Markwayne Mullin appointed as DHS Secretary
Markwayne Mullin will replace Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security.
The Department of Homeland Security is temporarily halting plans to purchase warehouses to house undocumented immigrants less than two weeks into the term of recently confirmed Secretary Markwayne Mullins, according to multiple reports.
In a statement emailed to USA TODAY, DHS said, “As with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and recommendations.” It is unclear whether Mr. Marin intends to move forward with authorities’ plans to convert the warehouses he has already acquired into detention centers.
The former Oklahoma state senator had previously expressed some hesitation during his confirmation hearing last month, saying it was “important to talk to the communities” in which such centers would be built and maintained.
DHS’ estimated $38.3 billion plan to buy 24 commercial warehouses and increase capacity to more than 92,000 beds in the coming months has drawn criticism from some local officials and residents of the proposed sites, USA TODAY previously reported. Local officials have expressed concern that these facilities could overwhelm public sewer and water systems.
The backlash led to the collapse of at least 11 deals, but as of early March, the federal government had purchased at least 10 warehouses.
Some of the proposed warehouses could accommodate more than 8,000 people at a time. President Donald Trump’s deportation crackdown was a cornerstone of his 2024 re-election bid and the first year of his second term.
DHS is currently closed as Congress is embroiled in a battle over the department’s funding, particularly immigration enforcement, following the shooting deaths of two Americans by federal agents in Minnesota. But Republican lawmakers announced April 1 that the House plans to pass a bill to the Senate that would fund most of the departments except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Protection.
