- 5 hours ago
🇺🇸 Markwayne Mullin is demanding that Congress approve full funding for both U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the next three years, warning that continued uncertainty in federal budgeting could weaken America’s border security and immigration enforcement capabilities.
Speaking during recent discussions on federal appropriations and homeland security priorities, Mullin argued that long-term funding commitments are necessary to give CBP and ICE the stability needed to hire additional personnel, modernize infrastructure, improve detention capacity, strengthen deportation operations, and expand technology used at the southern border.
According to Mullin, border agents and immigration officers are facing increasing operational pressure due to record migration flows, cartel activity, human trafficking networks, fentanyl smuggling, and growing demands on detention and processing facilities. He stated that temporary or short-term budget agreements create unnecessary challenges for agencies responsible for protecting national security and enforcing immigration law.
Mullin emphasized that sustained investment would allow CBP to expand surveillance systems, improve border wall and checkpoint operations, deploy additional agents to high-traffic sectors, and enhance coordination with state and local law enforcement agencies. He also argued that ICE requires expanded funding to increase investigative operations, detention management, and removal enforcement efforts across the country.
Supporters of the proposal say stronger funding would improve operational readiness, reduce strain on frontline personnel, and help federal agencies respond more effectively to illegal crossings and organized criminal activity. Conservative lawmakers backing the measure have argued that border security remains one of the most urgent issues facing the nation and should receive consistent, multi-year congressional support rather than year-to-year uncertainty.
Critics, however, have raised concerns about the scale of enforcement spending and the potential impact on immigrant communities, arguing that Congress should also prioritize immigration reform, humanitarian processing, and modernization of the legal immigration system alongside enforcement measures.
The funding push comes as Congress continues debating broader homeland security spending, immigration policy, and federal budget negotiations ahead of the next fiscal cycle. The debate is expected to become a major issue on Capitol Hill as lawmakers negotiate future border security legislation and national security priorities.
Speaking during recent discussions on federal appropriations and homeland security priorities, Mullin argued that long-term funding commitments are necessary to give CBP and ICE the stability needed to hire additional personnel, modernize infrastructure, improve detention capacity, strengthen deportation operations, and expand technology used at the southern border.
According to Mullin, border agents and immigration officers are facing increasing operational pressure due to record migration flows, cartel activity, human trafficking networks, fentanyl smuggling, and growing demands on detention and processing facilities. He stated that temporary or short-term budget agreements create unnecessary challenges for agencies responsible for protecting national security and enforcing immigration law.
Mullin emphasized that sustained investment would allow CBP to expand surveillance systems, improve border wall and checkpoint operations, deploy additional agents to high-traffic sectors, and enhance coordination with state and local law enforcement agencies. He also argued that ICE requires expanded funding to increase investigative operations, detention management, and removal enforcement efforts across the country.
Supporters of the proposal say stronger funding would improve operational readiness, reduce strain on frontline personnel, and help federal agencies respond more effectively to illegal crossings and organized criminal activity. Conservative lawmakers backing the measure have argued that border security remains one of the most urgent issues facing the nation and should receive consistent, multi-year congressional support rather than year-to-year uncertainty.
Critics, however, have raised concerns about the scale of enforcement spending and the potential impact on immigrant communities, arguing that Congress should also prioritize immigration reform, humanitarian processing, and modernization of the legal immigration system alongside enforcement measures.
The funding push comes as Congress continues debating broader homeland security spending, immigration policy, and federal budget negotiations ahead of the next fiscal cycle. The debate is expected to become a major issue on Capitol Hill as lawmakers negotiate future border security legislation and national security priorities.
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NewsTranscript
00:00officers behind us. It's kind of interesting to me that, you know, they still showed up every
00:08single day knowing that they were still shut down. I mean, 76 days the Democrats kept the
00:14Department of Homeland shut down, yet they still wanted their backyard protected. They still wanted
00:21to make sure that their state, their constituents were secure, but yet they were willing to shut us
00:27down. When I became Secretary of Homeland, my number one focus was to get us funded. Hands down,
00:35that was my number one focus. 70, 80 percent of my time was trying to negotiate a solution to reopen.
