By bringing impeachment accusations against Homeland Security Secretary Alec Mayorkas, House Republicans have launched their first salvo against the Biden administration.

Fox News reports that Rep. Pat Fallon, a Republican from Texas, filed articles of impeachment on Monday as promised last week.

The impeachment procedure consists of two phases. The House must first determine whether or not an official should be indicted. The Senate then conducts a trial on these allegations. Given the Republican majority in the House and the Democratic majority in the Senate, conviction on the charges would require Senate Democrats to join forces with House Republicans.

Fallon stated that the action was necessary.

“Since day one, Secretary Mayorkas’ policies have undermined law enforcement activities at our southern border. From perjuring himself before Congress about maintaining operational control of the border to the infamous ‘whip-gate’ slander against our border patrol agents, Secretary Mayorkas has proven time and time again that he is unfit to lead the Department of Homeland Security,” Fallon said in a statement.

“His willful actions have eroded our immigration system, undermined border patrol morale, and jeopardized American national security. He has violated the law, and it is time for him to go,” Fallon said.

The text of the pieces was not accessible on Tuesday, but Fox News published a draft of what had been produced the previous week.

Article I asserts that Mayorkas violated his constitutional oath by breaking the Secure the Fence Act of 2006, which mandates that the secretary of Homeland Security “keep operational authority over the entire international land and marine boundaries of the United States.”

As proof against Secretary Mayorkas, the first article said that “over 5,500,000 illegal aliens have crossed our southern border under the leadership of Secretary Mayorkas.”

The first article noted that “Under Secretary Mayorkas, more fentanyl has crossed the border in the last 2 months than in all of fiscal year 2019 under President Trump’s leadership. In fiscal year 2022, over 14,000 pounds of poisonous fentanyl was seized at the southern border. Fentanyl overdoses are the number one cause of death for individuals ages 18 to 45 nationwide.”

Article II alleges that Mayorkas provided “perjurious, false, and misleading testimony to Congress,” noting occasions in which Mayorkas assured Congress that the border was safe.

“The record-breaking number of illegal alien encounters, including over 1,000,000 known ‘gotaways,’ as well as the record seizures of deadly fentanyl and other contraband, prove that Secretary Mayorkas has not ensured operational control of the southern border. Secretary Mayorkas clearly committed perjury on multiple occasions before Congress.”

Article III states that Mayorkas “knowingly slandered his own devoted Border Patrol personnel and misled the broader public” by making statements about a debunked claim that Border Patrol agents beat Haitian immigrants.

According to the story, Mayorkas described photographs that appeared to show officials hitting undocumented immigrants “horrifying” and a sign of “systemic racism.”

The charge against Mayorkas noted that a “511-page report by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Personal Responsibility found ‘no evidence that [Border Patrol agents] involved in this incident struck, intentionally or otherwise, any migrant with their reins.’ Secretary Mayorkas slandered his own Border Patrol agents and TXDPS Troopers involved in this incident, contributing to a further decrease in already-low morale among agents.”

Prior to his election as House speaker last week, Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California stated in the autumn that Mayorkas would be scrutinized when the new Congress arrived.

“If Secretary Mayorkas does not resign, House Republicans will investigate every order, every action and every failure and will determine whether we can begin impeachment inquiry,” McCarthy said then.

Mayorkas said on Sunday that he has no intention of focusing on calls for his impeachment.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do … and I’m going to continue to do my work,” Mayorkas said on the ABC show “This Week,” according to Axios.