Mullin testifies on DHS budget before House Homeland Security Committee

[0:01] DHS has a no-fail mission, protecting the American people and safeguarding our homeland. [0:07] That's why it's so concerning the department has been forced to operate through 119 days [0:11] of government shutdowns over the last year, especially at a time when the threats facing [0:16] our country are becoming more complex and constantly evolving. The department was created [0:21] in the wake of September 11th terrorist attacks with a clear mission to protect the American [0:25] people and safeguard our homeland. Nearly 25 years later, that mission remains as critical as ever. [0:31] That's why Congress and DHS must work together to ensure the men and women responsible for keeping [0:36] our country safe have the resources, support, and tools they need to meet the threats of today and [0:42] tomorrow. As we approach two historic milestones for our nation, the 25th anniversary of September 11th [0:49] and the 250th anniversary of American independence, DHS should be entering this period with certainty [0:54] and stability. Instead, vital agencies within the department remain unfunded to this day. Repeated [1:00] partisan shutdowns have weakened our national security posture and have delayed important [1:04] work in preparation for hosting the World Cup and securing America 250 celebrations across the country [1:10] in the coming weeks. While congressional Republicans continue working to fund the remainder of DHS, [1:15] I appreciate that today we will focus on the department's plan for the coming year. Congress must [1:20] get back to regular order through the annual appropriations process. Refusing to fund specific [1:25] agencies causes instability that we cannot afford, and I would encourage my colleagues on the other side of the [1:30] aisle to re-engage with those efforts going forward. The threat facing our country today [1:35] are more complex and dynamic than ever before. From violent extremism to the growing use of [1:39] artificial intelligence by our adversaries, the challenge of protecting our homeland continues to evolve. [1:44] This committee has a responsibility to ensure DHS can keep pace with these threats and has the tools [1:50] it needs to safeguard the American people. Over the last year, the committee has engaged [1:55] regularly with the department and the private sector to identify areas where national security can be [1:59] strengthened and where the process for doing so can be more efficient. To that end, the committee has [2:04] focused on the advancement of U.S. cyber resilience in an increasingly sophisticated threat landscape, [2:10] reauthorizing and expanding vital counter UAS authorities for state and local enforcement ahead [2:15] of upcoming major events, solidifying the border security successes of the Trump administration over [2:20] the last 18 months, modernizing TSA screening technology and creating a more efficient, hassle-free [2:26] traveler experience, reforming the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis to make sure threat [2:31] intelligence is promptly shared with relevant entities, and exercising the committee's oversight [2:36] function to hear directly from DHS components on their efforts to accomplish and implement these [2:41] goals, and to understand where Congress can provide greater support to ensure successful outcomes. [2:47] Delivering on these objectives is no small task, but I am encouraged by the progress we have made and will [2:52] continue to make in the coming months. As Secretary Mullen knows well, the world will be watching this summer as we host [2:58] the 2026 FIFA World Cup and celebrate America's 250th birthday. These events are unique opportunities [3:05] to showcase the best of America. They will require unprecedented collaboration between leaders at the [3:11] federal, state, and local levels to secure these events and keep the public safe. DHS plays a leading [3:17] role in that effort. While it's impossible to know every challenge that lies ahead, what we know for sure is that DHS [3:24] must have the support, resources, personnel, and authorities needed to carry out its mission. [3:29] Today's hearing will serve as the first of what I can expect to be many more discussions on how [3:33] we can maintain positive momentum for the next fiscal year, and I appreciate Secretary Mullen and [3:39] Deputy Secretary Edgar for joining us to discuss this budget request. I look forward to hearing [3:44] Secretary Mullen's testimony, and with that I yield to the ranking member for his opening statement. [3:48] Thank you very much. