▶ 0:49:53Chair Britt: Secretary mullin, thank you for being here today to testify on the president's fiscal year 2027 budget request for the department of homeland security. I'd like to turn first to vice chair murray for any introductory remarks she may like to offer.
▶ 0:50:09Sen. Murray: I will pass until my questions. I'm glad.
▶ 0:50:13Chair Britt: Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to see a former colleague back before this committee. I want to take a minute to express my appreciation for how you've stepped into your role at d.h.s. You've been a stabilizing force in a department that was struck with multiple shutdowns while carrying out an extraordinarily complex and multifaceted mission.
▶ 0:50:33Chair Britt: Your workforce has too often been used as political pawns, denied their well deserved salaries, and placed under unimaginable stress because of the dysfunction of this body and its unacceptable -- it's unacceptable. I'd like to credit your leadership since assuming the role of secretary. We can all see how your experience in the senate has shaped your view of the department and how the department should interact with congress. I am very pleased with the level of transparency that is coming out of d.h.s. Thank you.
▶ 0:51:02Chair Britt: You've also taken the initiative to step up, review previous decisions, and exercise your own independent judgment about the best pathway forward of d.h.s. I can tell that you have a strong vision for the department and care deeply about its mission and look forward to hearing about that today. Mr. secretary, this hearing falls against the back drop of a very tense situation at one of your facilities in new jersey.
▶ 0:51:27Chair Britt: Let me be clear, all americans have the right to protest the government and you will meet no bigger supporter of the first amendment than myself. But the situation we've seen unfolding at the facility goes well beyond peaceful protest. It desolved into violence and riots, including against law enforcement personnel working to keep americans safe. It's not acceptable to salt I.c.e. Officers or obstruct lawful federal operations.
▶ 0:51:59Chair Britt: I hope my colleagues will join me in condemning this chaos we've seen in the last few days. Let's turn to the matter at hand. We are here today to hear about the resources thaw need and I believe it's an important opportunity to hear about where your priorities are as new secretary. The budget was released less than two weeks after you assumed this role. I want to recognize you inherited much of this proposal.
▶ 0:52:24Chair Britt: While I know that you support this budget and will defend it enthusiastically, it's important to get a window into where your priorities are and where you see the department going in the next couple of years. I see countless critical missions, including work done by the men and women, the coast guard, I.c.e., c.p.b., t.s.a., and secret service, and other component agents under the d.h.s. Umbrella. And then I look to you, Mr.
▶ 0:52:53Chair Britt: Secretary, to provide us with your vision on this future and the resources you need to best do your job. We can't really address the topic of our 2027 funding bill without addressing reconciliation. I am beyond disappointed that we were unable to fund I.c.e. And border patrol through the bipartisan appropriations process.
▶ 0:53:15Chair Britt: While fierce disagreements amongst democrats and republicans are not new, breaking apart appropriations bills over a refusal to fund basic operations of the government is truly uncharted territory. I hope the actions in this congress remain an outlier and not a new precedent. As disappointing as this process has been, I want to stress my support for passing the reconciliation bill and provide the necessary funding for I.c.e. And c.p.b. To do their job.
▶ 0:53:45Chair Britt: Today we also have an opportunity to discuss agencies that have been overlooked historically due to the disagreement of the immigration enforcement and appropriations process. Just this april, we saw another attempt at president trump's life, reminding us how important the secret service is. And we cannot let them continue to be stretched too thin. T.s.a. Has had a great need for increased investment and screening and equipment procedures.
▶ 0:54:12Chair Britt: It's also an opportunity for us to examine foundational systems like those managed during h.r. Or finances or make investments that can set the department up for success for the next 20 years. Investments that are critical to the unsung heroes of your workforce that sometimes can get lost in the shuffle of pressing needs. With respect to my home state, I am very proud that alabama is home to so many d.h.s.
▶ 0:54:37Chair Britt: Equities and so many hard-working, dedicated public servants who show up every day to help fulfill the mission of keeping americans safe. Beginning with the coast guard, I am pleased that it's enlisted leadership training center of excellence will be officially established in birmingham later this week to fulfill its mission, increased training capacity is needed now more than ever. It is paramount we provide resources to train cadets, build vessels, and procure air assets.
▶ 0:55:09Chair Britt: It is also clear that the department under this administration is focused on putting agency back into the hands of state and local municipalities by training and equipping them to respond to emerging situations. Both fema's center for domestic preparedness in alabama and the national computer forensic institute in hoover, alabama, provide key resources to ensure local officials across the nation are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to protect and serve our country.
▶ 0:55:39Chair Britt: I was profoundly disappointed to see that the fy27 budget request includes a reduction of funding for the national computer forensic institute, which helps state and local authorities respond to, prosecute, and prosecute cybercrimes. I don't need to tell you, Mr. secretary, that computer crimes are only becoming more sophisticated and that we need more points of security by state and local officials, not fewer.
▶ 0:56:07Chair Britt: I look forward to further discussions on this, and I appreciate how the secret service has been responsive to my initial concerns about the future of the facility. As with budget requests, there are still some questions outstanding that we need to get a better understanding of what we need to do to actually be able to draft this bill. For example, I want to understand the future of t.s.a. And what you think that looks like.
▶ 0:56:33Chair Britt: It seems like we're moving in a direction of less resilience on federal screeners, but we do need a better understanding of where you want that to go or where you see it going in 5 or 10 years. We also will be looking forward to discussions about the future of fema now that the review council has finished their report and has a better understanding of the plan and pathway forward.
▶ 0:56:57Chair Britt: We look forward to continuing to engage the department on how funding provided through reconciliation process is being executed and how it intersects with base funding. Mr. secretary, in conclusion, I appreciate you appearing before us to testify on fy2027 budget request. You have an inbe credibly difficult job and have stepped into it during a very important and difficult time.
▶ 0:57:21Chair Britt: I want to thank you for your service to the people of the united states and your commitment keeping them safe. I look forward to your testimony today and to working with you during fiscal year 2027, and I would now like to recognize the ranking member for his opening ranks. Do you mind if I recognize the chairman first? Thank you. Ok, go ahead, thank you. Rankingmember murphy.
▶ 0:57:47Sen. Murphy: Thank you, chair brit. Thank you, secretary mullin, for being here today. Mr. secretary, I think you were crazy to have taken on this job, but at your confirmation hearing, you did promise that you would get d.h.s. Out of the headlines. We took you at your word. But nothing has really gotten better. You spent the first two months 6 your tenure threatening to suspend international arrivals in states represented by democrats.
▶ 0:58:16Sen. Murphy: Not only would that throw our entire air travel system into chaos, it's completely illegal, which underscores the main issue of this hearing. The reason why democrats and republicans were not able to find agreement on the underlying d.h.s. Appropriations bill is because never before in the history of our nation has a federal agency been run so far off the rails as the department of homeland security.
▶ 0:58:44Sen. Murphy: Every day this agency is breaking the law at scale and wasting billions of taxpayer dollars. D.h.s. Does not implement the law any longer. It makes up the law. Don't take my word for it. 10,000 times in the short 18 months this administration has run d.h.s., judges have overturned this agency's immigration decisions. Essentially every case that gets before a judge gets overturned.
▶ 0:59:13Sen. Murphy: The agency has locked up american citizens. It has killed peaceful protesters just for getting in the way. It has applied a completely made-up set of immigration laws and deported hundreds of thousands of immigrants who broke no laws, who were playing by the rules, who had legitimate claims to stay in the united states. A federal judge recently cited d.h.s. For violating 96 different court orders in one single state.
▶ 0:59:40Sen. Murphy: Not that this agency violated the law 96 different times in that state. No, on 96 occasions, d.h.s. Was caught violating the law, was ordered to obey the law, and 96 times ignored the judge, in one state. That is stunning. And it should be unacceptable to anyone on this committee who claims to care about the rule of law.
▶ 1:00:05Sen. Murphy: To make matters worse, this agency is spending money like stone-drunk sailors. Let's just take the massive detention centers that you are building. In social circle georgia, d.h.s. Allegedly paid almost $129 millions for a property previously valued at $29 millions. In texas, a property previously valued at $11 millions was sold to d.h.s.
▶ 1:00:31Sen. Murphy: For around $123 million. A 1,000% markup. Somebody is getting rich, fabulously rich off of those deals. Or take the company geo group. Geo was a small contractor in 2024, net income of about $31 million. But then geo group made enormous contributions to the president's political operations, and a resolving door started between geo group and d.h.s.
▶ 1:01:02Sen. Murphy: Tom homan worked for the geo group, now works for d.h.s. David, geo group executive, is now poised to be the next head of I.c.e. And guess what happens. In just a year, as its executives have gone to work for the agency as the political contributions flowed to the president, their revenue went from $31 million to, wait for it, $254 million, an 800% jump in just one year.
▶ 1:01:30Sen. Murphy: When president trump came into office, I.c.e.'s budget was $10 billion. Today, with the obscene cash infusion this republican congress has given your agency, I.c.e.'s effective annual budget is now 11 times that, $115 billion. And with these real estate deals and these contractor deals, at times the agency seems to be lighting this money on fire. But for this committee, that should be unacceptable.
▶ 1:01:58Sen. Murphy: Because the money that is being wasted, it is under by plumbers and security guards and teachers. They entrust it to us to spend it wisely. We swear an oath when we arrive here to ensure that their money is not used to fund unconstitutional or illegal behavior. Every single day this agency is violating the constitution and the law. This cannot continue. For congress to approve of this budget, you must assure us that some sherman's march of illegality ends.
▶ 1:02:27Sen. Murphy: You must stop padding the pockets of immigration industry c.e.o.'s and rein in this out of control overspending. But as I stated at the outset, the worry is the opposite is about to happen. You are reportedly considering suspending international arrivals at airports in states represented by democrats. You will say that is because you disagree with our state's immigration policies, and that is your right to disagree.
