Watch: Alejandro Mayorkas impeachment moves to Senate

The House sent articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on Tuesday, but don't expect a full trial in the upper chamber.

Democrats are expected to promptly dismiss or set aside the proceedings. They've criticized their Republican colleagues for voting to impeach Mayorkas at all, accusing them of misusing a powerful tool over a policy dispute about the country's immigration system.

"As I've said repeatedly, impeachment should never be used to settle a policy disagreement," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday. "That would set a horrible precedent for the Congress."

Senate Republicans, most of whom have repeatedly called for a full impeachment trial in their chamber, plan to make it as challenging as possible for Democrats to derail the impeachment push. However, they're unlikely to have the votes to force a trial.

They argue it would be a historic misstep to dismiss the proceedings before they even begin, pointing out that nearly all of the 21 people who have been impeached by the House underwent a trial, with the exception of one who resigned before the trial could start.