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for holding the committee's annual hearing [3:58] on the Department of Homeland Security's budget. Secretary Mullen and Deputy Secretary Edgar, [4:04] welcome to the committee on Homeland Security. Today's hearing comes at a critical time for our country, [4:11] with challenges at home and abroad creating or made worse by the Trump administration. President Trump [4:19] campaigned on $2 a gallon gas, ending inflation and lowering the cost of living. Instead, he started a [4:28] reckless war with Iran that has driven gas prices sky high and imposed tariffs that sent inflation soaring. [4:36] Everything is more expensive. Americans are paying higher prices. Families are struggling to put food on the [4:43] table and working harder than ever to make the rent and pay their bills. Now, Trump wants the same people [4:50] who are barely getting by to pick up the tab for his billion-dollar White House ballroom, a ballroom he [4:57] originally told us would be paid for by private donations. He also wants taxpayers to pay for a slursh fund [5:05] to make millionaires out of the rioters who attacked the Capitol and beat cops on January 6th. [5:13] The only people doing better in Trump's economy are his billionaire buddies who get sweetheart deals [5:20] like the rest of the country is paying more at every turn. Just like the nation, the Department of [5:27] Homeland Security is at a critical junction. Nearly 25 years ago, DHS was created to protect our nation [5:34] against 9-11-style attacks. Since then, administrations of both parties have worked to strengthen the [5:42] the Department for that critical mission while protecting our constitutional rights. That is, [5:48] until President Trump took office. The Trump administration has weaponized DHS against the [5:54] public and used it to line the pockets of the President's cronies. It has closed essential offices [6:03] meant to keep us safe and protect our civil rights and fired or forced out thousands of DHS employees with [6:11] the replaceable experience. He has politicized disaster aid, approving declarations for those [6:20] communities he personally favors, and denying aid for those he does not. He has turned our country's [6:28] immigration system into something out of a dystopian movie where federal agents shoot and kill Americans, [6:36] peaceful protesters are gassed and beaten, and racism and xenophobia drives the policy. In short, [6:43] the Trump administration has betrayed our democratic principles and undermined the security goals DHS [6:50] was established for. Last year, when then-Secretary Kristi Noem came before the committee, [6:58] I called on her to resign unless the President removed her first. She ended up cutting and running before that [7:05] hearing ended, leaving under false pretense before she answered members' questions. We all know how [7:12] Secretary Noem's time at DHS turned out. I'm only sorry her departure took as long as it did, because [7:21] the damage the Trump administration did to the department while she was secretary would take years [7:27] to undo. Noem wasted millions of taxpayers' dollars on vanity projects and private jets and used her [7:35] position to enrich herself and her friends. Her disastrous tenure was marked by more than just [7:43] endless grifting and shameless self-promotion. The human cost was very real. Two Americans, [7:51] Renee Good and Alex Preddy, were shot dead on her watch. A recent report by the Brookings Institution [7:59] found that 147,000 U.S. citizen children were separated from a parent under Trump's mass deportation [8:08] agenda, including tens of thousands of children under six years old. Unfortunately, Secretary Noem was the [8:17] latest in a long line of failed secretaries of Homeland Security and others running DHS under President Trump. [8:25] Kirsten Nielsen put kids in cages. Kevin McElhin and Chad Wolf served unlawfully and carried out more of [8:36] the same immoral, inhumane, and illegal policies. Kristi Noem and the other disgraced former secretaries [8:46] may be gone, but the Trump administration's weaponization of the department has continued. [8:51] I'm concerned that you are already following in your predecessor's footsteps, Secretary Mullen. Since you [8:59] were sworn in just over two months ago, detainees at Delaney Hall Detention Facility have been living [9:06] in squalid conditions and have been beaten and pepper sprayed by guards. Rather than addressing these [9:13] problems and forcing the contractor that runs the facility to do its job, DHS responded by attacking [9:22] protesters and defending inhumane conditions. Enough is enough. Delaney Hall should be closed. Delaney [9:30] Hall is just the latest example of immigration and customs enforcement and customs border protection [9:38] being out of control under Trump. A record number of people are dying in Trump's detention centers [9:45] around the country at a rate roughly one person every six days. Tragically, that number is rising due to [9:53] inhumane conditions, neglect, and abuse in these facilities. And yet, the president wants Congress to [10:01] give ICE and CBP a $72 billion slush fund in reconciliation after they just