A Biden Impeachment Trial: Legitimate?

Recently, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz announced a push for impeachment if Republicans retake the House of Representatives and Senate in the 2022 midterm elections. Cruz cites as the grounds for impeachment a “refusal to enforce the border,” referring to the current southern border crisis. 

Perhaps there is an argument to impeach the current president. As President of the United States, it is Biden’s job to enforce the laws of our country. Some of our laws and regulations related to immigration are that Mexican citizens need a passport and visa to enter the country. Most of these visas are only temporary; it is reported that 40% of migrants initially entered legally with short-term visas and overstayed, while the other 60% presumably entered illegally. With the laws taken into account, it is important to observe what the state of the southern border is in terms of crossings. In 2021, the Del Rio sector of the border reportedly saw more illegal immigrant crossings than the past nine years combined. July 2021 saw migrant encounters at the border at a high of 213,593; border agents reported that they were overwhelmed, in need of support. Given the data, there appears to be a true crisis at the border. President Biden and the federal government have laws to assist Texas. 

At the start of President Biden’s term, he terminated three Trump migration agreements between the United States, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. These agreements enabled the US to send migrants to these countries to claim asylum and were a major tool for the Trump administration to deter illegal immigration. Biden proposed changes that have yet to be passed. Additionally, Vice President Harris is reportedly in charge of the Border Crisis, but there is no evidence of an official visit to the border, nor its facilities, in months. While effective policies can be made in Washington DC and physically visiting the border is hardly necessary, visitation still shows attention and interest in the crisis at hand. With Biden terminating Trump regulations, not having a replacement readily available, and the administration seemingly focused on other issues, it can be argued that the administration is not performing its duties of enforcing the laws of the United States. 

Despite the argument for impeachment, there are some flaws with the case. Termination of Trump regulations is a legal power that President Biden has. Having no regulations formally in place is not illegal, more so an example of political gridlock. There is also an argument that the Biden administration is enforcing the border laws with their current agents, but it is a response that cannot keep up with the current flow of migrants. 

The concerning part of the impeachment of President Biden is Ted Cruz’s statement that they would move to impeach the President “whether it’s justified or not.” Despite the heavy partisanship, this could begin an unfortunate precedent of an opposing Congress impeaching the President, especially considering the common trend for a President to lose their partisan support of the legislature after midterm elections. 

Thanks for reading,

Brian Inguanti