Markwayne Mullin Defends Immigration Enforcement, Lawmakers Clash Over Who's Accountable

For members of Congress in Washington, D.C., debate continues over whether to approve the $70 billion budget reconciliation package for immigration enforcement agencies in the next fiscal year, with some lawmakers seeking stronger protections for officers and others demanding greater accountability.

As anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protests intensify across the country, one detention center in Newark, N.J., drew national attention this week after days of demonstrations escalated into clashes with law enforcement, prompting arrests, curfews and additional safety precautions.

In a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing, Representative August Pfluger (R-TX) said he spoke with ICE officers over the weekend. Many received “sickening threats” toward them and their families from demonstrators, Rep. Pfluger said.

“That is absolutely disgusting,” Rep. Pfluger said. “There is zero room or tolerance in this country for something like that.”

Rep. Pfluger said those same agents recommended members of Congress work to enhance penalties for doxxing, intimidating or threatening federal agents, including Customs and Border Protection agents as well.

“That's exactly what I'm going to do,” Rep. Pfluger said. “We're going to work in a bipartisan manner to protect your agents to make sure that that never happens again, and those penalties are enhanced as much as humanly possible.”

Although Pfluger described this effort as bipartisan, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticized the Democratic-backed argument that ICE officers should not wear masks.

“If we want to eliminate the officers from having to wear a mask, then increase the penalties,” Mullin said. “It should be a very stiff penalty to get all their attention.

But while Rep. Pfluger said he appreciates Mullin’s efforts to empower DHS and its officers, Rep. Julie Johnson (D-TX) shared a different view.

“These public servants should be empowered to focus on these missions, not forced to operate inside a department increasingly consumed by political agendas and headline-driven decision making,” Rep. Johnson said.

During the hearing, Rep. Johnson pressed Mullin over the deaths of several constituents in ICE custody, including a 41-year-old Texas man who entered the United States through an Afghan evacuation program and died less than 24 hours after being detained by DHS.

“It's not normal for a 41-year-old to be detained taking his kids to school, and to be dead in your custody 24 hours later,” Rep. Johnson said. “That's not a normal natural course of events.”

Rep. Johnson said she had written to Mullin and his predecessor, Kristi Noem, several times with no response. Mullin said he never received any letter from her.

“There's no accountability, and there's no transparency as to the cause and what happened,” Rep. Johnson said. “Americans are now looking to your leadership to determine whether this department can return to its mission it was originally created to fulfill.”