President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Wednesday he would require federal immigration agents to obtain judicial warrants to enter private property.
Republican Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin stood in support of the warrants during his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Requiring judicial warrants meets one of the Democrats’ crucial reform demands for the department’s law enforcement as they continue to withhold their votes to fund DHS after 33 days of a partial government shutdown.
“We will not enter a home or a place of business without a judicial warrant, unless we’re pursuing the individual that runs into a place of business or a house,” Mullin told his colleagues in the hearing.
Mullin also said he does not plan to send DHS law enforcement agents to polling sites unless there is a present danger.
The White House has been actively engaged in negotiations with Senate Democrats and sent the party an updated offer Tuesday to end the shutdown that has upended travel nationwide as thousands of Transportation Security Administration agents go without pay. Additional crucial programs, such as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, are left unfunded.
In their offer letter, the administration said they would agree to expanding the use of body cameras on ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents, require agents to wear visible identification and state their agency and identification when asked, limit immigration enforcement at schools, churches and sensitive locations, and will not deport or detain U.S. citizens unless a law is violated.
Democratic Delaware Sen. Chris Coons told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Mullin’s support for the warrants was “a positive,” but still pointed to the party’s remaining demands, such as agents’ use-of-force policy.
Both Coons and Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen told the DCNF that Mullin’s commitment to enforcing judicial warrants was encouraging because it was returning DHS to how it used to operate. Shaheen called the Oklahoma senator’s comments “helpful” in moving funding negotiations forward.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would not support Mullin’s nomination, claiming that leadership of the department will not solve the agencies’ “problems.”
“What Americans need far more than just a change in leadership is a change in policy at DHS,” he said on the Senate floor Wednesday.
“Along with his commitment to secure our homeland, Senator Mullin plans to ‘bring peace of mind and confidence to the agency,’ building on President Trump’s America First immigration policies,” Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters said in a statement. “Senator Mullin has represented Oklahoma with integrity and will bring that same leadership to securing our border, stopping the flow of illegal drugs, and holding illegal aliens accountable for their crimes.”
The White House has also offered to increase funding for body cameras from the initial $20 million to $100 million as well as proposed audits from the inspector general and reviews for noncompliance.
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