▶ 1:02:54Sen. Murphy: But the law unquestionably does not give you the right to close international travel in states that don't have the same political leanings as your party. And so I will say the same thing that I said to your predecessor in this forum. I know that you do not like our nation's immigration law. You believe that it lets in too many people. You don't like states' immigration laws that treat immigrants fairly. But the law is the law.
▶ 1:03:22Sen. Murphy: Your disagreement with it does not give you permission to just make up a different law. If you want more authority, if your agency wants more authority, if you want stricter authority, come to congress and ask for it. Do not ask us to fund an agency that just makes up its own law.
▶ 1:03:39Chair Britt: Thank you, senator murphy. Secretary mullin, we will now turn to you for your opening statements. You'll be given five minutes for that, and then all of your written testimony will obviously be entered into the record.
▶ 1:03:53Sec. Mullin: Thank you so much, chairman brit and ranking member collins, I'm sorry, chair collins, and ranking member murphy. I do have an opening statement here, but while senator murphy, the outlandish claims you made there is just flat wrong. You start saying we're breaking the law, and you really start looking at it, and we're enforcing the laws that congress did pass. That's reckless. When you start saying it's unconstitutional.
▶ 1:04:23Sec. Mullin: What's unconstitutional that we're doing? We swore to uphold the constitution, just like you did. For you to throw my 275,000 employees under d.h.s. And with a broad stroke like that, it's reckless and irresponsible on your part. We're doing the job that congress gave us the authority to do. And our men and women out there every single day is enforcing the laws. If you don't like the laws, you can change them. We're not picking and choosing which laws wen force.
▶ 1:04:53Sec. Mullin: We're simply enforcing the law, period, full stop. When you throw out reckless terms and you start referring to our agents as being dangerous, unconstitutional, and lawless, that's why our agents' death threats are up by 8,000%. I know that's not what you want.
▶ 1:05:22Sec. Mullin: But your political theater, that's what it causes. When you start looking at assaults on our officers, they're up by 1,300%. Senator murphy, is that what you want? I don't think it is. I really don't. But I understand the political theater. I understand wanting to get sound bites. And that was obvious because the whole time you've given your testimony, you wasn't being looking at me. You was looking at a camera. I get that. If you have bigger political ambitions, fine, just say it.
▶ 1:05:51Sec. Mullin: But don't do it at the expense of my officers. We want to really talk about funding? You haven't funded my officers. C.b.p. And I.c.e. Has been willing to do the job for free. Why? Because of a reckless administration prior to president trump coming in and saving america, you had a reckless administration that was destroying america by letting millions of illegals into our country. We're a nation of laws. And we're going to enforce those laws. What separates us from other countries is because people respect the rule of law.
▶ 1:06:22Sec. Mullin: There's a reason why people are flooding to our country and not flooding to leave. And it's our job to protect the home land. And we do that every single day. Every day I walk into that office, I feel so bless that had president trump gave me this opportunity, because I protect my backyard as far as I protect your backyard. And I do it with pride. And every one of the employees, all 275,000 employees at d.h.s., they do it with pride too. And they don't separate a blue state from a red state.
▶ 1:06:52Sec. Mullin: We look at it as a whole. But your reckless tone is getting people hurt. And it's got to stop. The fact that c.b.p. And I.c.e. Hasn't been funded now for an historical amount of time is absolute al pauling. It should never happen. But yet we're playing political games.
▶ 1:07:23Sec. Mullin: Why your party is for open boredders and amnesty, be honest. Because if I.c.e. Can't do their job, who's supposed to be getting out? That's what they're stood up to do. That's what congress pass and had gave them the authority and created the agency to do. If you don't want customer and border patrol, and their job is to control our borders, and custom entry points, if you don't want them, then be honest with the american people and say we want open borders.
▶ 1:07:57Sec. Mullin: Don't accuse us of a bunch of stuff you know yourself isn't true. I go back to this. It's an honor to set here in front of you. I take it with great pride to be secretary of department of homeland security. And I'm surrounded with great men and women every single day I walk into that office. Regardless of what you say or some other people say, we're doing a great job. And we have a zero mission that we take that to heart every day.
▶ 1:08:26Sec. Mullin: And one of the people that I'm surrounded with is troy edgar, my deputy. I couldn't do my job without the people around me. And so thank you, senator britt. Thank you, ranking member murphy for allowing me to be up here with us, because some of the questions he may be better suited to answer. With that, I yield back.
▶ 1:08:47Chair Britt: Thank you, Mr. secretary. We are going to go into the question and answer portion of the hearing. Each member is going to be given five minutes of time for their questions. The senators are going to have an opportunity to ask those questions in order of seniority, and then arrival. If the five minutes is up, I will tap the gavel to note that to the senator speaking, so they can quickly wrap their question. I'll give you an opportunity to respond. But we're going to keep this to five minutes, and we're going to do that on both the republican and the democratic side.
▶ 1:09:18Chair Britt: So if I can have cooperation there, I would greatly appreciate it. And then I'll go ahead and start. We are honored both chair collins and vice chair murphy with us here on the subcommittee, and vice chair murphy, I will turn to you first. Sen. murray, welcome, sent I think it's pretty far irto say that d.h.s. Under president trump has been a debacle.
▶ 1:09:49Chair Britt: From day one, we saw rampant abuse of power and corruption from awording millions in no-compete contracts to companies with direct family ties to d.h.s. Officials. To blatantly politicizing disaster relief and slow walking or outright blocking funding for blue states like mine. To making this country less prepared forecasters and leaving communities in the lurch.
▶ 1:10:13Chair Britt: And then you have the absolutely shameful, unacceptable, un-american conduct we have seen from some of I.c.e. And border patrol members. After republicans gave nearly $200 billion last summer in their bill ugly bill, with effectively no strings attached, president trump and stephen miller built up a paramilitary force and essentially promised it in unity and set it loose on some of our american communities. We all witnessed the consequences.
▶ 1:10:41Chair Britt: A family heading home from a basketball game that was tear gassed. A priest in chicago shot in the head and body with pepper balls. An american citizen dragged out of the house in the freezing cold in his underwear. Renee good, alex pretti, others murdered in broad daylight. Those actions shocked the conscience and have shocked the world, which is horrified by what has unfolded on america's streets. So, going back as we negotiated the fy26d.h.s.
▶ 1:11:10Chair Britt: Funding bill, I fought very hard alongside my democratic colleagues to secure very basic reforms to make sure nothing like that happened again, steps like requiring body cameras and ensuring that the footage is retained and available.
▶ 1:11:29Chair Britt: Restoring basic training and hiring standards, requiring warrants, ending racial profiling, banning enforcement actions in sensitive locations like schools and hospitals and houses of worship, taking off the masks and requiring visible identification. Those are very basic protocols. The american people overwhelmingly department, and police departments follow every day.
▶ 1:11:53Chair Britt: But unfortunately, after weeks of back and forth, and at times good discussions and good progress, republicans did ultimately walk away from the talks to ine enshrine those protections into law. And they chose instead to circumvent democrats through reconciliation and are now trying to fund I.c.e. And border patrol for the remainder of trump's presidency, not just this year, without any oversight or accountability measures in place.
▶ 1:12:19Chair Britt: This is exactly what led to the horrors that we did witness in minneapolis and across the country. I want to be very clear, secretary mullin. I'm watching closely to see what steps you now take as the new d.h.s. Secretary. And I have to say, I have yet to see you take back the reins from stephen miller, because even now we are seeing some outrageous proposals. You plan to withdraw c.b.p. Officers from airports in cities that don't roll over for trump? That is insane.
▶ 1:12:50Chair Britt: It is not only dangerous, it would also spell economic crisis for blue and red states. Meanwhile, d.h.s. Is already on track to break last year's record for people dying in custody. And last week, I.c.e. Agents tear gassed a united states senator who was simply working to peacefully mediate between I.c.e. And protesters after federal law enforcement we know shoved a different senator to the ground last year.
▶ 1:13:20Chair Britt: And you continue to deport upstanding community members instead of the worst of the worst. Accountability is desperately needed, and I know we can all keep fighting for that. So let me ask you, throughout our negotiations, the white house and border czar, tom homan, told us we didn't need to put any reforms into law, because d.h.s.
▶ 1:13:44Chair Britt: Was already making changes like ending the roving patrols, restoring stronger training standards, requiring body cameras to be worn by all agents and officers, and I know that at your confirmation hearing you said you did not support the warrantless search and seizure policy. The administration put that in place.
▶ 1:14:05Chair Britt: You reportedly were recently talking about legislation to require judicial warrants, restore training standards, reql restore training standards, req, restore training standards, and protect sensitive locations from rates. But while you and tom homan say you have made some of those changes, the american people have not seen the proof.
▶ 1:14:22I Want Tosec. Mullin: Thank youe question. I want to remind the senator that I was negotiating those reforms, and I think you are aware of that. So I actually know what happened. >> I know you are in the room, but I know what you are aware of. >> I was very involved with it.
▶ 1:14:51I Want Tosec. Mullin: >> I was in the room, you are not in the room. It doesn't matter, I asked you a question.
▶ 1:14:57Sec. Mullin: You know that we agreed to all this stuff you said. The fact you walked away because you had primary elections. >> Mr. secretary, we walked away because you would not put in writing --
▶ 1:15:10Sec. Mullin: You were never going to get the yes between chuck schumer and hakeem jeffries -- >> you can give your side, I'm telling you I was in the room. I want to ask --
▶ 1:15:25Sec. Mullin: I was involved in that -- >> if you want to talk about training, we will go july 1, the 72 hours of training. The training policy is going to change a little bit because we are going to be doing crowd control. But all training's willingness to change back and forth. We start talking about in warrants.
▶ 1:15:48Sec. Mullin: I was clear about my confirmation judicial warrants are used and we are entering a residence unless we are in pursuit of a criminal or a criminal continues to evade by going from one place to the next trying to lock the person down. I was very clear when we started discussing that.
