Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s recent comments on Immigration and Custom Enforcement raids and work visas have drawn ire from some in President Donald Trump’s base.
Over the weekend, Mullin told the National Governors Association Summer Meeting that in order to grow the economy, there needs to be more employment visas for the farm and agriculture sector, which some Republicans have tried to change out of concern that those who use them will be taking Americans’ jobs.
“Because this narrative that it steals American jobs is true in some industries, it’s not true for all industries,” he said during a fireside chat moderated by NGA chair Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt. “We want to take care of Americans first. It’s our economy, it’s our homeland, but there’s a way to utilize labor where we’re not having the participation rate we need to, and we can plug those holes.”
Mullin’s comments drew heat from some of Trump’s base with Greg Bovino, the former commander at large for Border Patrol, saying in a post on X that Mullin “delivered a masterclass in how to give terrible answers” on the topic.
Fox News commentator Tomi Lahren said in a post on X that Mullin’s work visa comments were “not what we voted for.”
Markwayne Mullin speaks during a news conference in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on July 17, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Mullin later tried to clarify his comments in a post on X, saying there should be “NO amnesty for illegal aliens. Ever. We are a nation of laws. If you are illegally present in the United States of America — you will be detained and deported. Period.”
Mullin also received pushback over his comments on ICE raids, an effort to ramp up deportations employed by the Trump administration earlier in his second term.
Mullin said the agency does not want to do job site raids or sweep big-box hardware store parking lots as it had earlier. Instead, he said DHS is trying to get the “worst of the worst” off the streets — echoing a line oft repeated by Border Czar Tom Homan and others in the Trump administration.
Mullin implored governors to work with the department to help achieve that goal.
“ICE isn’t doing any raids. We’re not kicking the door. We’re not doing traffic stops,” he said. “We’re simply grabbing those individuals when they leave. Because here’s the other alternative: the other alternative is the release into your state.”
Mullin said it’s part of an effort to provide “safety for our streets.”
Mullin’s comments on ICE also received negative reactions from some in Trump’s base.
Steve Bannon, Trump’s onetime chief political strategist, told Politico earlier this week that “Mullin is the wrong guy at the wrong time for the wrong job — a time when we need focus on ‘mass deportations,’ we get an amnesty advocate.”
Mike Howell, head of the Trump-aligned Oversight Project, has pushed the administration to achieve its goal of mass deportations.
“The base wants commas in the deportation numbers, not drama,” he told ABC News. “This weekend was drama.”
DHS responded to questions about the pushback, saying that Mullin works closely with the president, adviser and immigration hard-liner, Stephen Miller, and border czar, Tom Homan, “to deliver on the American people’s mandate to remove criminal illegal aliens from this country.”
“Secretary Mullin has been clear: if you come to the United States illegally, you will be detained and deported. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are enforcing the law and making America safe again,” DHS said in a statement.
Mullin asked governors to work with him in the department’s deportation efforts — while taking a swipe at Kristi Noem, his predecessor, whose tenure was marked by videos of ICE roundups and her ride-alongs with law enforcement.
“What I’m saying is, let me work with you on this stuff. I’m not handling things like maybe the past secretary had. I’m just saying, let’s work to get the worst of the worst off the streets, and then you won’t see me in your cities and states like you do as much because my presence won’t be as big. In fact, you probably won’t even see us at all.”
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