SAN ANTONIO — On Wednesday, eight people died in a head on collision on U.S. Highway 57. The Texas Department of Public Safety said 67-year-old Jose Lerma and 65-year-old Isabel Lerma, both from Georgia, were struck head-on while driving their Chevy SUV. DPS said the other vehicle was a Honda driven by a suspected smuggler who was transporting five migrants from Honduras.
DPS said the Honda driver was evading arrest from the Zavala County Sherriff's Office when the driver passed an 18-wheeler in a no-passing zone. No one survived the crash.
The next day, the office U.S. Congressman Tony Gonzales (TX-23) had already reached out to the rest of the Lerma family to see what they could do. Jose and Isabel are survived by their five children. Gonzales said one of their sons lives in Mexico and the parents were traveling there for the holidays before the fatal crash. Another son is working to set up the funeral.
Gonzales said there was a similar crash in Ozona where a grandmother and granddaughter were hit by another man smuggling migrants. He now blames a lack of security at the border.
"We have to hold the Biden Administration accountable for what is happening. Whatever they are doing now is clearly not working. We are now in year three. We are now seeing Americans killed on a regular basis," Gonzales said.
Jose and Isabel Lerma are both from Georgia. On Thursday, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga 14) introduced privileged Articles of Impeachment against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in the Texas House.
"Just yesterday, two of my constituents from Dalton in Whitfield County, Georgia were killed in a high-speed head-on collision at the hands of human traffickers smuggling illegal aliens into our country," stated Greene on her website. "A husband and wife are gone forever. Their family will never get to say goodbye."
The vote to further the impeachment would not be until next week, but Congressman Gonzales said he would support that vote because he wants to see a change in leadership.
"What they are doing is not working and they are making Americans feel unsafe," Gonzales said. "Whatever they are doing currently they have to do differently. That starts at the top. That's step one."
At the same time, Gonzales said he believed there are solutions that should be able to get bipartisan support. Gonzales said The Department of Homeland Security could raise the "credible fear" standard which is used to evaluate migrants when they are processed after coming into the country. A higher standard of what migrants may pose a threat could lead to faster deportations for those that don't have any basis for an asylum claim. Gonzales said he would also support bringing more immigration judges to Texas to hear migrant cases faster.
Additionally, Gonzales said people that don't have any qualifying claim for asylum should be deported to their home country right away.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released the following statement in response to the Articles of Impeachment:
“While the House Majority has wasted months trying to score points with baseless attacks, Secretary Mayorkas has been doing his job and working to keep Americans safe. Under his leadership, the Department of Homeland Security is stopping unprecedented amounts of fentanyl from entering the country, countering threats from the Chinese government, helping communities recover from natural disasters, and working to protect our nation from cyberattacks, terrorism, and targeted violence. Instead of continuing their reckless impeachment charades and attacks on law enforcement, Congress should work with us to keep our country safe, build on the progress DHS is making, and deliver desperately needed reforms for our broken immigration system that only legislation can fix.”
As U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson also stated "Policy differences are not grounds for impeachment."
Gonzales still hopes other republicans will get on board, but the impeachment vote may need to wait. Congress faces another possible government shutdown next Friday unless lawmakers can agree to another "continuing resolution" to fund the government. That means the impeachment vote may not even be on the radar of other lawmakers.