▶ 1:16:12Sec. Mullin: And on the sensitive locations, it has been asked multiple times, we are not actively in sensitive locations. We do sometimes have to pick up a felon that is around sensitive locations, but we are not actively patrolling those, and I think you know that to be true. >> can you give the committee what your current training requirements are? You said as of july 1, can you give that to us to see what those are?
▶ 1:16:40Sec. Mullin: How about the updated departmental protocols for agents engaging with protesters? You have an updated protocol for agents engaging with protesters, can you describe that? >> and the time is expired so you can answer quickly. >> if you could give the committee in writing that answer , whether or not you have ended roving patrols and every officer and agent is worrying about a camera so we can see what you're protocols are?
▶ 1:17:10Sec. Mullin: We don't have the money for the cameras, we had it in the funding bill, but since you guys decided not to vote for it, we don't have the money. We had $20 trillion, it is unfunded because democrats refused -- >> I will tell you that was not enough. What I would like to know --
▶ 1:17:31Sec. Mullin: We will respond to you. >> respond in writing what your currency -- current policies are so we can see that. >> thank you vice chair. Chair collins. >> thank you very much, madam chair. Welcome, Mr.. I would like to ask you about a particular kind of these h one b visas, which are for highly skilled international employees.
▶ 1:18:05Sec. Mullin: Many rural areas may face shortages of qualified medical professionals, which makes attracting them and recruiting them critical to the health of our communities.
▶ 1:18:22Sec. Mullin: While I can understand why the administration might consider assigning fees to h1 b visas in the tech area or other sectors where there's significant domestic workforce, that is not what we are talking about as medical providers for rural areas.
▶ 1:18:46Sec. Mullin: I want to give you an example of a hospital in northern maine, close to where I grew up. Recently, this rural hospital was forced to pay the 100,000 h1 b fee for much needed surgeon.
▶ 1:19:11Sec. Mullin: Would you be willing to consider carving out an exemption for medical professionals from this fee when a community can demonstrate that there is not a medical professional available?
▶ 1:19:34Sec. Mullin: Senator collins, thank you for the question. We looked into this. I'm misunderstanding when you and I visited a tad bit about this. Was it -- was this doctor currently in the U.S., or did you have to bring him in? >> he had to be brought in from another country. There did not used to be a $100,000 fee associated with that visa. The doctor qualifies for the visa.
▶ 1:20:05Sec. Mullin: That is not the issue. The issue is the extraordinarily high fee that the hospital and presque isle had to pay. >> we do have some authority and flexibility to do this on a case-by-case. We had 286,000 applicants year to date for the h one b visas.
▶ 1:20:31Sec. Mullin: Out of those, over 200,000 made the $100,000 to be able to come in, because it allows us to process in a faster manner. When we do that, about 15 days because we are able to throw stuff out at people and look for an exemption and cut that process, which we had roughly 80,000 look for a different path forward. It takes about 7.5 months to go through that process to be able to exempt them.
▶ 1:21:03Sec. Mullin: We can speed that up to some degree, it would be difficult. We are happy to look into it. I because I agree from a very rural area how hard it is to get doctors. Most doctors, they need it then and they are not going to wait for someone to come through because we do have to do our due diligence going through the background and making sure they qualify for it.
▶ 1:21:30Sec. Mullin: On these cases, and there are several people who have called me and have asked for me to look at these circumstances. We are happy to look at them and see how we can work with you. >> I would suggest that there is huge difference between bringing in a computer expert from another country to wear wealthy california and silicon valley versus the much needed surgeon to work at a rural hospital.
▶ 1:22:00Sec. Mullin: >> I'm curious you got a rural surgeon -- >> you can't have this one. Let me switch to another kind of these events important to the state of maine, the h-2b visa. As you know, many of our communities, maine rely heavily on h-2b visas for staff during our busy tourism season.
▶ 1:22:30Sec. Mullin: Last year, more than 13 million tourists came to the state of maine, and we are grateful that they do. But that is 10 times the entire population of our state, and they mainly come in the summer and the fall. Employers in the hospitality sector are simply unable to hire workers to meet that demand.
▶ 1:23:01Sec. Mullin: That seasonal age to be program is critical, and the workers come and they work and they go back home. They are not trying to stay here. They come back year after year. There are ways to speed up the process for that.
▶ 1:23:24Sec. Mullin: One idea the main chamber of commerce recently proposed is employers who have long utilized the age to be program and have consistently followed the rules should have an exemption for a certain number of workers for the cap for employers if they have a good five year complaints record.
▶ 1:23:49Sec. Mullin: Another idea would be reinstituting the returning worker exemption from the camp. That existed during president bush's administration. It worked really well. It was the same workers coming back to the same seasonal businesses year after year. They became like family.
▶ 1:24:12Sec. Mullin: In fact, a lot of times the employers would keep their belongings for them in anticipation of their return the next tourism season. Is the administration considering ways to simplify the age to be process, the h-2b visa process for employers who followed rules for five years or reinstituting the returning worker exemption?
▶ 1:24:43Sec. Mullin: >> we have looked at this. I think we have 170,000 -- 107,000 h-2b visas applied for fy 26. The number, I do have flexibility with the number. You gave me that authority in 20, the department.
▶ 1:25:03Sec. Mullin: But to raise the cap know way we understand it, you correct me if I'm wrong, but to raise the cap above a significant number, congress will have to set the new number or give me the authority to do so. We will be happy to.
▶ 1:25:30Sec. Mullin: From the construction background and understanding the background that is very seasonal, we need some flexibility, I agree if workers have been able to go through the process, they come in when they are supposed to, they leave when they are supposed to, I would be happy to do something like that. We have been working with the uci is to tight and screen -- streamline this.
▶ 1:25:59Sec. Mullin: That is one of the most challenging thing, we have handcuffed ourselves through so much bureaucracy that it we are trying to cut back and get to basics. Anywhere you see that the system can work better, I'm happy to work with you. I'm also limiting my authority. >> thank you. >> Mr. secretary, you have been at the department for just over two months. I realize you were there for a little over a week. >> my beard is turning gray.
▶ 1:26:29Sec. Mullin: >> you were there just a little over a week when the president's -- submitted his request. I know you have limited opportunity to provide input to that while fully supporting what was put forward. I want to ask from your perspective in the two months you have been there and looking at the request in front of us, what do you believe is most critical that we invest in at the department of homeland security that is in front of us today to make sure that we keep reporters secure but americans
▶ 1:27:00Sec. Mullin: Safe and the mission of homeland security that you are able to fully execute that? >> the biggest issue we are having is with personnel. We went through a historic shutdown. 76 days is a long shutdown in government history. You can understand it has been tough. Without people it does not make a difference once you implement. You are going to fall short.
▶ 1:27:26Sec. Mullin: When I first walked in the building two months ago, I encountered the greatest of people, a workforce in the nation, because they were all working and showing up for free. Some people could not sustain it.
▶ 1:27:42Sec. Mullin: It is unrealistic to think someone would show up and commute back and forth because there are no buses that stop out in front of saint elizabeth, there is not a metro stop right there, everybody has to drive to come back and forth, so it gets very expensive, could not sustain it. We lost a tremendous amount of work force, about 8%.
▶ 1:28:06Sec. Mullin: Trying to bring that workforce back and hiring the best and brightest to say by the way, you have been shut down four times in a year and I cannot guarantee we will not be shut down september 30 because of the rhetoric of the left saying they're willing to do that, that makes it difficult for us.
▶ 1:28:22Sec. Mullin: But the two things that I have recognized that need to happen, chair, -- but the two biggest things we have is dhs was stood up with 22 components and we stood up very quick. We weren't even around for 20 years.
▶ 1:28:49Sec. Mullin: The foundation for the department has not been fully established, because we have been running hard ever since. We are still trying to bring everybody underneath one campus. We have buildings and people spread across the area and washington, D.C. out of 275,000 employees, we have less than half together. To build the foundation is very important.
▶ 1:29:18Sec. Mullin: We need to go back and not the brick-and-mortar, but put the foundation underneath us and get everybody out of their silos. We are not working together as a cohesive team. That is true in the last 20 years. One thing is technology allowing us to interface.
▶ 1:29:38Sec. Mullin: Technology is very expensive, we had the largest law enforcement in the country, and the unique authorities no other agency or law enforcement has four cyber to sea and land and air. And with that, we need to be talking.
▶ 1:30:01Sec. Mullin: The secret service interaction with what they are interacting with, we are able to recognize agencies that they have an interaction with or the coast guard. And we are currently getting bids on what that is going to cost. That will be important to us. >> and my minute remaining, I want to ask about tsa.
▶ 1:30:31Sec. Mullin: I noticed in this budget request there is significant drawdown in staff, fewer would be needed because smaller airports would be doing the partnership program. We have seen the gold plus program. It seems tsa is moving in a direction that might culminate years down the line and serving as more of a coordinator rather than performing security functions themselves. Can you tell me your vision for tsa?
▶ 1:31:03Sec. Mullin: 10 or 15 years down the line. >> tsa's the most forward facing agency we have in the U.S., they interact with more people than any other government agency does. We want to have the best performance. 10 of our top 20 airports are part of this program. It only deals with personnel. San francisco airport, kansas city international airport are part of this program.
▶ 1:31:31Sec. Mullin: We recognize with the shut down those efforts did not miss a beat. They were able to continue to perform. Let's expand on that since we know it is a success and let's partner with the public and private industry with some of the best technology to move us to the gold standard of traveling, moving down the road to get there faster. Private industry can adjust faster, but to lower the mission of requiring to keep our skies safe is not an option.
▶ 1:32:02Sec. Mullin: We want to elevate that. We can do that with the help of the private sector. >> appreciate the men and women of tsa, particularly challenging circumstances. Now turning to ranking member murphy. >> thank you. This is from a federal court decision regarding ice activities in minnesota. Ice is not a law unto itself.
▶ 1:32:31Sec. Mullin: Ice has violated nearly 100 court orders. This list should give pause to anyone, no matter his or her political beliefs who cares about the rule of law. Ice has likely violated more court orders in january 2026 then some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence. That is not a democratic appointed judge, that is a republican appointed judge describing the scale of legality.