00:43At the end of the day, just for the sake of, I actually don't even know why it would be
00:51nice,
00:51but I am. I shouldn't be, but I am. Just for the sake, I don't want to throw the guy
00:55underneath the
00:56bus right now because I don't want to do this again September 30th, but there was someone in
01:00House leadership and in House and in Senate leadership with the Democrat Party after we
01:06negotiated for almost five weeks with them. Went from three issues that they had all up to nine
01:11issues. Tom Holman and I had worked every single day, that's Saturday, that's Sunday, and through
01:18the days of the week, we weren't trying to come up with a solution. In fact, what we said is,
01:26and this
01:26is what we told the Democrats, listen, we will negotiate all the way up to the point to where
01:30it hurts our mission and it puts the officers' lives and families in jeopardy. After we got through
01:38nine issues, they came back with two more, and I said, are you ever going to get to yes? And
01:43one of them
01:44told me in private said, we can't get there until the primaries are over because it may cost our
01:55colleagues their job. Now, I understand politics as good as anybody, but at some point you are elected
02:05to be a leader. And when you're putting your own career over doing what's right, meaning you're willing
02:13to put the safety of this nation at risk because you want to win an election. Being in office is
02:21supposed
02:21to be an office of service, not a career. And if you're not willing to fire yourself at some point
02:26over what's right, then you should never be there. But as the president likes to say, these kamikaze
02:33Democrats will do anything, anything to destroy our nation as long as they can find a way to get back
02:41to
02:41that power. That has to stop. Kansas City, right here in Kansas City, is going to host six
02:50FIFA games. Now, let me just put that in perspective.
02:57I'll wait. Good idea. Interesting. Talking about FIFA and we talk about football.
03:13Now, you think about that right here in Kansas City, you're going to host six
03:18games. That's equivalent to six Super Bowls in 38 days. It put our mission in jeopardy.
03:31Now, can we still deliver? Yes. Were we able to be as proactive? No. Absolutely not. We had
03:38local law enforcement, not just federal, but we had local law enforcement. MOU signed with
03:44us that we couldn't reimburse. We haven't been able to reimburse since February. We're writing
03:49the checks now. And they knew that. We have 11 host cities hosting 78 games in 38 days. And as
04:00I said,
04:00six right here in Kansas City. It's the largest sporting event in the world. And leading up to it
04:08for 76 days, the Democrats want to shut us down. And one congressman right here in our own backyard,
04:16Democrat Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, I'm going to read you his quote. He said, I voted against funding
04:23for the Democrat or for the Department of Homeland Security because I refuse to endorse an agency
04:31that's lost their moral compass. How do we lose our moral compass? We're simply enforcing the laws
04:40that Congress passed. We didn't make the laws. We didn't even make the statutes. Congress did.
04:49And if they want to change it, they could have. They had two years underneath the Biden administration
04:54with Nancy Pelosi, a speaker, that they could have changed it if they wanted to. Chuck Schumer was
05:02leader of the Senate. They could have changed it if they wanted to. No, they didn't. Why? Because if
05:08you really get down to it, it's not about enforcing the law. It's about going against their policy.
05:15What's the Democrats' policy? They want open borders and they spend more time protecting the criminals
05:22than they do fighting for justice for their own constituents. Open borders, which is obvious when
05:31they want to defund custom border protection and they want to prevent ICE from going out and rounding up
05:42the criminals in the worst of the worst. And they're willing to shut down all 20 other components
05:48throughout the Department of Homeland to do that. That has to change. The American people decided they
05:55wanted to change when they put President Trump in office. That's evident, but they haven't.
06:02They've lost their moral compass. Millian Cleaver needs to understand you've lost your moral compass
06:10when you're willing to put the lives of your constituent at risk so you can have political
06:18talking points and get reelected. Thankfully, I'm here with a congressman that's willing to do
06:24what's right every time. Congressman Mark Alford is someone that's willing to stand up. This is a
06:30patriot right here. This is a patriot. He understands that we're here today. We're safe today because the
06:37men and women in law enforcement are willing to protect us every single day. The guy standing
06:43behind you that's protecting us every day, these guys right here, Mark and I both know, they're
06:51willing to put their lives on the line to make sure we get home safe to our family before they
06:57will go
06:57home to their family. And I said this once and I'll say it again, I guarantee you their family loves
07:04them
07:04and wants them home as much as our family wants us home. But they answered the call. We're celebrating
07:11this week, police week. We're celebrating what they do every single day that some people, not all,
07:19some people, mainly the Democrat Party that's working in Washington DC, takes them for granted and
07:24actually holds them hostage for their own political gain. We don't. And thank goodness I have people like
07:33Mark standing beside President Trump and myself fighting
07:39for them every day. So with that, I'm going to let Mark have the mic. Thank you. Thanks, brother.
