00:00I guess this is a good place to stop. We are trying to keep members to eight
00:04minutes. Mr. Secretary, you know that too. That's fine. So we all know how the clock
00:09runs here. The idea is to get together to forward questions. I'm gonna have you
00:14repeat your question when we start up again. Thank you. But I can tell you this,
00:18if this format won't work, then we'll reschedule the meeting for later when we
00:25can keep it to all all the issues accordingly. So this is the efficient way
00:32to do it, but if we can't do it the efficient way, then we'll go to plan B,
00:36which will not be today. And I don't mean that as a threat to anybody. I'm just
00:41saying this is not meet the press or Fox News or whatever for anybody involved.
00:47It's what's the question? What's the answer? Mr. Secretary, if you need more time
00:52to respond to that, the committee will make any of your comments part of the
00:56record, and we will endeavor to make sure that you get to meet with whoever wants
01:00more time. But while we've got the whole committee sitting here, we're not gonna
01:05do the XYZ debate, whatever the heck. So ma'am, please repeat your question, and as
01:14near as I can figure, you got about four minutes left. Secretary Mullen, I want to
01:19discuss FEMA's denial disaster assistance for families in Illinois.
01:22You and I both come from communities that deal with tornadoes. Just last week,
01:26Northern Illinois was under a tornado watch as severe storms swept through the
01:29region, downing trees, disrupting flights in and out of Chicago, and leaving
01:33thousands without power. And between August 16th and 19th of last year, severe
01:38thunderstorms, extreme rainfall, flooding, and damaging winds impacted
01:42communities across Northern Illinois. Homes were damaged, roads were flooded,
01:46power lines were down, and families suffered significant losses. Illinois requested a
01:51major disaster declaration that included individual assistance, which helps
01:55affected families pay for home repairs, property losses, child care, temporary
01:59housing, moving assistance, moving expenses, and recovery costs. FEMA denied
02:04Illinois' request in October. Illinois appealed in November.
02:08Then on February 7th, 2026, FEMA denied the appeal and reaffirmed its decision.
02:15Unfortunately, Illinois is not alone. Since President Trump took office, the number of
02:19disaster declarations approved has been 30% lower than the historical average. And there's
02:24reason to be concerned that they're being politicized. An analysis from March of this
02:29year found that FEMA approved just 23% of disaster requests from Democratic-led states,
02:33compared to 89% from Republican-led states. Don't get me wrong. Concerns about FEMA's response
02:40are coming from both sides of the aisle, including from your former Republican colleagues in the
02:45Senate. This should not be a partisan issue. Americans expect timely disaster assistance
02:52decisions that follow the law and not politics. What makes this even harder to understand is that
02:56Republicans have provided DHS with tens of billions of dollars through reconciliation funding
03:01twice on top of annual appropriations. Your department has repeatedly stated that this
03:07funding could support operations for years, yet families in my district were told there was no
03:12assistance or funds available to help them recover. On top of that, this committee does not have
03:18a comprehensive spend plan explaining how these funds are being used, despite my repeated requests
03:24over the last several months. Secretary Mullen, will you commit to a member-level meeting with my
03:28colleagues and I to discuss why Illinois' disaster declaration was denied and to see how we can
03:33support my constituents?
03:35Uh, ma'am, we haven't denied anybody a meeting with us. If you reach out, we'll meet with you,
03:40uh, just as long as you, I mean, and we'll do it in a timely fashion. Maybe not the next
03:44day,
03:45but we'll get to it as soon as possible. But I do want to address what, if you don't mind,
03:49what you talked about here on politicizing it, because I, I, I don't-
03:53I actually don't want to talk about politicizing it. I want the, I want to meet with you.
03:56But I mean, but you made some accusations here about President Trump. That's actually not accurate
04:01because if you're going to make accusations, though, you have to let us respond back.
04:06Reclaiming my time, Mr. Clarence, Mr. Chairman.
04:08Okay. So you're lying about it.
04:10Mr. Chairman.
04:11Because you don't want to hear the truth.
04:12Mr. Chairman, this week, President Trump's nominee-
04:14Mr. Secretary, the record will reflect that you have agreed to meet with, with the lady and her folks.