▶ 1:32:59Sec. Mullin: I understand your ammo and others in the administration is to attack us personally or to claim we are inciting violence when we point out the widespread illegality. This is a republican appointed judge saying the exact same thing I'm saying.
▶ 1:33:18Sec. Mullin: This is a really important discussion to have because whether you want to believe it or not, at the root of our disagreement is it is very hard for us to figure out how to find an agency that is violating the law. That is not me saying it, that is a republican appointed federal judge. This widespread violation of court orders admitted largely happened before you got on the job. As a senator, you struck me as someone who cared about the rule of law.
▶ 1:33:48Sec. Mullin: The easiest question is this. When dhs gets a court order, telling them something they are doing is either illegal and unconstitutional, prior to you taking office, the approach was to ignore that court order. That is what the judge is saying. 94 times you got a court order, you did not implement it.
▶ 1:34:09Sec. Mullin: Now that you are on the job, can you come to us that if a court judge is something ice is doing, dhs is doing is not legal or constitutional, tells you to stop, that you will comply with the court order.
▶ 1:34:23Sec. Mullin: Ranking member murphy, I will tell you that we will never break the constitution and we will not break the law, but we will force laws. We will force laws that you guys past and that we implement. We will never go outside that. If we do, we will hold each other accountable for that. >> that doesn't sound the same thing as committing that you will obey a court order. The entire structure of the federal government gives power to divine whether you are obeying the law. I think it is easy to say.
▶ 1:34:55Sec. Mullin: Will you or will you not implement court orders?
▶ 1:34:59Sec. Mullin: If we did not think courts were politicized, I would probably be able to answer that. But we see courts and over again use their bench for political opinion, not just the rule of law. We see how many times -- >> you will pick and choose based upon --
▶ 1:35:19Sec. Mullin: Don't put words in my mouth. >> what are you saying?
▶ 1:35:24Sec. Mullin: First of all, we are never going to break the constitution. >> you just said that you will not follow every court order --
▶ 1:35:35Sec. Mullin: Don't start putting words in my mouth, that is not what I said. I said I will never break the constitution -- >> will you implement court orders when they tell you to stop?
▶ 1:35:47Sec. Mullin: You're making an assumption on court orders. I'm going to enforce the law and I will never break the constitution. >> if you are a republican or democrat on the committee, you should be really freaked out.
▶ 1:35:57Sec. Mullin: We should be concerned about the rulings that come out of the courts and how to get overturned. >> it falls apart if you are telling me --
▶ 1:36:12Sec. Mullin: It falls apart when you have a judge making his opinion from the bench and they are outside of the law. Not all judges are above the law, some think they are. That is why we get returns from the higher courts constantly. >> let me ask you about what is happening in delaney hall. You said detainees are protesting because they want their "ethnic food." I have three official letters that were sent to the administration from about 300 detainees. It won't shock you that there is no mention of ethnic food in letters.
▶ 1:36:43Sec. Mullin: These letters allege that there has been spoiled food, delayed medical treatment, sewage backups, undue pressure to sign deportation paperwork. Madam chair, if I can submit these records -- these for the record. Nowhere is there a demand for ethnic food. They describe pretty horrific conditions.
▶ 1:37:09Sec. Mullin: This administration has defunded the independent office that used to exist inside dhs that would do an independent investigation of claims like this. Can you tell us if you are taking these claims seriously, these allegations, and whether you have prejudged this to be about a demand for ethnic food? They seem pretty serious.
▶ 1:37:32Sec. Mullin: Since the history of that facility being open, not one health violation has been directed. The health inspectors went in and did not find one single violation. Compare it to what the state prison system is, state prison system have three systems in deplorable conditions, that is with a health inspector said. Delayed health care is average of 32% delayed within 48 hours.
▶ 1:38:01Sec. Mullin: >> are you looking into these allegations? >> ranking member, this is why I had this information, I looked at what we had, zero health inspections. >> inspection allegation. >> you made a pretty damming saying they are deplorable conditions. I said we looked into it >> time has expired. >> we had zero violations.
▶ 1:38:29Sec. Mullin: >> I would also like to point out this is one of the things we have included in the bipartisan appropriations bill, an inspector general that would have been able to investigate the conditions at different detention facilities and is one of the reasons why yet again. I appreciate chair collins' work on that being incorporated. Senator kennedy. >> Mr. secretary.
▶ 1:39:02Sec. Mullin: Welcome. >> thank you. >> Mr. secretary, do you hate people who are different from you?
▶ 1:39:13Sec. Mullin: No sir, I wake up every morning and say I love the people come I love the call. >> do you support the rule of law?
▶ 1:39:22Sec. Mullin: Absolutely. >> isn't a big part of your job to enforce the immigration laws?
▶ 1:39:31Sec. Mullin: Yes sir, it is. >> can we agree that illegal immigration is illegal?
▶ 1:39:40Sec. Mullin: We should all agree on that, yes sir. >> how many people do you think the biden allowed into our country in violation of our immigration laws?
▶ 1:39:56Sec. Mullin: Unfortunately, they did not keep good records. We do not know how many kids were let into the country. Estimation is around 340,000 kids we are trying to look for. The numbers are estimated between 12 and 20 million came over, came in a legally over four years. >> and president biden ignored the immigration clause with the cooperation.
▶ 1:40:25Sec. Mullin: Indeed, in some cases, some members of congress, did he not? >> yes sir, that is my recollection. >> why do you think the biden administration and some of my colleagues, your former colleagues, why do you think they believe in open borders? >> I have my theory behind that. I would love to entertain the thought.
▶ 1:40:53Sec. Mullin: I will try and keep my thoughts to myself and just do my job. But my theory is pretty strong. >> tell me about it. I will probably get myself in trouble. >> it is ok, you are already in trouble.
▶ 1:41:08Sec. Mullin: I don't know if it is a place to get my thoughts. I try to work in facts as much as I can. It is hard to explain why they would allow that many people to come in and turn the street into through the cities and towns. >> does any other -- do you think letting people at our borders racist? >> no, it is exactly what we should do. We are charged, cbp and department of homeland security, with keeping the homeland safe.
▶ 1:41:39Sec. Mullin: We have to know who is coming in. We catch terrorists on a weekly basis trying to enter this country illegally or who have already entered this country illegally. >> do you think of adding people at our borders -- sounds like you do, is prudent?
▶ 1:41:53Sec. Mullin: It is vital to the job protecting our homeland. >> and every other country vets people at the border?
▶ 1:42:00Sec. Mullin: They should. >> what happened at delaney hall?
▶ 1:42:07Sec. Mullin: A lot of claims were made, and they were not true. At first it came out saying it was overcrowded, we have today under 700 detainees, a license for just over 1000 beds, we have twice the square footage at delaney hall. They said the medical conditions were horrible. We have twice as much medical staff per person than the state penitentiary does in new jersey.
▶ 1:42:37Sec. Mullin: >> what happened with the protesters? >> protesters is interesting, the governor and state officials were going out saying they were peaceful protesters and ice agitated them. All changed when the government finally allowed the state police to do their job. They are professionals. And the locals were absolutely professionals. They realized they were not protesters that were peaceful, they were rioters.
▶ 1:43:05Sec. Mullin: >> were some of them violating the law?
▶ 1:43:09Sec. Mullin: Absolutely, when you violate -- verbally assault an officer, saying you will kill them, that is against the law, violating federal policy. When you put your hands on an officer, we had officers bit, scratched, poked, we had objects thrown at them, car windows smashed in. All of that is a federal crime. We have zero tolerance for it. Those that we could arrest then, we did arrest.
▶ 1:43:40Sec. Mullin: Those we have on video, we are going through the video and we will find you and charge you. >> you have the right in america to protest -- >> I support the first amendment. >> you don't have the right to protest in violation of the law?
▶ 1:43:58Sec. Mullin: That is correct. >> has it been your experience that most cops, most border patrol officers, most ice agents, will leave you alone unless you do illegal stuff? >> the senator's time has expired.
▶ 1:44:23Sec. Mullin: >> they love doing their job, they don't for the money, they do it because they are called to do it. Because you are local pd, sheriff, state, they are willing to do their job because they feel called to do so. There's always a few bad apples, but for the most part, those officers, unless you are breaking the law, they will not bother you. That is my experience. >> thank you, Mr. secretary.
▶ 1:44:54Sec. Mullin: Senator hyde-smith. >> thank you, madam chairman. Thank you, Mr. secretary for being here. Deputy secretary, thank you for being here. I want to note that we are getting some really positive feedback from my stakeholders at the state level in mississippi regarding fema's recent progress that funding is moving more efficiently and responsiveness appears to be improving, and we are very grateful for that.
▶ 1:45:26Sec. Mullin: That in mind, I want to talk about several issues affecting our state now. States like mississippi closely monitor fema's public assistance disaster declaration thresholds. We have a lot of hurricanes, tornadoes, and it has been a considerable discussion regarding potential changes to these thresholds and what they mean for the ability to qualify for this assistance.
▶ 1:45:53Sec. Mullin: Will you provide clarity on whether fema is planning to adjust individual states disaster thresholds for public assistance major declarations with both -- what those changes may look like and what the timeline states should expect for implementation? >> there was quite a backlog of the assistance of dollars that needed to be put out since we have been in office.
▶ 1:46:21Sec. Mullin: The president just signed off on 15 before that. In total we have 37 out of the door in eight weeks. We are constantly looking at it. The public assistance should be somewhat of a match, what we have seen is a lot of states in play. And when we go through and we start looking at the reimbursement. In fact, I have not seen one. Everything -- I'm not sure everything they're claiming has qualified.
▶ 1:46:50Sec. Mullin: Once we check it off, when we went to the president and laid it out in front of him, we showed him what they are asking, where we came up with the number, what we denied, what we approved he signed off 100% of them. But we are looking at a way to reform it. Fema was never set up to be the complete all. It was supposed to be there to assist, not be the final solution and assist the state or a community in its bad day.
