Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin leaves after the public portion of his confirmation hearing, March 18, 2026. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin appeared before a U.S. Senate panel on homeland security on Tuesday and defended his threats to cripple international air travel to some Democratic-led cities.
Democratic senators on the panel also pressed Mullin about aggressive immigration tactics used by federal officers; whether the department will enforce court orders issued by federal judges; and his recent comments on TV floating plans to withdraw customs workers from airports in cities that do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Republicans also questioned Mullin about visa issues affecting rural hospitals and employers in the hospitality industry.
This is the first appearance by Mullin, who has advocated for President Donald Trump’s 2027 budget request, before Congress since the Senate confirmed his nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security in March.
The top Democrat on the panel, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, asked Mullin whether DHS would comply with court orders issued by federal judges.
Mullin did not answer the question, but said he would “never violate the Constitution.”
Murphy pressed him several more times, but Mullin only claimed that some judges give “political opinions from the bench.”
“If we didn’t think the courts were politicized, I would be able to answer that question,” he said.
Airspace in ‘chaos’?
Murphy criticized Mullin’s first months in office, citing repeated statements that he would suspend international flight arrivals to Democratic-led cities and states.
“Not only would it cause chaos in our airspace, it is illegal,” Murphy said. “Don’t ask us to fund an agency that makes its own laws.”
Mullin rejected Murphy’s characterizations, calling them “outlandish claims” that “are completely wrong.”
“What are we doing that is unconstitutional?” Mullin said. “We are doing the job that Congress has given us.”
Mullin said in interviews for Fox News AND Newsmax last week he was considering a plan to remove customs officers from airports in cities that don’t cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
“Look, for these sanctuary cities where local radical left Democrats won’t let us do our job and enforce federal law, then we shouldn’t be flying international flights into their cities either,” he told Fox’s Sean Hannity on May 26.
This move would seriously harm customs processes.
The top Democrat on the full Appropriations Committee, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, said that would be “insane.”
“Not only is this dangerous, but it would spell an economic crisis for blue and red states,” Murray said.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen touched on the high-profile case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an immigrant from El Salvador who was wrongly deported to a brutal mega-prison in El Salvador last year. Abrego Garcia has been fighting to return to the United States, where the Trump administration continues to try to deport him.
Van Hollen asked Mullin if he knew that Abrego Garcia had agreed to be expelled to Costa Rica and that Costa Rica would accept him.
Mullin said he was unaware of this.
Abrego Garcia is on trial in federal court in Maryland defiant the Trump administration’s efforts to remove him to several African countries, rejecting his offer to relocate to Costa Rica.
The wrongful deportation of Abrego Garcia has shed lithe on the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation campaign. Several courts ruled that his deportation was illegal, and the Supreme Court ruled that Abrego Garcia should be returned to the United States, but did not request it.
The Justice Department indicted Abrego Garcia on human smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop, but a federal judge in Tennessee last month called the move vindictive and dismissed the charges.
Before dismissing the charges, the Justice Department proposed that Abrego Garcia be expelled to Costa Rica if he pleaded guilty to the initial charges. He refused. The Trump administration has since tried to expel him to Eswatini, Liberia and Uganda.
Van Hollen told Mullin that Abrego Garcia had agreed to be deported to Costa Rica.
“Great. If he wants to do it, we’ll send him,” Mullin said.
Visa restrictions
Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, asked Mullin about two visa programs: H-1B for high-skilled workers and H-2B for seasonal workers. She said the Trump administration’s newly imposed visa fee for highly skilled workers – $100,000 – is impacting rural hospitals in her state.
She asked Mullin whether the Trump administration would consider exempting health care workers on H-1B visas.
Mullin said DHS investigated the issue but found its ability to address the issue was constrained.
“It would be difficult to carve out,” he said. “We still have to do our due diligence.”
Collins asked Mullin whether DHS would consider restoring a visa policy that would allow recurring seasonal workers not to be counted toward the annual H-2B visa limit.
Mullin said his hands were tied and Congress would have to give him a higher limit.
New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen asked Mullin to take further action on visa processing for international students on F-1 visas, citing New England College in her state as an example.
“Without consent, they will lose 2,000 graduates by July 1,” she said.
Mullin said he looked into the matter and notified U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that handles legal immigration documentation. DHS is “working on it,” he added.
“This is a really urgent matter,” Shaheen said.