07:44Thank you. Secretary, I first want to thank you to Kansas City, great town. I'm honored to represent
07:50the fourth congressional district of the great state of Missouri. This is a big day for Kansas City to
07:58have the secretary here driving home the differences between the Democrats and the Republicans in this
08:06matter, this national security matter. You know, as the secretary said, the House, we did our part.
08:12We kept our promises. We kept our word. We passed full funding for the Department of Homeland Security
08:18four separate times. Unfortunately, the Democrats in the Senate reneged on a deal
08:24that was previously agreed to because they didn't like the way that the Department of Homeland Security
08:32was deporting and repatriating criminal illegal aliens. They walked away from a bipartisan agreement
08:39that would have kept our law enforcement fully funded and operational. And that reckless decision has left
08:45ICE and CBP in limbo at a time when threats against our homeland are on a rise. And believe me,
08:52they are. That's why Congress must act urgently through the budget reconciliation process to deliver
09:01multi-year funding for ICE and CBP. We've got to make sure that they are funded. And that's what this
09:11reconciliation process is all about. Look, I'm on the Appropriations Committee. The secretary as a
09:18senator was on the Senate Appropriations Committee. This is not the way we like to fund things. We like to
09:24fund things
09:24through the appropriations process. That's what our committee is all about. But when people for political reasons stand in the
09:32way for purely political reasons to try to win the midterms and to try to keep being from being primary
09:42like Chuck Schumer,
09:43trying to get him not to be primary by AOC, as you saw in the previous shutdown in November,
09:49and now this one, it's disgusting. My dad was a special Texas Ranger, and he used to say
09:57these words when he got really frustrated. It's a crying shame. And you know what? It is a crying shame
10:03what the
10:03Democrats have done to ICE and CBP here in America. It's a crime shame that they can't get behind our
10:11unified,
10:12what should be a unified force, to deport criminal illegal aliens and send them back to their home
10:19countries. We cannot afford another round of short-term continuing resolutions that leave our front lines
10:26vulnerable. Make no mistake, robust immigration enforcement is not a political issue. It is a national
10:32security imperative. Every day that ICE and CBP remain in limbo, we risk a return to the Biden era
10:39status quo, one in which our borders are once again porous as fentanyl gang members and potential terrorists
10:46flow into our communities. And folks, if you doubt what I'm saying, I was down on that border just
10:52two and a half years ago with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and we saw as we were standing
10:58there
10:58with 40 members of Congress, 30 illegals crossing, trying to get into the United States of America,
11:06just south of Del Rio, Texas. And yet Alejandro Mayorkas, the biggest liar since Pinocchio, would have
11:13you believe that there was no chaos, there was no crisis, there was no security breach, there was not a
11:20problem at the border. There was a problem at the border, but thank God we have President Donald J.
11:26Trump who fixed that and closed the border to make sure that those coming across become part of the
11:33fabric of America, not those looking to rip apart America. The American people elected us to secure
11:42the homeland, not to manage the decline of the homeland. So now is the time for the House and
11:50Senate Republicans to unite with the Trump administration to pass a multi-year funding
11:55through reconciliation and give ICE, give CBP the certainty, the resources that they need to protect
12:01our nation, to protect everyone in this room and to protect everyone watching right now.
12:06Last week, on the House floor, I had the honor to lead the effort to pass the funding for the
12:13rest of the
12:14Department of Homeland Security. I look forward to leading this fight in the House as well, with leadership
12:23there, to help Secretary Mullen, House Republicans to unite in one singular purpose and mission,
12:32to fully fund these agencies. Because ladies and gentlemen, Secretary, I'm here to tell you,
12:38failure is not an option. Thank you.
12:44To address reconciliation, I understand why President Trump and myself had to make this play call.
12:51We didn't, we don't, we don't want to separate two components from the other 20 components there,
12:57but we didn't have a choice. Why didn't we have a choice? Because Congressman Representative
13:01Thompson, I believe it was, said, yeah, he's willing to shut it down again September 30th if he doesn't
13:07get his way. If they don't defund CPB and ICE. So the President and I, with a phone call with
13:18Leader Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson as we sat in the office said, what do we do here? If we
13:23reopen it,
13:24the Democrats are going to shut us right back down for the fifth time in a year, because we've been
13:29shut down four times already, if we continue to play this game. The option we had is, okay,
13:35let's do it through reconciliation. Yeah, you're right. It's not a way to fund government. But
13:41because of the political theater that the Democrats continue to play, we have no choice. President
13:46Trump said, fine, let's do it through reconciliation, and we'll do it for three years. That way, they can't
13:52continue to play games with our men and women out there protecting us every single day.
13:59I get that people have strong opinions about this, but the truth is, it's the only option we have.