▶ 1:47:22Sec. Mullin: But the state and local communities are the first responders. Ever since katrina, we have seen that shift. More and more dollars went in, we see a lot of dollars go in. We know the states can do it much quicker, much faster, and much cheaper than we can as a federal government. I will use this one example. In order for fema to pay for it, it has to be hauled from the person's property dumped out of whatever it is hauled into onto the street.
▶ 1:47:53Sec. Mullin: Then the fema approved contractor have to go and separate the waste because each product gets made different and has to go to different facilities. Most of the stuff is getting touched two or three times. From a priest -- construction background, that is a waste of time.
▶ 1:48:16Sec. Mullin: We have grant systems it is something we are looking for public assistance and we see the dollar will go farther. The president has made it very clear that he wants to put the dollar closer to the resource and washington, D.C. were it happens in mississippi or oklahoma, it is a long ways away and the dollar gets added easily, and from 100% to 200% before it gets to the resource. >> reasonable solutions.
▶ 1:48:46Sec. Mullin: >> while we are in the topic of public assistance, recently submitting requests from public assistance and individual assistance following the tornadoes on may 6 and seventh, close to where I live. We are waiting for a determination.
▶ 1:49:04Sec. Mullin: Can you tell me the status of those requests and will you commit to working with our office to ensure we receive time -- timely response to disaster affected communities so they can start rebuilding and get back as normal as possible that we can? >> if you have an update on this, we are still working with the state to do the final assessment. The president did accept that.
▶ 1:49:33Sec. Mullin: We are looking at what the cost is for the funding to reimburse assistance. >> we did that -- get that approved by the president, to make sure the validation. Public assistant grants are pretty formulated. Kind of sped through big surprises like the secretary said we have 13 open right now that need to go all the way through. If you would like, I will take an action to get with your office after this.
▶ 1:50:04Sec. Mullin: >> that would be great. I have toured about that devastation, and it was a devastation. >> senator shaheen. >> thank you, madam chair. Thank you for being here. Deputy secretary actor. I very much appreciate your willingness to engage with me on a call to talk about a list of concerns in new hampshire with respect to issues of the department of homeland security.
▶ 1:50:36Sec. Mullin: One of the things we discussed, and some information, a college that we have that has applied to the exchange and visitor programs for approval to enroll f-1 students in the new doctoral program.
▶ 1:50:54Sec. Mullin: There is real urgency about this because without approval by july 1, they will lose 2000 students, graduate students, this is a university that prepares students for jobs and artificial intelligence, national security, health care management, high demand, all professions, it is important to the community and where it is, and important to the state of new hampshire.
▶ 1:51:21Sec. Mullin: Can you give me any kind of an update on the new england college form -- I-17 application to allow the f-1 international students to enroll in the college's new doctor in business administration program? >> we have the point of contact, we have asked for it, and we give it to uscis, we can give you an update.
▶ 1:51:49Sec. Mullin: We just talked about this thursday, I believe. We are working on it. I assume they made contact with the college. We will get you that information. >> when we last talked, they had not heard from the department. I appreciate that. As I said, there is real urgency. >> they will hear back today -- tomorrow. >> thank you, I very much appreciate that.
▶ 1:52:19Sec. Mullin: The other issue we discussed was one affecting our northern border and new hampshire. We have very difficult communications across our northern border, we border canada, vermont, maine, new hampshire at a very small region. We don't have good cell service in that part of new hampshire. We have a cell tower we are trying to get up in pittsburgh, new hampshire.
▶ 1:52:50Sec. Mullin: We have a cell company that is prepared. They have gotten power from canada. We've gotten canada to bring power down to the station. They are still waiting for an application that has been to dhs since march. Will you commit to following up and seeing if we can get an answer on this agreement as soon as possible? It is a safety concern.
▶ 1:53:17Sec. Mullin: >> immediately after your phone call with us, I turned around and called the director and had a conversation with him. There is paperwork. Because it is a combination between us and canada, and the state department, I believe they are waiting on paperwork to be done. I'm trying to recall this from memory. We are ready to move. It has to be clarified by the contractor or something.
▶ 1:53:46Sec. Mullin: I will get you an update on that. Trying to get that to you tomorrow. >> if there is something missing at the new hampshire end, we will make sure that gets done. >> I believe we are waiting on clarification on information, that is what I was told. Whatever the update is, we will get you the office update. >> there is urgency because of safety concerns.
▶ 1:54:15Sec. Mullin: >> on a broader issue beyond new hampshire, the department of defense has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in nonreimbursable support to homeland security for immigration enforcement. Last year with several other senators, we visited naval station guantanamo. The amount that apartment is spending for a handful of dhs detainees is really shocking. Given your background, you want to spend money in a way that is more efficient and effective.
▶ 1:54:48Sec. Mullin: And we know that dhs has a discretionary appropriation of ice and cbp continuing to increase staffing levels so the need for U.S. military to discuss detention enforcement is not just wasteful, but it appears to be only for optics.
▶ 1:55:07Sec. Mullin: Can you talk about how you are working with the department of defense to address this support and whether they are being reimbursed and whether you will evaluate the importance of continuing that mission at guantanamo? >> the time has expired, if you will answer the question.
▶ 1:55:27Sec. Mullin: We looked into this, it was a high contract, there is a need, it is not optics. There is a need based on the terrorists we find coming across the border that we need to put them somewhere in the detention center. We saw that in the warm -- war on terror.
▶ 1:55:52Sec. Mullin: We are looking at a different contract of less cost instead of us having so many beds running off of every single month, it will be a case-by-case situation. We looked at this early on because we are trying to get our hands around the money leaving dhs. >> thank you, I have further questions but I will follow-up with q f r. >> senator capital.
▶ 1:56:24Sec. Mullin: >> thank you. I want to make a point. When I look at the videos of what is going on in new jersey, I wonder the calculated measures that the riders are taking to try to provoke a response from the professional men and women is beyond the pale in my opinion.
▶ 1:56:47Sec. Mullin: But I would like to point out that the bill the chairwoman of this committee wrote and has been denied in the senate by every democrat in the senate, had extra dollars to teach de-escalation training. So I commend the ones that are there now, but I do see what the need for more de-escalation training is because there are more methods and ways, and it is a profession on how to antagonize and try to goad our
▶ 1:57:18Sec. Mullin: Law enforcement into making a mistake or overreacting, or whatever. So I'm sorry this bill is not moving forward, because I think it would be answering what I see on the videos. I do want to go to the coast guard very quickly.
▶ 1:57:35Sec. Mullin: You also elected carney ville, west virginia is a location for the specialized forces command center which would bring a broad range of high-risk missions where you are centralizing it, and carnies ville, west virginia and a facility that you have had and you are using, but having in your budget an extra $20 million to help establish this facility, I'm wondering if it is adequate, what it will be used for, and if you need additional funding? >> thank you so much.
▶ 1:58:05Sec. Mullin: President trump leadership, he's rebuilding the coast guard and bringing it into the force that needs to face today's threats. We are investing roughly $24 billion across all aspects of the coast guard. They have been neglected since truly our first line of defense of the homeland. Right now I cannot give you a phone number, we are doing an assessment. I talked to the commandant about this.
▶ 1:58:34Sec. Mullin: He feels like we are in good shape, but we are just now starting. In any of these facilities when we get into it, we started doing building and rehab, we usually find -- we try and keep under the budget, but we get out of hand. Before it gets to that point, we want a good solid number. >> these are critical functions for the anti-drug trafficking functions the coast guard does, so very well.
▶ 1:59:05Sec. Mullin: I'm also encouraged the department at cbp's decision to establish centralize capability directed to counter U.S., and they are looking for a facility, they have been doing some of this at point training facility located in my home state of west virginia. Very close to here. Currently supports federal training testing operations and ongoing uas activities. This is a very unique site. I understand cbp would like to utilize some point. We have the training center.
▶ 1:59:35Sec. Mullin: This is very close. I would like to invite you to visit and join me. And will you work with me to see that we can make this the dedicated hhs counter uis training center of excellence?
▶ 1:59:50Sec. Mullin: I would love to a to it. Uis training is important. We do an important time on the offensive side of uas. We have not spent a tremendous time on our defense capabilities. We have a lot of great companies, private sector, and through the dow and dhs, cbp, fps, coast guard has put in a tremendous amount of effort into the counter uas.
▶ 2:00:18Sec. Mullin: So I'm sure this is not going to be the only facility we look at. I will try to do it, maybe not in august. It might be a little warm. If we have to come if that is our first availability, we will try to get to you. >> we can go over the training center at the same time. I use to chair this subcommittee. The ranking member and I were on this subcommittee when he chaired it. Within the one big beautiful bill, we made a significant new funding available for border security technology.
▶ 2:00:51Sec. Mullin: Systems at the border so you would not have to use manpower is what you could use, force multipliers. The legislative language included in this raised the bar for surveillance technology requiring defining autonomous capabilities, even the types fielded at scale for years. My question is how is dhs ensuring that systems brink -- being procured with reconciliation dollars are tested and will operate autonomously as they are required? I understand that is my last question.
▶ 2:01:21Sec. Mullin: We have five contractors right now with these autonomous towers. All five of them have passed the test. They set standards they've got to go through. From what we had last time around, we changed a little bit because technologies change. We are seeing the cartels are using more uas and technology than they have in the past.
▶ 2:01:47Sec. Mullin: We see these towers are moving in the right direction and can be beneficial with new ai technology. But we are not completely there, but we are moving in the right direction. We've had five contracts awarded to five different companies that will bypass the same test and performing on the days. >> thank you, I appreciate your work. >> senator peters. >> thank you madam chair, welcome to the senate. Secretary mullin, welcome back.
▶ 2:02:19Sec. Mullin: Secretary mullin, in response to a question for the record from your nomination hearing, are you committed to taking action on implementing a law that senator collins and I passed that would create a northern border mission center? In the question, you responded within one month of your swearing in, working to get that set up.
