House of Representatives impeaches Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas

The House narrowly voted to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday evening after a failed vote at the end of last week. Their reason for the impeachment is because they believe that Secretary Mayorkas has failed to enforce border laws as evidenced by the documented numbers of irregular border crossings. This move has been criticized by some Republicans and a large number of Democrats because they believe the decision was made over disagreements in policy rather than in actual crimes committed. Secretary Mayorkas will now be tried in the Senate, where it is expected that the articles of impeachment will be rejected.

USCIS reduces its backlog for the first time in more than a decade

In fiscal year 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received 10.9 million filed forms and completed over 10 million pending immigration cases. The completed cases reduced backlogs by 15%, marking the first time the USCIS has successfully reduced backlogs in more than 10 years. Additional notable record breaking numbers include more than 878,500 people becoming citizens in FY2023 and 192,000 employment-based immigration visas being issued, ensuring that all available visas were distributed for the second year in a row.