DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin Floats Deal to Give Citizenship to Illegal Aliens Protected by Obama's DACA
A former GOP legislator who once opposed any form of amnesty for illegal immigrants is now saying that maybe a little bit is not so bad, as long as it has a different label.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Monday that he would not oppose new laws to give permanent legal status to the children of illegal immigrants who sashayed over the border as part of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, according to Politico.
In that program, children whose parents entered the U.S. illegally would be allowed to remain without being deported, assuming they did not break the law.
“If we want to have an immigration reform where we can look at DACA and figure out a way that these individuals can become maybe legal permanent citizens or something like this, that’ll be up to Congress to do that. I’ll be open to talk to anything,” Mullin said.
NEW: Sec. Mullin told me this morning he is open to a bipartisan immigration deal that includes DACA permanent legal status. But draws red line on amnesty.
Mullin told Trump that Dems (ie No Labels) have called him and Trump encouraged him to engage.
“The president said ‘let’s start working with them and then let’s meet at some point.’”
W/ @MyahWard
https://t.co/QeIITgGlL9
— Sophia Cai (@SophiaCai99) November 9, 2026
“I think the only way you can actually get it is by a bipartisan approach,” Mullin said, noting that moderate Democrats who are part of the No Labels coterie of legislators trying to find a political middle ground reached out to him about finding a path for immigration reform.
He said President Donald Trump, who at various times has been supportive of those who entered the U.S. under DACA and at other times wanted to kill the program, said he should talk over the concept.
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“The president has said, ‘Let’s start working with them, and then let’s meet at some point,’” Mullin said. “So that’s the extent of the conversation.”
Well that IS amnesty and will cement political devastation. No amnesty.
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) November 9, 2026
Mullin drew a semantic line in the sand.
“Amnesty is never going to be a solution. We’re never going to allow amnesty to happen. So that’s a full stop,” he said.
“I will be flat out against amnesty when it comes to enforcing our nation’s laws,” he said.
Mullin’s distinction meant nothing to Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas.
“Well, that IS amnesty and will cement political devastation. No amnesty,” he posted on X.
In the meantime, Mullin said he will reach out with one hand while slamming the door with the other, Politico reported.
“We have prioritized the worst of the worst since I walked in the door,” he said.
“We will serve a warrant on an individual. The thing is, a lot of times that … person isn’t by themselves, and so we have what we call collateral criminals. That when we arrest somebody, there’ll be one or two or three or maybe four individuals that may be in the vehicle or in the house,” he said.
As noted by Heritage Action, Mullin, while a Republican member of Congress from Oklahaoma, voted aagaint the Dream Act in 2021, that, Heritage Action noted, was intended to “codify and expand amnesty granted by the Obama administration’s unconstitutional Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program by allowing so-called Dreamers (illegal aliens who came to the U.S. before the age of 18) and those illegally present who have been granted Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure to permanently avoid deportation, obtain a pathway to citizenship, and full voting rights.”
“Encouraging illegal immigration by providing mass amnesty is the last thing the federal government should be doing during this crisis,” Mullin said then, according to OKW.
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