Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters Monday that migrant truck drivers allowed onto U.S. roads under the Biden administration have killed 239 Americans and injured thousands more.
“These individuals are dangerous, and because of the failure from the previous administration, from the Biden administration, they’ve killed hundreds of people, and unfortunately injured thousands,” Mullin said at the press conference.
Mullin argued that many of the drivers involved were never properly vetted, including for basic English proficiency or driving qualifications, before being licensed to operate large commercial trucks.
“Who, in the Biden administration, thought it was a great idea to put people on the streets that couldn’t read our road signs, driving 80,000 pound rigs, without even having to take an English test or a driving test?” Mullin said.
The comments come amid broader criticism of the Biden administration’s immigration policies, including those overseen by former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who directed migrants toward housing, legal protections, and jobs, including trucking positions, as part of an economic approach the administration described as “Bidenomics.”
Reporter Pushes Back
A reporter at the briefing challenged Mullin’s framing, citing federal data suggesting foreign or undocumented drivers account for a small share of overall trucking safety incidents.
“The [conversation] here has been strongly about illegals [and] foreign drivers, but [they] account, according to U.S. DOT stats I see, for one percent of the [safety] issue,” the reporter said.
Mullin responded sharply, gesturing toward an injured girl present on stage.
“Are you saying 1 percent is okay? Because … 1 percent is one [person] too many … Every single illegal that maims or kills an individual is 100 percent preventable. I’m trying to prevent every one of them. I don’t care if it’s a fraction of 1 percent — I’m coming after you. I’m removing you from the road because it should never take place … Every death at the hands of an illegal is one too many … Are you willing to take that 1 percent if it was your daughter?” Mullin said.
Mullin added that the issue is not limited to drivers in the country illegally.
“This does have to do with those who’ve come into the country illegally, but it also has to do with people who are in the country lawfully, but they’re not being trained, and they’re not following the laws and the rules we’ve set up to keep Americans safe on the roadway,” he said.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also responded to the reporter’s pushback during the exchange.
Enforcement Numbers
Officials said Duffy and his deputies have removed more than 30,000 drivers from the road and shut down more than 250 driving schools as part of the crackdown. The administration attributes 239 deaths to migrant drivers.