▶ 2:02:44Sec. Mullin: Unfortunately, it has been two months since you have been sworn in, have you taken actions as required by law to advance the center?
▶ 2:02:51Sec. Mullin: We have the personnel there, we are fully staffed. We cannot do that in two months with a structured bill, we are looking for funding and contracts, we are mission capable. >> you directed components to assigned staff that have been there?
▶ 2:03:06Sec. Mullin: That was as of today, this morning. It was the latest as of today that I was briefed on this. The structure has not been built. We have contracting -- what was that?
▶ 2:03:24Dep. Sec. Edgar: The facility is done, the contractor is finishing off items. The contractor building is ready and ready to go in. I think there is discussions going on with canada.
▶ 2:03:37Sec. Mullin: You are talking about the bridge. Not the facility. Separate thing.
▶ 2:03:44Sec. Mullin: Sec. Mullin: I refer to him on a question, gets it wrong. We haven't -- we are still waiting on the infrastructure, but the personnel are in place. >> I appreciate your continued efforts. The gordie howe international bridge is a product --
▶ 2:04:03Sec. Mullin: I will let troy answer the question. >> he has been warmed up. It works, the bridge that has been built, paid for by our canadian neighbors, which was nice. They used american steel and union labor and it is a critical component for not just michigan, but for the countries, the second border crossing in north america.
▶ 2:04:28Sec. Mullin: Everybody is excited about it across business, all sectors of michigan's economy in the midwest. The only person I know, one billionaire against it is the person who owns a competing bridge, a private bridge. Other than that, there is universal support. It is dhs and cbp prepared right now to facilitate trade and travel at the bridge?
▶ 2:04:57Sec. Mullin: Yes we are. We have the personal dedicated and ready to move. We have a deadline the first of may. He did not make that. We are still waiting on that to take place. We are prepared, staffed, and ready to go. Once it is done, there are still negotiations between canada and the U.S., but we are as far as we can go without the signoff and the final agreement between the countries.
▶ 2:05:31Sec. Mullin: >> as far as you are concerned, cbp is good to go?
▶ 2:05:32Sec. Mullin: We are good to go. >> national disasters affect all americans, regardless of their politics. No administration should ever limit or deny disaster survivors because of their personal politics or because they live in a state that happens to be democratic or republican.
▶ 2:05:52Sec. Mullin: I was extreme the concerned by reports fema employees under the biden administration are skipping houses, survivors that happen to have a trump sign in their front yard which was absolutely outrageous. I even cosponsored the republican amendment that would prevent political affiliation from being considered by fema when approving assistance applications. I was very aggressive against the biden administration that incident.
▶ 2:06:23Sec. Mullin: We have witnessed the politicization of disaster assistance. I think it is a massive scale. There are reports president trump has approved nearly 90% of disaster requests from red states, but only 23% from blue states, even when the requests met the fema established threshold for federal assistance. Behind me I have a chart showing this unprecedented politicization of disaster assistance by the administration.
▶ 2:06:53Sec. Mullin: I don't think there is any other president since the establishment of fema that has chosen to punish american citizens and have survived a flood or wildfire because of their home state governor or senator's political affiliation. In these disasters, americans have lost their homes, possessions, suffered so much. Can you tell me yes or no, is it right for a president to approve disaster aid based on whether a state voted for it instead of the amount of damage that occurred in the state? It is pretty dramatic.
▶ 2:07:24Sec. Mullin: >> the time has expired, but please answer. >> that is not my experience for the president, we've had 37 states approved for disaster underneath president trump, and every one with the exception of two because they did not quite qualify that was blue that was brought was approved, including one of the largest number in washington state and hawaii.
▶ 2:07:53Sec. Mullin: >> briefly, this chart speaks volumes. I would like to have further discussion with you at an appropriate time. I know you, I don't -- I would think you would be appalled by some of this.
▶ 2:08:07Sec. Mullin: Senator, I agree. We don't agree on every issue. I agree it should not be politicized. My experience with the president as I sat down in front of him, last time I sat down in front of him, red and blue states including tribes, he approved 100% of them. We went through, talked through it. He denied two and one was red and one was blue. There was reasons because they did not quite make the threshold and we were trying to get there.
▶ 2:08:39Sec. Mullin: My experience since I had been in the office has not been that. >> following further discussions -- >> senator murkowski. >> I look forward to the day we don't talk about disasters as being red or blue, just disasters that happen in america. I think that is what we are working to do to address it. Secretary, it is good to see you. We can use your help on this side. Just know that we appreciate you.
▶ 2:09:08Sec. Mullin: >> I'm not going to say I miss it, I miss the people, but I love where I'm at. >> you don't need to offer any apologies or explanations. I want to talk about the coast guard. You shared you had an opportunity to come up to speed with the, don, all of the things the coast guard is doing.
▶ 2:09:30Sec. Mullin: We are very excited about the investment that this country has made led by this administration for investment, and icebreaking fleet more than one at a time. The effort has been real, legitimate, and it is more than just the icebreaking fleet, it has been the commitment to the coast guard.
▶ 2:09:53Sec. Mullin: They have been chronically underfunded over the years, so the effort for recapitalization is big, important, and very much appreciated. We are seeing a lot on the shipbuilding side, that is necessary. We know the ships don't move around by themselves. It is the men and women in the ship, and the families that support them.
▶ 2:10:20Sec. Mullin: Making sure that we've got shoreside infrastructure prioritized in the fy 27 budget is going to be very important for me. Particularly in some of our more rural areas. We are on the 10 year anniversary of the coast guard's alaska plan where it was identified where the fast response coders would go, those frc's are now built, they are
▶ 2:10:50Sec. Mullin: Hanging out in other communities because we did not keep up with the shoreside infrastructure. Your teams are on this, but as I'm looking at the budget on coast guard, I'm worried we are not being as forward leaning on the shoreside infrastructure that we need for these 11 arctic security cutters.
▶ 2:11:15Sec. Mullin: I was going to ask a question about whether all 11 asc's are funded, and I got an update that tells me in fact they are funded through both the reconciliation funds and a combination of coast guard funds. So we get the ships, but we need to make sure we are not losing sight of shoreside infrastructure.
▶ 2:11:44Sec. Mullin: I just need your commitment as a secretary that you are keeping eyes on as we are moving forward with aggression and necessary priority.
▶ 2:11:55Sec. Mullin: We are absolutely. Troy, our deputy, and ourselves have met with the comment out multiple times. He's made trips with the, don't. I personally have, about some of the shoreside. The fact of the matter is coast guard was neglected for many years. President trump is the first president, definitely in recent history, that has made such a heavy investment and has made it a goal.
▶ 2:12:22Sec. Mullin: I was recently with him at the academy, his second time to speak at the academy. He sees the coast guard as being a vital port. He loves the idea, president trump loves idea that retention is 90% higher than any branch in the military, a lot of spouses and kids are also working. So shoreside investment is vital work. I know troy has something to say about that.
▶ 2:12:52Sec. Mullin: But we are making heavy investment towards shoreside.
▶ 2:12:55Dep. Sec. Edgar: How you doing senator -- last time I saw you was in alaska when I came up. We absolutely have a lot of focus on trying to make sure that infrastructure catches up. We not only have that problem with the arctic cutters, we have the opc's and all the things, we have infrastructure issues we need to work on.
▶ 2:13:16Dep. Sec. Edgar: One of the most important parts is yesterday, I was in galveston, texas, when I opened up a shipyard, and I think one of the most important things, one of the things we need help on investment, the secretary said the workforce capacity and the infrastructure.
▶ 2:13:39Dep. Sec. Edgar: Even in this fy 27, you gave us almost an additional $1.5 billion mainly to get the people for these. What we have been trying to do is balance getting the folks we need to run the assets we will be getting from this and being able to get the infrastructure in play.
▶ 2:13:57Dep. Sec. Edgar: You also have the liabilities and we will continue to work with you and your office and anybody within the senate and the commandant to make sure we are defending and putting in their priority for us. >> I appreciate that. I know I'm out of time. It is hard to get the people unless we know they will be able to have decent housing. We are excited about the opportunity to be home porting more of these security cutters in alaska and anticipating announcements on that soon.
▶ 2:14:29Dep. Sec. Edgar: But these communities need to get going now to help build this out. Mr. secretary, I'm going to follow up with you about the issue I raised previously with regards to h one b visas for teachers. Senator collins raised it for medical professionals. But we we are really anxious about this as school districts are looking to bring on more of our teachers.
▶ 2:14:58Chair Collins: Thank you. Senator van hollen.
▶ 2:15:01Sen. Van Hollen: Thank you, and welcome, Mr. secretary. You would agree it is important for the american public to be able to trust what dhs says, right? In that it is important that the department put out factual information, you agree?
▶ 2:15:16Sec. Mullin: I think it is important for elected officials.
▶ 2:15:20Sen. Van Hollen: Very important to everybody. I am holding up a press release from january of this year -- before your time -- it's says a person name julio sosa see less violently assaulted a dhs agent. I want to read the quote from former secretary noem. She said, what we saw last night in minneapolis was an attempted murder of federal law enforcement, law enforcement. Our officer was ambushed and attacked by three individuals who beat him with snow shovels in the handles of brooms.
▶ 2:15:51Sen. Van Hollen: Fearing for his life, the officer fired a defensive shot, end quote. That is untrue, isn't it?
▶ 2:16:01Sec. Mullin: What we have been briefed on, yes.
▶ 2:16:05Sen. Van Hollen: It came to light because the city of minneapolis had a camera system. State authorities from the county have pursued the investigation and recently arrested this officer, are you aware of that?
▶ 2:16:16Sec. Mullin: I believe so, yes.
▶ 2:16:19Sen. Van Hollen: So this is part of a pattern we have seen, because I do want to turn to the case of alex pretti. And in that case, secretary noem said he was engaged in an act of domestic terrorism. She said that it looked like alex pretti intended to "inflict maximum damage and to kill law enforcement." that was not true either, was it?