14:09We're going to fight every single day to make sure that they can't play games with our law enforcement
14:15anymore. So with that, we're going to stop. You guys have any questions? We'll be happy to to answer
14:21them. If not, then I'm going to shake some more hands and go back to Oklahoma. So, yes, sir.
14:28How hard has it been, when you talk to these men and women, how hard has it been for them
14:34that they
14:34feel betrayed percent?
14:38I can answer it, but I think they'd be better to answer that. Sir, you want to answer that?
14:44Sure. Introduce yourself. I'm sorry. I should have done that. No problem at all. I'm so sorry.
14:48My name is Mike Pfeiffer. I'm the Acting Director of Field Operations for the Chicago Field Office,
14:53which includes the Board of Kansas City, Missouri. We stand by at each one of our ports of entry,
14:59and we stand ready to serve. Although we may go through some difficulties, we deal with those
15:05difficulties and we move forward. We're always there for the American people and we're always
15:09there with national security in our forefront, protecting trade, protecting America, protecting
15:15us against harmful drugs and harmful goods that are entering the country. And so we continue to do
15:22that mission. We continue to remain focused on it. Thank you. Now, I'll tell you this,
15:29the stories that I got. Morale was low. Retention was low. Recruiting was almost impossible.
15:37I didn't recruit somebody to come work for you when you say, hey, by the way, we're shut down for
15:42the fourth time. I can't pay you, but hey, come on. Let's do this. Oh, now you have to wait
15:47for a
15:47second because we can't even put you into a class yet because the academy can't open because we're shut
15:54down. But come work for us. How do you think that's going to happen? We're trying to staff up.
16:01The Biden administration gutted CPP, Custom Border Protection, people say I say that too fast,
16:07and ICE. We're trying to build it back up, fighting the Democrats for funding the whole time.
16:15My number one focus outside of funding is dealing with morale now. I can't tell you how proud I am
16:22to
16:22be secretary of such a great department. I mean, think about it. The greatest job in the world,
16:29I mean that, outside of being President of the United States, I get to protect the homeland,
16:35the homeland. And that means that I'm even going to protect the Democrats' backyard like I protect
16:40Republicans' backyard. That means I'm going to protect California, even though they've got a
16:44ridiculous governor out there, just like I'm going to protect Oklahoma. I'm even going to protect
16:49New York, just like I'm going to try to protect Florida. I don't see the difference between red and blue.
16:55I see that I have one job, and it's to lead an agency that's trying to protect the homeland
17:01every single day. And you know what? They feel the exact same way. They do their job regardless of
17:07if you voted for them, if you didn't. Emmanuel Cleaver could call right now and need help,
17:11and these guys would respond. I don't even know how he could look them in the face.
17:19What else, guys?
17:20Three years, probably not longer. Was three years the middle ground?
17:26Well, I mean, if we needed to go two years, six months, and I think it's 23 days, we could
17:32have.
17:32The fact is, three years is just kind of a rounding number. We just wanted to make sure we get
17:36it
17:36one out of the political fight underneath President Trump, and then the next president
17:43wouldn't have to come in and immediately deal with it. So our thought process is let's make sure
17:50we take this out of the primary election and the presidential election, and that way they can't use
17:56them warrants again for political theater. Anything else, guys?
18:00What's the significance of this conference in Kansas City?
18:04Well, it's because of the six games, and it's close to Oklahoma. No, I'm kidding.
18:10It really has to do with the six games. It's right here in kind of my backyard. It's four hours
18:15from my
18:15house. And Kansas City, they take a lot of pride in the fact they're hosting FIFA here.
18:23And people, I think, overlook what ICE and Custom and Border Protection is doing,
18:31because they think of it being on the border. They don't understand it's being in the heartland.
18:34Kansas City's in the heartland. These guys work here every single day. By the way, when I say guys,
18:39I mean, male and female both, that's just Oklahoma for you. And so knowing it's so close to home,
18:46knowing the fact that they're hosting six games, knowing that that mission was put at risk for 76
18:55days, knowing that they're going to have to work overtime to catch up now, I just wanted to expose that.
19:04Are you expecting an influx of immigrants during that time?
19:09Well, we have five to seven million visitors that's going to be coming to the United States.
19:15So yes, USCIS, State Department, we're working hand in hand. Keep in mind, every team, eight percent of the
19:23tickets are specifically for their fans. So that's even including the Iranian soccer team that's coming in.