04:19And since I'm trying to keep people in eight minutes, please proceed.
04:23Thank you. This week, President Trump's nominee to head FEMA, Cameron Hamilton,
04:28appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee
04:31and pledged that FEMA would be fair and reasonable when evaluating requests for disaster aid.
04:37Secretary Mullen, will you make the same commitment as Mr. Hamilton to evaluate disaster
04:42requests fairly reasonably and without regard to politics? Yes or no.
04:46It's interesting that you won't allow me to answer those questions. I can explain it to you
04:49because I don't look at states different between blue or red. I look at them across the country as a
04:55whole. If you actually want to know what we're doing, I'll be happy to so you're not worried
04:59about this. I don't look at this any different, ma'am, and I'm not here to argue with you. I'm
05:04not
05:04here to fight with you. I like facts. Accusations doesn't help anybody. The more you're informed,
05:09the better you know because you're saying some stuff that's not true.
05:12And I hope that Illinois receives the same fair consideration as any other state.
05:16Now I'd also like to address another deeply concerning matter, detainees who died while in
05:21your custody. Secretary Mullen, since Donald Trump took office, DHS's immigration detention
05:26system has been plagued by medical neglect, abuse, overcrowding, and a historically high death rate.
05:33I saw these dangerous conditions with my own eyes when I visited the Miami Correctional Facility
05:37in Bunker Hill, Indiana, where I met with individuals who told me that it takes months
05:41to receive medication refills, including for life-threatening illnesses like diabetes.
05:46Others reported being left unattended with infected boils and other serious conditions.
05:51So it's no surprise that a detainee at that facility died shortly after my visit or that
05:56more detainees died in ICE custody in 2025 than ever before. Secretary Mullen, does DHS have any
06:03official specific internal goals or policies to reduce deaths in custody?
06:08Ma'am, your numbers just aren't accurate. We've had 0.009%.
06:13I didn't ask. Mr. Secretary, I didn't ask. I asked a specific question.
06:15It's 0.009% of deaths, and we've had 54 total in the President's time.
06:22Those are dangerous accusations you're making.
06:24Mr. Secretary, Mr. Secretary.
06:25Those are dangerous accusations that she's making, because in the state of Illinois,
06:28they're twice as high to die in a state penitentiary in Illinois than they are in detention
06:33You are invited to this committee. This is my time.
06:35And you need to be informed by what you're saying.
06:37I am informed.
06:38No, you're not, ma'am.
06:38Mr. Secretary, does DHS have any official specific internal goals or policies?
06:41Do you realize that we have one doctor per thousand for detention centers and for our
06:47federal detention centers and the state of Illinois that have one per 1,800, but yet
06:51she wants to focus on our detention centers?
06:53I understand that. You'll get your time.
06:55You're welcome. So I guess this is a good place to stop.
06:59We are trying to keep members to eight minutes.
07:01Mr. Secretary, you know that, too. That's fine.
07:04So we all know how the clock runs here.
07:07The idea is to get together to forward questions.
07:10I'm going to have you repeat your question when we start up again.
07:14But I can tell you this.
07:15If this format won't work, then we'll reschedule the meeting for later when we can keep it to
07:23all the issues accordingly.
07:26So this is the efficient way to do it, but if we can't do it the efficient way, then we'll
07:32go to plan B, which will not be today.
07:35And I don't mean that as a threat to anybody.
07:37I'm just saying this is not meet the press or Fox News or whatever for anybody involved.
07:44It's what's the question?
07:46What's the answer?
07:47Mr. Secretary, if you need more time to respond to that, the committee will make any of your
07:52comments part of the record, and we will endeavor to make sure that you get to meet with whoever
07:57wants more time.
07:58But while we've got the whole committee sitting here, we're not going to do the XYZ debate,
08:04whatever the heck.
08:05So, ma'am, please repeat your question.
08:10And as near as I can figure, you've got about four minutes left.
08:14Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
08:15You're welcome.
08:15Secretary Mullen, does DHS have any specific internal document, policies, or goals to reduce
08:22deaths in custody?
08:23And we do a wonderful job on providing medical to...