▶ 2:16:44Sec. Mullin: I'm sorry, I did not hear --
▶ 2:16:49Sen. Van Hollen: That was not a true statement?
▶ 2:16:51Sec. Mullin: I cannot speak on her behalf.
▶ 2:16:54Sen. Van Hollen: But you agree the facts do not support that statement?
▶ 2:16:59Sec. Mullin: I did not make the statement.
▶ 2:17:01Sen. Van Hollen: I'm asking if you understand. Again, we know it because of the video. Secretary noem also asserted that renée good was engaged in active domestic terrorism. Look, the reason I am asking this, Mr. secretary, is I want to know if you are going to be willing to provide state investigators access to evidence they have requested in their ongoing investigations into the killings of alex pretti and renée good?
▶ 2:17:31Sec. Mullin: As you know, the fbi is set up to do the investigation for federal law officers, and we investigate on the federal side if it is a federal action, not a state action.
▶ 2:17:42Sen. Van Hollen: But you are aware of the fact that the state has authority and jurisdiction, as well, right?
▶ 2:17:49Sec. Mullin: Actually, under the authority of the federal prosecution, it handles federal government, so the fbi is set up to do those investigations. I want to say something, too. We rest between --
▶ 2:18:04Sen. Van Hollen: I am sorry, I have limited time. If the chair is going to permit additional questions --
▶ 2:18:15Sec. Mullin: You made an accusation.
▶ 2:18:18Sen. Van Hollen: I went on, there was a pattern. Secretary noem said the same thing -- it is a pattern. She said it about renée good, too. Please, the reality is -- words matter, they do.
▶ 2:18:37Sec. Mullin: You of all people should know that words matter. But there is no pattern.
▶ 2:18:43Sen. Van Hollen: I would say three in a row is a pattern. Put your semantics aside, the reality is --
▶ 2:18:51Sec. Mullin: There is no semantics. A pattern of three people when we have 1900 a day is not a pattern.
▶ 2:18:57Sen. Van Hollen: It sounds like you are not willing to share evidence with the state authorities who are trying to get to the bottom of this. I will say, Mr. secretary, given the statements that came out of this administration, including the white house, it is hard to trust this administration to do an independent investigation.
▶ 2:19:17Sec. Mullin: But you trust your last administration?
▶ 2:19:20Sen. Van Hollen: I am talking about giving it to authorities.
▶ 2:19:25Sec. Mullin: Calling an apple and apple.
▶ 2:19:28Sen. Van Hollen: Just, please calm down. I am going to ask about garcia. Are you aware of the fact that in that case, he has agreed to be removed to costa rica and that costa rica has agreed to accept him?
▶ 2:19:43Sec. Mullin: No, I am not.
▶ 2:19:46Sen. Van Hollen: I would like you to look into this. Essentially what the administration did was say to him when he was returned to the united states after being wrongfully deported, the administration admitted it wrongfully deported him, new criminal charges were leveled against him. And they said to him, if you plead guilty to these criminal charges, we will send you to costa rica. And if you don't, we will send you to liberia.
▶ 2:20:13Sen. Van Hollen: Well, he said I'm not going to plead guilty to these charges, and it turns out a short time ago a federal judge determined that the administration had engaged in a vindictive prosecution against him. So my question now is, will you, the administration, agree to have him removed to costa rica, rather than engaging in punishing him for pursuing his constitutional rights? That is the question.
▶ 2:20:41Sen. Van Hollen: If you do not have full information, I understand.
▶ 2:20:45Sec. Mullin: My question is, is the gentleman here in this country illegally?
▶ 2:20:50Sen. Van Hollen: The person was illegally removed to el salvador.
▶ 2:20:54Sec. Mullin: He is still in this country illegally.
▶ 2:20:57Sen. Van Hollen: The point is, he has said he will be removed to costa rica, costa rica has accepted that. The point, Mr. secretary, is the administration -- the point is that they are engaged in what a judge already found to be -- now they're trying to leverage all this to try to get him to go to liberia instead of costa rica. Is anybody -- anybody looking at this can see it.
▶ 2:21:26Sen. Britt: The senator's time has expired. Mr. secretary, we going to go ahead and move into senator hagerty, that is on his way. I cannot tell you how pleased I am that the coast guard has chosen to establish enlisted leadership training center in birmingham alabama. I certainly look forward to being there later this week. With others.
▶ 2:21:55Sen. Britt: I understand that the coast guard's training centers are at max capacity, the ones we currently have. Mr. secretary, how will the creation of the training center at birmingham southern allow the coast guard to deliver world-class training support to ensure the continuous deployment of mission ready personnel to the fleet?
▶ 2:22:16Sec. Mullin: Thank you for asking the question. Our biggest asset we have throughout dhs, including the coast guard, is our personnel. Everyone can do the job in the best possible way. It takes tremendous amount of training. Since the coast guard is small compared to the other branches, what you will see as most individuals that are within the coast guard are cross, sometimes between 15 or 20 separate jobs.
▶ 2:22:41Sec. Mullin: They are expected to be on a cutter one day and be in an office as an aid to the next, and they happily do it. That is why retention is so high. So we are able to invest in our continuing training and be able to see that they have the skills and tools needed to deliver on the threats that face america and our waterways every single day. It is vitally important. And there is a badge of honor, too.
▶ 2:23:11Sec. Mullin: When they see the president investing in them and they realize that they are not being neglected but are being appreciated, there is a sense of pride that comes with that. And while they are willing to do their job without recognition, it does feel good.
▶ 2:23:26Sen. Britt: We are excited to now be a coastee town.
▶ 2:23:34Sec. Mullin: That is a new term, coasties.
▶ 2:23:39Sen. Britt: We are looking forward to it and all they do to keep the country safe and secure. Secretary mullin, like you, I am proud of the U.S. secret service and the work our law enforcement agencies do everyday. Hoover, alabama, is home to the national computer forensic institute, ncfi, premier training center for state and local law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges, combating cybercrimes and electronic threats.
▶ 2:24:05Sen. Britt: Through its partnership with the secret service ,ncfi has trained thousands of professionals and equipped them with from advanced forensic tools to investigate cyber crime, financial fraud, an online exploitation. We have seen increasing emphasis from dhs on equipping state and local municipalities to become more self-reliant with the department providing appropriate federal resources and training.
▶ 2:24:30Sen. Britt: Can you talk a little bit about how ncfi trends and equips communities to respond to cybercrimes in their jurisdictions and the downstream effect it has on national security, making sure our local law enforcement officers are empowered?
▶ 2:24:47Sec. Mullin: It is a partnership we have with local municipalities, state municipalities, and federal municipalities. We use the resources together and train together and respond in a respectful manner. We also have a private partnership. When you go to one of these facilities, you will see that we have our federal partners and throughout different agencies sitting alongside law enforcement from miami, florida, or massachusetts, detroit, san francisco, l.a., seattle.
▶ 2:25:17Sec. Mullin: And when we are able to do that, and in the case of a bad day, and we trained for bad days and hope there is never a bad day, but unfortunately, there is. You can see that the communication is better. We always debrief after a bad day and always find a better way to do it. But when we are used to working together, you have that partnership that allows the bad days to go a little bit smoother.
▶ 2:25:44Sen. Britt: Secretary mullin, the fema review council's final report stated the council recommends reviewing all existing fema programs and maintaining those that are critical to our national security. It went on to say that, rather than replacing successful programs, the future agencies should double down on those with a proven track record of effective federal, state, and local partnerships such as the emergency management assistant compact, national urban search and rescue program, and center for domestic preparedness.
▶ 2:26:15Sen. Britt: I agree with the council's recommendation for strengthening the center for domestic preparedness. Can you tell us your vision of how to improve that facility so we can continue to provide world-class training to emergency managers and first responders?
▶ 2:26:29Sec. Mullin: It goes back to the partnership we have for states. Right now, I forget how many classes we have going on around the country. Do you know off the top of your head? I was just briefed on this last week. We started classes on the emergency preparedness I believe on may 1. And we have sectors all around the united states to where we train emergency response teams from the state and counties, and we allow ourselves to work together.
▶ 2:26:59Sec. Mullin: But the partnership we have isn't possible without the participation of the local, county, and state.
▶ 2:27:08Sen. Britt: My time is expired, but I think it is critically important we continue to maintain that partnership and training, looking at what we have coming forward, all the different events we will be hosting across our country. Want to make sure our communities are safe and strong. I know recognize ranking member murphy.
▶ 2:27:26Sen. Murphy: Thank you very much, madam chair. I would like to enter into the record a lawsuit filed today by the new jersey department of health in which they are for access to delaney hall because they have been denied access to the medical unit, the sleeping areas, and the bathing and toileting areas.
▶ 2:27:50Sen. Murphy: So it does not actually appear that the lack of violations is due to the finding that the conditions are sufficient but that, actually, they are being denied access. Does that change your assessment of whether you have done enough due diligence here? Maybe more importantly, and I assume we will want to look into this, but can you commit to us to making sure the department has access to that?
▶ 2:28:19Sec. Mullin: We give access to the things, we are contracted with them to do the health, food, preparation of facilities. They do not always have unfettered access to the detention center. And if it is within the contract, we will help them. But there is a difference between federal facilities, because they are not able to get to all federal facilities, and federal privatized systems, where they are required by law to have access. We will always allow them access.
▶ 2:28:46Sec. Mullin: But because they want to politicize it and the government wants to by saying they were not allowed access is not true. I would suggest they spend more time in their home prisons.
▶ 2:28:55Sen. Murphy: It is endless, anytime anybody disagrees with you, whether it is this committee, state health, federal court, they are politicizing the department.
▶ 2:29:04Sec. Mullin: Sir, that is exactly what you are doing.
▶ 2:29:10Sen. Murphy: Security. I have been sort of chilled by our interaction from earlier on this question. I do not want to put words in your mouth. I asked you whether --
▶ 2:29:19Sec. Mullin: Then don't.