19:31Eight percent of their tickets are for their fans. Most countries are bringing their own individuals
19:36in. That's why we're seeing five to seven million visitors coming in. Ninety percent of the tickets
19:41are already sold out. That means for all 78 games, 90 percent is sold. And the only reason why the
19:47other
19:4710 percent isn't is because they're slowly rolling them out. So the other 10 percent will be slowly rolled
19:52out. But we know just like the other ones that you're going to go just like that. And so yes,
19:57there's going to be a huge influx of visitors coming to Kansas City. What else, guys?
20:12DHS as a whole, we're going to flex pretty hard. We're asking the governors to help
20:21activate the National Guard. That way they can take care of the soft area.
20:25The thing that that really worries us with stadiums is everybody remembers the, you know,
20:33the correspondent dinner with the active shooter. The active shooter barely made it past the first
20:39line of security. And that was two flights of stairs up and through two closed doors before they could
20:46even before he could ever even made it to the to the ballroom to where the speech was taking place.
20:53And that's why we have layers of security put in place. All of us that's been to a football game,
20:58baseball game or any stadium understands the only line of security you have is going into the stadium.
21:04So we don't have one line of actual security put in place. Now TSA, our custom border protection,
21:13local law enforcement, we're going to have a presence there. But we also need a soft area. That's where the
21:19fans are gathering before they go into the stadium. We need a presence, strong presence there. And we
21:23know what the National Guard does. We can see that. You can see it in Washington, D.C. where the
21:29president has had the National Guard out on the streets. You can see a change in the cities. The
21:33seven of the safest cities in the nation are cities that cooperate with the president's plan to bring
21:40safer cities to to to the country and to the cities. And a lot of that has to do with
21:45the National
21:45Guard just simply walking. So their presence alone will will help bring down the the threat of
21:53violence in the in the south area. So yes, we're going to be flexing hard and using every asset we
21:58have. Sure. Well, technically, this is Emanuel Cleaver's district. But this does affect me.
22:10And it affects Sam Graves. I guess technically this is Sam Graves district. But look, we all have
22:16a concern. I was waved in on the Homeland Security Committee about a month ago when Deputy Chief Mabry was
22:22there testifying about the need to get this 25 million that we got in the one big beautiful bill,
22:28the working families tax cut. This money was to go to these cities to provide security. And it's
22:33not like you can just spend that money overnight and hire people. This takes months of planning
22:38preparation to sign the memorandums of understanding in the contracts to get housing for the security
22:43that's going to come from Nebraska and Texas and Colorado. So what they did was put this process
22:51in jeopardy and really put the 600,000 people who are going to be at these matches over a period
22:57of
22:5830 or 35 days, put their safety in jeopardy. And that's what disgusts me. This did not have to be
23:05this way. We've got to make sure that DHS is fully funded, quit putting the politics in front of our
23:14security as a nation. That's all I'm asking. Let me let me discuss this to some agencies that people
23:20don't even think about having to respond to events like this. For instance, our CISA, our cyber
23:31cyber security agency. They're down 1,100 people. That's a third, down a third of other staff because
23:39of these shutdowns we've had four in one year. Try to have communications. They're going to be at every
23:47single match. They're going to be at every single stadium. Try to have communications without secured
23:53cyber connection. What happens if something takes place? What about our drone defense that we have to
23:59partner with other agencies on and private contractors? What happens in that case? Well, the truth is we
24:09weren't able to be as proactive and start putting those products in line because since CISA was so
24:16devastated by the shutdown and TSA, who's taking care of 11 of the matches because they had lost a
24:22little over 8% of the workforce, we haven't been as proactive. And that's what Mark was referring to,
24:28the 25 million. We haven't been able to be as proactive on putting those positions, those
24:35safety measures in place. And the first match is June 11th. The first one in the U.S. is in
24:44L.A.,
24:44June 12th. That is around the corner. We have so much work to do. If it wasn't for our local
24:51law
24:51enforcement and guys and gals standing behind me like this that wasn't willing to go out there and
24:57work for free, knowing they're going to get paid eventually, but not knowing when and to make sure
25:02that the mission was still delivered, we would be in horrible shape. But it goes to show that our
25:07men and women that get up every single day and put the badge on, they do it not necessarily for
25:14the
25:14income. They do it because it's a calling and we get to celebrate them all the next week. So anything
25:20else? Guys, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate them. Give these guys a.
25:27Thank you. Appreciate it.
25:31All right. Thank you. Thank you.
25:34Hopefully you guys get a picture. Thank you so much.
25:39I didn't mean to put you on the spot. No problem.
25:41Did you get a haircut? Your picture's different.
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