08:27That's a yes or no question, sir.
08:28We're doing a wonderful job at it.
08:30We have 0.009% of deaths in our prison.
08:33Is it your testimony that you do not know whether the department that you lead...
08:34Which is a lot better than the state of Illinois.
08:36Is it your testimony that you do not know whether or not the department that you lead has a
08:40policy to reduce deaths in custody?
08:42No, I did not say that, ma'am.
08:44You didn't answer my question.
08:45Yes, I did.
08:46You're making accusations, and you're not even looking at your own state.
08:49You have no policy or plan to reduce deaths in custody.
08:52That's not true.
08:52Now, two months ago, I asked ICE...
08:54Our medical staff does a phenomenal job.
08:56In fact, every detainee sees a doctor or a nurse with every two weeks.
09:02I reclaim my time.
09:04Okay, ask your next question.
09:05Okay.
09:06Two months ago, I asked ICE director Todd Lyons the same question.
09:10He said that ICE, quote, hopes that there will be no deaths in custody,
09:14but admitted that the agency had no actual policy in place to prevent them.
09:18Rather than implement one, he resigned just a few hours later.
09:22Secretary, since that hearing, three more people have died in ICE's custody,
09:26and those are the only deaths that we know about based on your agency's public reporting.
09:31So, Mr. Chairman, I would like to request unanimous consent to enter into the record a report that came out
09:37today
09:37from Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights titled,
09:41Dying in Detention, Rising Deaths in an Expanding U.S. Immigration Detention System.
09:47Drawing on...
09:48I'm sorry.
09:48Without objection, so ordered.
09:50Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
09:51Drawing on government records, detention data, and expert medical reviews,
09:55this report outlines 52 deaths in ICE custody during President Trump's second term
10:00and highlights the concerns we've been raising to your department
10:03regarding the lack of access to medical care, suicide prevention, transparency,
10:07and accountability in detention facilities.
10:09Secretary Mullen, ICE's detainee death reporting has not been updated since April 28th of 2026.
10:16The death rate in ICE custody has doubled during President Trump's second term.
10:20Will you commit to reporting detainee deaths as required by law?
10:23We do report them, ma'am.
10:26No one...
10:27So, is it your testimony, then, that there is no...
10:29We report these.
10:30What you're talking about is what Congress has asked us to do,
10:34which we're not required to do, is report the deaths after they're released.
10:38That doesn't make any sense.
10:40They're not under our watch at that point.
10:41If they die in our release, we report them.
10:43Is it your testimony that there have been no deaths since April 28th?
10:46I didn't say that.
10:49Okay, so are you going to commit to complying with the required reporting requirement?
10:54And we were shut down for 115 days under this department.
10:58So, I don't know what you...
10:58We just now reopened.
11:00So, I don't know what reports you want us to do when you're willing to fund us.
11:03You want the reports, but you don't want to fund us?
11:05That makes no sense.
11:06The secretary is belligerent here and has been taking up my time.
11:08What's your next question?
11:09My next comment is that the ICE...
11:12No, there's no questions.
11:13It's just comments.
11:13No, I had a question.
11:14He didn't answer my question.
11:16And so...
11:17So, the record will reflect that.
11:18What's your next question?
11:19Yes, sir.
11:20There is a policy of reviewing and publicly reporting deaths that occur within 30 days of a detainee's release from
11:26custody.
11:27And that policy existed to prevent ICE from avoiding accountability by releasing seriously ill people shortly before they die.
11:35And as a nurse, I find this deeply troubling change in their reporting posture.
11:41Families deserve answers.
11:43And Congress should be able to conduct oversight.
11:44And the American people should have confidence that deaths connected to federal detention are not being hidden through administrative loopholes
11:52or filibustering.
11:53Transparency is not optional.
11:55There are laws and reporting requirements.
11:57And if this administration is unwilling to account for what happens to people in its custody, then it's Congress's role
12:04to question whether it deserves more authority, more detention capacity, or any additional sent from the American people.
12:12Mr. Chairman, thank you for letting me finish my comments.
12:14And now you'll back.
12:16You have been much more timely than a couple of your predecessors on either side of the aisle.
12:21And I appreciate that.
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