Republican members of the US Congress announced on Wednesday that they would begin impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whom they accuse of being responsible for the migration crisis on the US-Mexico border, AFP reports.

The announcement comes as nearly 10,000 migrants cross the U.S. border from Mexico each day, and the issue is politically charged, months before November’s presidential election.

Republicans describe the situation as a humanitarian disaster and blame it on the Secretary of Homeland Security.

“Our investigation has shown that this crisis is the result of the secretary’s decisions and his refusal to enforce laws passed by Congress,” said Mark Green, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

“His failure to fulfill his oath requires responsibility,” he added.

In response, the Department of Homeland Security accused Republicans of “wasting valuable time and taxpayer money” on a “political stunt.”

For Alejandro Mayorkas to be removed from office, a majority of the House of Representatives must vote against him, leading to a trial in the Senate that, if two-thirds of senators vote for him, could lead to his impeachment.

A virtually impossible scenario, given that Republicans hold only a slim majority in the House of Representatives and a Democratic majority in the Senate.

The start of that impeachment trial is still a thorn in Joe Biden’s side at a time when authorities say 302,000 migrants crossed the border in December.

The White House and lawmakers from both camps are negotiating immigration reform, with Republicans conditioning their support for a new aid package for Ukraine on tougher immigration enforcement.

The mayors of New York, Denver and Chicago — the cities receiving the busloads of migrants sent by the Texas Republican governor — also pressed the Democratic president to act quickly.