▶ 2:29:20Sen. Murphy: I said, will you or will you not implement court orders, and your answer to me was, if we do not think the courts were politicized, then I would be able to answer that. But we see the courts over and over again use their bench for political gain.
▶ 2:29:34Sec. Mullin: That is a true statement. Tell me I am wrong. Is that not right? Because I remember when we were putting these --
▶ 2:29:43Sen. Murphy: Let me ask. Madam chair, I have a limited time. Can I ask the question? I am asking you a legitimate question. There is no end to this. If republican administrations do not implement court orders that they believed to be politicized, than democratic administrations will not implement court orders that they believe to be politicized.
▶ 2:30:06Sec. Mullin: That is exactly what the biden administration did.
▶ 2:30:09Sen. Murphy: But do you see that as a desirable result? Shouldn't both republican and democratic administrations implement court orders regardless of what they believe to be political?
▶ 2:30:22Sec. Mullin: I would love to see the courts do their job and not play politics. But you saw it, as you felt, during the biden administration, and we definitely see it now. If you want to talk about court orders against the biden administration and trump administration, we can start talking numbers. We seek courts overturn lower courts a lot of times. You tell me if they are politicized. We both know they are.
▶ 2:30:44Sen. Murphy: I agree, but I have questions as to whether certain courts are making --
▶ 2:30:50Sec. Mullin: I have made it clear that we will enforce the law.
▶ 2:30:53Sen. Murphy: I ask for additional time. I agree that there is politics involved in judicial decisions. I do not think that gives an excuse to either democrat or republican administration to ignore those court orders. I think that is actually the end of our republic of the administration willfully ignores a court order because they disagree with it or its motivation.
▶ 2:31:17Sec. Mullin: There is a difference -- that is not actually true, because several court orders were put in against the biden administration specifically towards immigration and our border, and I did not hear you one time speak against the -- against the biden administration ignoring it.
▶ 2:31:34Sen. Murphy: Actually, that is not true. I will send you a list of statements for me about how I believe the biden administration was going above and beyond on immigration policy. Let me ask a final question. The nonprofit security grant program, really important program in oklahoma and connecticut, wish it was not necessary. I assume you wish it was not necessary.
▶ 2:32:01Sen. Murphy: It provides grants to churches and synagogues and jewish community centers and mosques to provide security. You recommended a lower amount in this budget, and maybe most concerning lee, we have not gotten the fy 25 grants out the door. I know you believe this is an important program in connecticut. It is vitally necessary. We do not get nearly as many applications filled as we would like.
▶ 2:32:30Sen. Murphy: Just a commitment to work with us to try to get that number as high as we can, if we can eventually get a budget done, and a commitment to try to get those 25 grants out the door as quickly as possible.
▶ 2:32:43Sec. Mullin: We will work with you on that, absolutely.
▶ 2:32:49Sen. Van Hollen: -- Sen. murphy: it is an area of deep agreement between us. Thank you.
▶ 2:32:53Chair Britt: Senator hagerty.
▶ 2:32:58Sen. Hagerty: Thank you, thank you madam chair, and welcome. Great to see you again, secretary mullin, secretary edgar, good to see you, as well. When president was sworn into office for a second term, he received a historic mandate, and also a historic problem to deal with. When you think about it, millions of illegal aliens invaded our country, over 700 iranians were released into the system under the biden administration.
▶ 2:33:26Sen. Hagerty: In my home state of tennessee, in 2025 alone, 41 tennesseans were murdered by people here in this country illegally. 41. That is 41 harsh reminders that the consequences of failed enforcement are not just politics, they are being warned by american citizens every day. Now, the department of homeland security has secured the southern border. But we still got a problem.
▶ 2:33:56Sen. Hagerty: And that is that we have sanctuary cities inside the united states that are harboring millions of be better here illegally, that are improperly vetted, at a time when we have major national security threats. Look no further than what is happening in the middle east and the fact we have at least 700 and vetted iranians in this country and I guess we don't know where they are.
▶ 2:34:17Sen. Hagerty: Secretary mullin, could you describe how you have been able to secure the border under these circumstances and what you are able to do and what you need to protect us in the homeland, given the fact that we have so many of these people still resident here in america, particularly in the sanctuary cities?
▶ 2:34:35Sec. Mullin: Thank you. Sir, I did not know there is 41 --
▶ 2:34:41Sen. Hagerty: That is just my state in one year.
▶ 2:34:44Sec. Mullin: Heartbreaking, 40 one too many. Under president trump's leadership, he has made securing our border the statement to his presidency. We are building miles of fence every single day, which creates -- not every day but every week, and it is pushing the chokepoint more to a centralized location.
▶ 2:35:08Sec. Mullin: Just recently, we discovered a tunnel being used by the cartels, first tunnel we have discovered in many years. And it is because of president trump's pressure between the cooperation from state, local, federal, and the do w, able to really combat the illegal crossing and allows us to focus more inside the state.
▶ 2:35:30Sec. Mullin: We are working with uscis and seeing a lot of these illegals that are traveling back into the united states, by leaving the united states, going into canada, and trying to enter back in. The cooperation with canada on the border, they have flexed hard. We see less iranians getting into the country, but we are seeing more arrests taking place. As they leave, we're able to vet them because of cooperation. But it is still a major concern.
▶ 2:35:59Sec. Mullin: We arrest terrorists on terrorist list every single week here, either trying to enter the united states or we have looked for, sought them out, and found them and arresting the worst of the worst, getting them off the streets.
▶ 2:36:14Sen. Hagerty: I think the fact we are dealing with terrorist on a daily basis --
▶ 2:36:20Sec. Mullin: I would not say daily.
▶ 2:36:22Sen. Hagerty: It is amazing to me that we have to go through the reconciliation process to try and properly fund ice and border protection. If you think about this, our democratic colleagues have decided they would rather take your department apart at a time when we are being invaded. I would also add this, Mr. secretary, because I want to get back to the sanctuary city issue. If you think about the invasion that took place of our country during the biden administration, the millions of people who came in, these sanctuary cities were also erected.
▶ 2:36:52Sen. Hagerty: They were erected as magnets to attract these people coming in illegally. What does that had the effect of doing? Bringing those people into sanctuary cities that are, guess what, in blue states, also has the effect of altering the electoral map of the united states. Because these people are counted in the census for the prospects of actually county electoral votes, allocated and congressional districts.
▶ 2:37:21Sen. Hagerty: Very intentionally, the democrats collapsed as the southern border, created sanctuary cities, brought in illegal aliens to the sanctuary cities, and they benefit from the fact that the disproportionately creates congressional representation and electoral votes. When I put this to the vote, when we voted on the floor of the U.S. senate, every single democrat voted to continue this process when I tried to stop it. I think that belies the motive.
▶ 2:37:47Sen. Hagerty: I would like to know what for the resources you might need with respect to sanctuary cities to address this.
▶ 2:37:54Sec. Mullin: Unfortunately, what happens in sanctuary cities is we see a pattern where it creates a safe haven for the worst of the worse to stay, but they don't just stay there, they push out. They push up in surrounding communities and sometimes surrounding states. When we get on their trail and start pushing, we find them going back into sinks because it creates a sanctuary for them, knowing that local and state officials are not going to actually go after them.
▶ 2:38:21Sec. Mullin: Then they find they can push back when federal agents or ice or other agencies go in and try to find them. The resources we need is just to cooperate with us. Why are we having to fight state officials and federal officials on enforcing the law? That seems to me it should be common sense.
▶ 2:38:45Sec. Mullin: Seems like some of these places we go to are more interested in protecting criminals than they are actually protecting law-abiding citizens. All we are trying to do is arrest the criminals that should not be in this country illegally. The worst of the worst. I mean, every day we arrest rapists. We arrest child molesters, murderers, drug traffickers, weapon traffickers, money launderers. Every single day, I get a report on my desk.
▶ 2:39:16Sec. Mullin: And it is not just one or two, it is several or even more that we report every single day that we have arrested on our streets and in certain hot bags -- hotbeds where we are flexing getting people off these streets. Everybody should agree that that is the right thing to do.
▶ 2:39:33Sen. Hagerty: Madam chair, may I ask one more question.
▶ 2:39:38Chair Collins: Quickly, and we will wrap.
▶ 2:39:42Sen. Hagerty: Fifa world cup, I worked hard to get this here. The canadian ambassador and mexican ambassador and japan both worked with me to bring it here. I am delighted to see it here, but I am also very concerned that in two weeks time we will have millions coming to see one of the greatest sporting events in history. How are we going to protect -- protect our homeland?
▶ 2:40:07Sen. Britt: Time is expired, so be brief.
▶ 2:40:10Sec. Mullin: First of all, I have never been a soccer game in my life and I'm going to one on june 12 and I'm looking forward to it. It is pretty neat and I have learned more about it than ever in my life. We call it here in the U.S. soccer. We have a local partnership and state partnership that is very remarkable, and I hope we build on it moving forward. But the shutdown has hindered our preparedness, but we are going to be prepared and are working every single day on it.
▶ 2:40:42Sec. Mullin: We are looking down with sweeps and pushing out parameters, killing chokepoints, creating traffic control, working with the states. Every city we are working in, they have cooperated with us, even in sanctuary cities. Because I think all of us want to highlight the greatness of the united states during this world cup. 78 and 38 days, and hopefully we pull it off with complete safety.
▶ 2:41:13Sen. Hagerty: Thank you, madam chair.
▶ 2:41:14Chair Britt: Mr. secretary, thank you for your commitment to the homeland and keeping americans safe and secure and for being here. This concludes the question and as shouldn't -- answer portion. Members have two weeks to submit questions for the record to the committee, which will be transmitted to the department and the responses will be included as part of our official hearing of record. Mr. secretary, I would ask that the department respond to those questions within 10 business days of receipt.
▶ 2:41:42Chair Britt: Without objection, committee members will have until close of business on june 16, 2026, to submit materials for the record. Thank you for appearing before us today. The committee stands adjourned.