DHS Secretary Blasts Senator for Calling ICE Unconstitutional: ‘If You Don’t Like the Laws, YOU Can Change Them’

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin fired back at Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing over claims that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is lawless, dangerous, and unconstitutional.

“We’re doing the job that Congress gave us the authority to do,” Mullin said. “If you don’t like the laws, you can change them.”

During the Tuesday Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security hearing titled “A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security,” Murphy accused ICE and DHS of violating court orders.

“Every day, this agency is breaking the law at scale and wasting billions of taxpayer dollars. The DHS does not implement the law any longer; it makes up the law,” the senator charged.

Murphy argued that the committee should not choose to fund agencies that allegedly break the law.

“We swear an oath when we arrive here to ensure that their money is not used to fund unconstitutional or illegal behavior,” the senator said. “Every single day, this agency is violating the Constitution and the law. This cannot continue.”

Secretary Mullin, who was sworn in less than three months ago, used up the time for his opening statement to fire back at Murphy’s attacks.

“I do have an opening statement here, but wow. Senator Murphy, the outlandish claim you made there is just flat wrong,” Mullin said.

“What’s unconstitutional that we’re doing? We swore to uphold the Constitution just like you swore to uphold the Constitution,” the secretary added. “We’re simply enforcing the law. Period. Full stop.”

Mullin also accused Murphy of recklessly spreading dangerous rhetoric about DHS and ICE. “When you throw out reckless terms and you start referring to our agents as being dangerous, unconstitutional, and lawless, that’s why our agents’ death threats are up by 8000%.”

“I know that’s not what you want, but your political theater, that’s what it causes. When you start looking at assaults on our officers, they’re up by 1300%.” Mullin said.

The secretary argued that the federal government needs to prioritize immigration enforcement and continue to fund ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

“If you don’t want Customs and Border Patrol, and their job is to control our borders and the customs entry points, then be honest with the American people and say ‘we want open borders,’ but don’t sit there and accuse us of a bunch of stuff that you know isn’t true,” Mullin told Murphy.

The hearing came after a reconciliation bill stalled in the Senate due to a dispute over an included anti-weaponization fund that gave the Department of Justice an additional $1.776 billion.

The disagreement over the reconciliation bill and DHS funding threatens another partial government shutdown if Congress cannot agree on a budget by June 30.