Trump’s allies are bringing their immigration policies to DHS

Senator Markwayne Mullin does not sit on any committees with direct authority over Immigration or the Department of Homeland Security. But his record on issues handled by the high-profile agency suggests he will bring a tough approach to his new role at the department.

In recent months, Mullin, the Oklahoma Republican who was nominated by President Donald Trump last week to take the reins of DHS, has waded into the controversial waters of the White House’s immigration policies. Trump announced Mullin as his choice and also said that Kristi Noem would step down from the position, becoming the first Cabinet secretary to step down in a president’s second term.

He described Alex Pretty, the ICU nurse killed by federal immigration agents earlier this year, as “insane person.” He co-sponsored legislation That would increase penalties against people who resist law enforcement officers or strike them with vehicles, following the murder of Renee Good at the hands of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. And he has expressed Doubts about birthright citizenshipA constitutional right that Trump has tried to finish.

“I think that’s not nonsense,” said Lora Reese, director of the Center for Border Protection and Immigration. Heritage FoundationSaid in an interview. “It will be about the mission for him. It won’t be about him.”

Confirmation hearings for Mullin begin March 18, when the Senate Homeland Security Committee meets with him. If confirmed by her Senate colleagues, she would replace Noem, who had a controversial tenure at DHS, which includes ICE, Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, among other sub-agencies.

Unless there is a breakthrough in negotiations in the coming weeks, Mullin will also be at the helm of an agency amid the government shutdown. DHS funding expired on February 14 and Democrats have repeatedly voted against bills to restore its funding, citing concerns about the agency’s immigration enforcement practices.

Based on Mullin’s support for tougher immigration policies and her close ties to Trump, Democrats do not expect Noem’s ouster to be a major breakthrough for their agenda.

“He has given no indication that he plans to enact the kind of reforms that the American people are demanding,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I hope that as we go through the confirmation process, he will reconsider some of his positions. But I have no factual basis for hope.”

Mullin has not yet made detailed plans for his tenure at the department, and he must first go through a multi-week confirmation process with his Senate colleagues. When asked about his policy priorities, his Senate office deferred to the White House.

“We want the Department of Homeland Security to work for the American people, and that will be our focus,” Mullin told reporters last week after announcing his nomination. “We’re open to new ideas, and doing things that, like I said, take care of the work that we need to do.”

Mullin, a former MMA fighter, cattleman and owner of his own plumbing business, came to Congress in 2013. anti-incumbency wave and describing himself as “not a politician” in campaign ads. He initially vowed to serve only three terms, but he backed out and completed a 10-year term in the House before completing the remainder of Senator Jim Inhofe’s term in 2022.

Mullin is gregarious and well-liked on the Hill, often seen (and heard) tossing a rubber ball in the halls of Congress. The only senator without a graduate degree, Mullin heads the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee and sits on the Armed Services, Indian Affairs, and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committees.

He has been a valuable mouthpiece for the Trump administration on cable news in recent years and has appeared on the Senate floor several times. At a hearing in 2023, Mullin challenged a union leader who testified before the committee physical fight.

Before Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., intervened, Mullin told Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, “Get off your butt then.”

Mullin has been selected to take over DHS at a time of intense scrutiny. Trump’s public approval Immigration policies declined Following the murders of Pretty and Good, although these numbers have recently turned a little. Noem’s leadership during those events, as well as her use of taxpayer money for private jets and an expensive advertising campaign, raised questions from both sides of the aisle.

At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing two days before his dismissal, Senator Thom Tillis, R-N.C. criticized Noem and called her leadership of DHS a “disaster.”

Although Democrats and critics of Trump’s border policy have largely called for Noem’s removal, most are not expecting meaningful change under Mullin’s leadership.

Frankie Miranda, President and CEO Hispanic FederationA non-profit advocacy group that had called for Noem’s ouster said Mullin would likely be “the one to get the vote.”

“He would agree with pretty much whatever President Trump or the White House is going to say with respect to immigration,” Miranda said in an interview.

Tillis is a staunch critic of Trump adviser Stephen Miller Appearance on CNN He called Mullin “one of the most independent people I’ve had the privilege of working with,” and suggested that Oklahomans would tell Trump’s deputy to “stay in his area and let him lead the agency.”

On deportations, Tillis said he believed Mullin “believes it’s quality over quantity. We want to go after the most dangerous people, the gang members, the drug traffickers, the murderers, the rapists.”

one in letter to trump In support of Mullin on Monday GOP Main Street CaucusA group of pragmatic House Republicans similarly said that DHS should focus immigration enforcement efforts on “the worst criminal offenders.”

“Senator Mullin has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to border security,” the letter said. The letter has been signed by 49 members of the caucus. “His familiarity with the legislative process and his long-term support for pro-American policies make him well suited to lead DHS at this critical moment. We are confident he will bring the focus and discipline needed to advance our shared priorities.”

On the other hand, Heritage’s Reese said that focusing only on “the worst of the worst” under Noem’s leadership was inadequate. He said he hopes it will help accelerate DHS’s massive deportation efforts to expel more undocumented immigrants from Mullin County.

and Senator James Lankford, in a post on x noted the need on Tuesday reforming femaWhich struggled with budget shortfalls, understaffing and a long disaster recovery backlog under Noem.

Lankford, a fellow Oklahoma Republican, said Mullin “would make a fantastic Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.”

“With the most secure border in years, now is the time to build on that progress and strengthen the security of the American people,” Lankford wrote in the post, which also included a photo of two laughing Oklahomans.