Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin says the Trump administration’s biggest obstacles on immigration enforcement are federal judges appointed under former Presidents Obama and Biden, along with local officials in states like Virginia and cities like Danbury, Connecticut, who have limited cooperation with immigration authorities.
“We find judges, for the most part, honestly, that we can work with in almost every area. But you’ve got some of the judges that were appointed underneath Obama and definitely, if they’re appointed by Biden, they are almost impossible to work with,” Mullin said on the sidelines of the RNC Midterm Convention on Thursday.
Mullin pointed to specific cases. In April, Biden-appointed Judge Brian Murphy blocked the administration from ending temporary protected status for more than 5,000 Ethiopians. In September, Biden-appointed Judge Deborah Boardman blocked enforcement of Trump’s August executive order limiting birthright citizenship, ruling it likely unconstitutional.
Mullin argued immigration cases should be straightforward. “Cut and dry,” he said, framing the issue as whether someone entered the country legally and has proper paperwork. He compared it to home ownership, asking whether a person holds “the deed of the house you’re living in.”
Virginia in the Crosshairs
Mullin singled out Virginia, criticizing Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger for ending the state’s 287(g) agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement soon after taking office. Those agreements had placed participating local officers under federal supervision to carry out civil immigration enforcement.
“Virginia is out of control right now. I mean, when you start looking at the great state of Virginia, who had a great governor in Governor Youngkin … and now what they have, they canceled their 287(g) programs, they’re not allowing any cooperation with ICE or any of DHS’s law enforcement push to make sure we get the criminals off our streets,” Mullin said.
He also claimed that 50% of recent deaths in Fairfax County were “at the hands of an illegal,” adding, “every death that happens at the hands of an illegal is 100% preventable.”
Danbury Policy Draws Criticism
Mullin also took issue with a decision by the Danbury, Connecticut, City Council to amend its police hiring ordinance to allow lawful permanent residents and DACA recipients to apply for jobs as police officers.
“I don’t understand how you can be in law enforcement and yet you have no legal status. I just don’t know what, in some of these very liberal towns and liberal states, what are they thinking,” Mullin said.
“They’re prioritizing criminals over law-abiding citizens. We are a nation of laws, and either we respect them or we don’t,” he added. “What separates us from a third world country is we don’t believe in lawlessness and when you came in this country illegally, you chose to skip the line because we have a legal process.”
Mullin said the administration will not force local governments to accept federal immigration assistance, but will remain available to communities that request help. “What we’re not gonna do is force our way in. You’re gonna have to decide that,” he said.
