil Kerlikowske, Former Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Prakash Khatri, Former Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Admiral James M. Loy, Former Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
David A. Martin, Former Deputy and Acting General Counsel, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Lynden Melmed, Former Chief Counsel, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Hans Miller, Former Deputy Assistant Administrator for Policy, Transportation Security Administration
Robert Mocny, Former Senior Executive, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Michael Neifach, Former Principal Legal Advisor, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Elizabeth Neumann, Former Assistant Secretary for Threat Prevention and Security Policy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Leon Rodriguez, Former Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
W. Price Roe, Former Counselor to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Paul Rosenzweig, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Seth Stodder, Former Assistant Secretary for Borders, Immigration & Trade Policy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
C. Stewart Verdery, Jr., Former Assistant Secretary for Border and Transportation Security Policy and Planning, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Dave West, Former Advisor, International Affairs, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Jim Williams, Former Director, US-VISIT, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Julie Myers Wood, Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
James Ziglar, Former Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service