Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) released the statement below following his votes in the Senate impeachment proceedings regarding U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas:

“Just a couple of months ago, a bipartisan group of Senators proposed a compromise plan to address the crisis on our southern border head on, and instead of debating that proposal, a group of Washington Republicans decided to play politics and tank it. Today’s impeachment proceedings were just the latest iteration of these misguided efforts to score cheap political points in an election year instead of working in a bipartisan way to secure our southern border.

“As a voice for Georgians in the Senate I take seriously my duty to defend our Constitution and uphold our values. That’s why I’ve long supported comprehensive immigration reform because I believe it is the best way to honor our American values and address the humanitarian crisis on our southern border. Impeachment is a solemn process reserved for high crimes and misdemeanors. Impeaching a cabinet member because of policy differences is a terrible precedent to set. Today’s proceedings were a cynical move by politicians who are not serious about fixing our broken immigration system.

“Instead of playing political games and pursuing patchwork fixes, Congress must focus on finding substantive solutions to repair our broken system, protect our immigrant friends and neighbors, and secure our southern border—and unlike some of my colleagues in Washington, I will continue to work in a bipartisan manner to do just that.”

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