Trump Souring on DHS Secretary Mullin Over Off-Message Immigration Remarks

President Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, whom he appointed in March after firing Kristi Noem — the first cabinet secretary dismissed during Trump's second term. Despite that frustration, a senior administration official confirmed Trump has no current plans to fire Mullin. The former Oklahoma senator was brought in specifically to reduce DHS drama and keep the agency out of headlines, but four months in, Trump views him as weak and out of step with the administration's hard-line immigration agenda.

The tension peaked in early August when Mullin told the National Governors Association in Oklahoma City that the idea immigration steals American jobs is only true in some industries — and suggested immigration could actually help address low labor-force participation rates in certain regions. The remarks ignited immediate backlash from Trump's core supporters. Right-wing influencer Laura Loomer, who speaks with Trump regularly, publicly demanded Mullin's firing, accusing him of doing nothing to accelerate mass deportations. Mullin scrambled to post a clarifying message hours later declaring there would be no amnesty for undocumented immigrants, ever.

Several earlier missteps also damaged Mullin's standing. After two fatal shootings of immigrants within a week, he temporarily halted most vehicle stops by federal immigration officers — only to have Trump reverse the decision the next day via social media, reportedly annoyed he hadn't been consulted. Mullin also pushed to cancel Fourth of July fireworks on the National Mall due to lightning, a suggestion Trump publicly mocked before a crowd that evening. And following a late-June Supreme Court ruling clearing the way to end temporary protections for roughly 350,000 Haitians in the U.S., Mullin suggested on television that some might be able to pursue legal status — undercutting the administration's deportation messaging at a moment of legal victory.

Despite the public friction, ICE arrest numbers under Mullin have actually climbed to some of the administration's highest daily totals, running between 1,500 and 2,000 arrests per day according to an administration official — though DHS has not been publicizing the figures. Mullin faces serious internal resistance over his choice to lead ICE permanently: Lance Schroyer, a veteran of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol who previously ran Mullin's Senate security detail. ICE rank-and-file officials and border czar Tom Homan are both opposed, citing Schroyer's lack of federal or immigration experience. The Senate has yet to schedule a confirmation hearing. The episode illustrates the precarious nature of the DHS secretary role under Trump — in his first term alone, the position cycled through two Senate-confirmed secretaries and four acting ones.