In a recent interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas dismissed the "baseless" impeachment push against him and instead criticized Congress for the ongoing migrant crisis at the US-Mexico border. Mayorkas, who narrowly avoided impeachment by the House last week over the border situation, acknowledged the severity of the crisis but highlighted that the issue preceded the Biden administration.

Mayorkas clarified, "It certainly is a crisis. And, well, we don't bear responsibility for a broken system, and we're doing a tremendous amount within the system. But fundamentally, Congress is the only one who can fix it." He pointed out that he has consistently maintained that the border is secure, but President Biden recently contradicted him, admitting that the "border is not secure" and placing blame on his predecessor.

When asked about the discrepancy between their remarks, Mayorkas evaded the question. He also dismissed the GOP's accusations against him, labeling them as "baseless allegations" and stating that he remains focused on the work of the Department of Homeland Security.

House Republicans have accused Mayorkas of willfully refusing to comply with the law and breaching public trust by allegedly lying to Congress about the border's security and the Department of Homeland Security's operational control. However, their efforts to impeach Mayorkas failed, largely due to Rep. Al Green's unexpected vote against it, as he was recovering from abdominal surgery.

Amidst the failed impeachment attempt, a bipartisan border security reform package in the Senate also collapsed last week. Currently, the Senate is considering a $95 billion supplemental bill without the border provisions. Mayorkas expressed frustration at Congress, stating, "The system has not been fixed for 30 years. A bipartisan group of senators [has] now presented us with the tools and resources we need... and yet Congress killed it before even reading it."

As the border crisis persists, Republicans have urged President Biden to take executive action, like his predecessor Donald Trump, by reviving the "Remain in Mexico" policy. However, Mayorkas noted that while executive actions have been taken, they face constant legal challenges. He also mentioned that Mexico publicly stated it would not allow the reimplementation of "Remain in Mexico."

The article also touched upon special counsel Robert Hur's report, which did not recommend charges against President Biden for retaining classified documents but acknowledged his memory lapses during the investigation. Mayorkas criticized Hur for making "gratuitous, unnecessary and inaccurate, personal remarks" about the president in the report.

Regarding speculation about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove President Biden from office, Mayorkas firmly stated that such conversations had not taken place within the cabinet.

Since President Biden took office in January 2021, there have been over 7 million encounters near the southern border, and there is currently a backlog of over 3 million asylum cases in US courts.

Despite the challenges and ongoing criticism, Mayorkas remains committed to addressing the border crisis and fulfilling the responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security.