President Donald Trump’s decision to replace Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Senator Markwayne Mullin is a leadership change that risks preserving the same harmful policies and inhumane tactics. More than that, it is a test of whether this administration believes accountability is optional.
Leadership changes at the Department of Homeland Security mean little when the underlying policies and the abuses they enable remain intact. Over the past year, ICE and CBP agents have operated with alarming disregard for civil rights, leaving communities to bear the consequences of a system that too often functions without meaningful oversight.
For those living under the constant threat of aggressive enforcement, this is not about personalities in Washington. It is about whether the federal government will continue to cause harm.
At his confirmation hearing, Mullin will be asked how he plans to lead DHS. The more urgent question is whether he intends to end the pattern of misconduct that has eroded trust, undermined the Constitution, and put countless lives at risk.
Here are five questions he must answer.
1. Will you cooperate with the Office of the Inspector General’s investigations?
The Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”)—the independent watchdog agency that investigates and audits ICE and CBP—is reportedly being denied access to records in ten investigations into ICE and CBP officer misconduct, and DHS has revoked the OIG’s access to the Enforcement Integrated Database, which records all arrests, detentions, investigations, and deportations. We need to know if the incoming head of the DHS will allow OIG access to the information that it needs to meaningfully investigate the massive allegations of wrongdoing committed by DHS employees. At the bare minimum, Senator Mullin should commit to cooperating with OIG and stop the obstruction of this accountability mechanism.
2. Do you regret calling Alex Pretti a “Deranged Individual,” and do you still believe that the shooting of Renee Good was justified?
Following the shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, Senator Mullin made public statements that painted both victims as the aggressors and insisted that the agents’ deadly, unconstitutional actions were justified. DHS’s endorsement of clearly unconstitutional uses of force and its subsequent inhumane mudslinging at deceased victims speaks to a culture of brutality and impunity. It is unlikely DHS accountability will improve under Senator Mullin if he continues to stand by these statements.
3. Will you encourage agents to meet Stephen Miller’s 3,000 arrests per day quota?
Much of the ICE violence we are witnessing is the product of the Trump administration’s arbitrary immigration enforcement goals, an outsized number that is more about making a show of force than assuring American citizens’ safety. The more undertrained ICE agents are in the streets conducting roving patrols to meet the quota, the more people are at risk for harm and constitutional violations. Senator Mullin should reject Miller’s quota.
4. Will you continue to direct agents to conduct warrantless home entries in violation of the Constitution?
In May 2025, DHS issued a memo directing agents to enter homes and conduct arrests pursuant to civil administrative warrants despite the Fourth Amendment’s requirement that law enforcement officers obtain a criminal arrest warrant issued by a neutral magistrate judge to enter private property. Senator Mullin should explain what steps he will take to make sure this memo is rescinded and that agents are trained on the constitutional limits of home entries.
5. How will you end ICE’s dangerous vehicular pursuit tactics?
ICE agents have been responsible for at least dozens of car crashes caused by dangerous and unnecessary vehicular pursuits. Some of these pursuits have been deadly, taking the life of citizens like Dr. Linda Davis, a 52-year-old special education teacher who was killed on her morning commute. Senator Mullin should explain what steps he intends to take to end these pursuits and protect motorists and pedestrians.
These questions are the core of whether the Department of Homeland Security will continue to operate with impunity or finally be held to the constitutional standards it is sworn to uphold.
The country needs a DHS secretary who understands that order without accountability is abuse.