got billions in so-called [10:11] One Big Beautiful Bill Act. These are the very same agencies that killed two Americans in cold blood, took [10:20] parents from young American citizens out of defending holding detainees and squalor at Delaney Hall. ICE [10:28] and CBP should not get one penny more of taxpayers' dollars until they are held accountable. And, [10:36] Mr. Chairman, while we are on the topic, why isn't this committee doing its job? The Senate is at an impasse, [10:44] but that doesn't mean the House can't craft a bill that responsibly funds DHS while putting guardrails [10:53] around its rogue agencies. Our hands are not tied. House Republican leadership is just too lazy or too [11:01] scared. Don't tell me otherwise. Previously, when the Senate started the reconciliation process, [11:09] the House still did its job and marked up its own bill before making compromises with the Senate product. [11:16] There's no reason we cannot do the same this year. Beyond the reconciliation issue, Mr. Secretary, [11:23] I'm also very concerned that you seem determined to crash the U.S. economy by pulling CBP processing [11:31] from airports in so-called sanctuary cities. The travel industry has sounded the alarm [11:37] about your plan. Warning of unnecessary chaos throughout the nation's air transportation system [11:45] and devastating consequences to airports, airlines, and the traveling public. Americans are suffering [11:53] enough in Trump's economy. They quite literally cannot afford another harebrained Republican scheme. [12:00] I know we will be discussing this issue further today, among several others. Mr. Secretary, [12:06] as I said at the outset, we're glad you're here because we have many questions for you. We expect [12:14] that, unlike your predecessor, that you will stay and answer them. Secretaries of Homeland Security under [12:20] President Trump have set a very low bar. Some might even say so low it might set in hell. I wish I was [12:29] more encouraged by your early actions as Secretary that you will clear that low bar, Secretary Mullen. [12:36] The situation at DHS is critical, and the American people deserve better. As a principal oversight [12:43] committee for the department, we will demand just that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back. [12:51] Other members of the committee are reminded that opening statements may be submitted for the record. [12:55] I'm pleased to have a highly distinguished panel of witnesses before us today. Pursuant to committee [13:01] rule 8C, I ask that the witnesses please rise and raise their right hand. Do you solemnly swear that the [13:11] testimony you will give before the Committee on Homeland Security of the United States House [13:14] of Representatives will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? This will help [13:18] you God. Let the record reflect that the witnesses have answered in the affirmative. Thank you. [13:23] I would now like to formally introduce our witnesses. First is Mr. Mark Wayne Mullen. He is the Secretary of [13:30] the Department of Homeland Security. Secretary Mullen previously represented the people of Oklahoma for 13 [13:35] years in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Second is Mr. Troy Edgar. He is the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. [13:43] Previously, Deputy Secretary Edgar served as the Department's Chief Financial Officer during [13:47] President Trump's first term. Thank you both for being here today. I now recognize Secretary Mullen for [13:53] five minutes to summarize his opening statement. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for this [14:00] opportunity to be in front of you. I sometimes wish that the members had to get sworn in too so what [14:05] they said would be true and factual as well because what the ranking member just said about in his opening [14:12] statement I feel like I have to address because I'm just not sure I'll have the opportunity to do that. [14:17] First of all, I do thank you, Chairman, for allowing me to be here today. Ranking member, thank you, [14:22] and thank you for allowing the Under Secretary, Troy Edgar, to be here with me. I do have an opening [14:26] statement. I'll send it for the record, but too often when we see opening statements it's about making a [14:33] statement. The false statements that were made I feel like I just have to address. I mean, [14:43] when you start talking about the reckless war in Iran, what's reckless is a nuclear Iran. For 49 years [14:49] they've been threatening to death to America. For 49 years they've been attacking America, and for 49 [14:57] years not one single president was willing to stand up until President Trump, and thank God he did, [15:02] because we know their behavior. We know what they would do with a nuclear weapon. They would [15:06] completely destabilize the world, completely destabilize that region, and finally President [15:10] Trump is a president that's willing to do something about it. Every single president [15:16] since Jimmy Carter has looked at Iran understanding they were a threat. Every single president since Jimmy [15:24] Carter has had a plan to do to deal with Iran and not one of them acted on it, but President Trump did. [15:30] You start talking about peaceful protesters and racism. Racism is a reckless term that is thrown around [15:37] way too often. It's thrown around like it is true, and yet you can't point to something that is [15:44] actually racism. It's just a term when you lack the words to actually describe your hatred towards [15:49] President Trump, so you just use racism. And what's bad is you feed in to what's causing our ICE [15:57] agents that's simply enforcing the law that Congress passed? They're not going outside the law, they're [16:03] enforcing the law that Congress passed. We don't pick and choose which law we decide to enforce, [16:08] we enforce the law. And because they're doing so, it's racism, but yet their death threats are up by 8,000 [16:16] percent, vehicular damage is up 3,300 percent, assaults up 1,300 percent. And what's that do? [16:24] From peaceful protest? I have nothing wrong. I have no problem with people peacefully protesting. [16:30] I believe in our First Amendment. Peacefully. Delaney Hall, I've had officers bit, hit, scratched. [16:37] We had one get threatened they were going to kill him and his family. That's peaceful. Damaging vehicles [16:45] and property, that's peaceful. It's interesting when the governor finally put state police there, [16:50] how often you guys quit saying that it was being agitated by ICE, but yet the same behavior was [16:54] happening with the state police until they pushed them back far enough where they're out of camera [16:58] shot and all of a sudden the left media quit covering it. That didn't look like peaceful protest to me. [17:04] I'm okay with protest in a peaceful manner. You're talking about Trump's reckless behavior. What's [17:12] reckless is shutting down CBP and ICE. CBP, Custom and Border Protection. You want to open borders? [17:24] Because, ranking Thompson, I'm pretty sure you already said you're willing to shut them down again [17:27] September 30th even if we reopen them. That's law enforcement. Just say, I want to defund police, [17:34] I want open borders, and I want illegals running wild in our streets because ICE every day is taking [17:39] the worst of the worst off the streets or taking those that enter this country illegally off the [17:42] streets, which is exactly what they were designed to do, and CBP is protecting our ports, our port of [17:47] entries, and our borders, and yet we want to target them and defund them? That's reckless. You're talking about [17:56] President Trump's ill behavior towards children, yet we have found over 120,000 kids that were missing [18:07] underneath the Trump administration when they lost touch of 340,000, which we fear most are now in [18:15] trafficking rings. I didn't hear anybody complaining about that. What we've done under the Trump [18:21] administration is we went and rescued these kids. What is inhumane about that? Nothing. He's doing the job [18:31] that Biden administration turned a blind eye to. That shouldn't ever take place. If anything we can [18:38] agree on, our kids should be watched over. Now I do look forward to answering all the rest of the [18:45] questions because I'm running out of time and I won't have time to go through all the ridiculous [18:48] accusations you made towards the Trump administration, but I do feel a privilege sitting here in front of [18:53] you. I feel a privilege of being secretary of our homeland and watching over the 275,000 employees [18:59] that every day protect my yard and your yard, regardless if it's blue or red. We're here to [19:05] protect the homeland and that's all we want to do. Thank you so much. Thank you, Secretary Mullen. [19:10] Members will be recognized by order of seniority for their five minutes of questions. As I've done in [19:15] the past, I will be strictly enforcing the five-minute rule. When that clock runs out, so does your time to [19:22] keep talking. I now recognize myself for five minutes of questions. Secretary Mullen, FEMA's fiscal [19:31] year 2025 preparedness grant cycle under the predecessor was impacted by delays in the release [19:37] of notice of funding opportunities, which left applicants with a condensed timeline to apply for [19:42] these awards. For the more last-minute changes to the allocations of funding for the Homeland Security [19:47] grant programs resulted in litigation that held up funds well beyond the end of the fiscal year. [19:53] Understanding that the enactment of FY26 appropriations was significantly delayed by the [19:58] 76-day shutdown, how are you now working to ensure that FEMA's 26 preparedness grant cycle runs more [20:05] smoothly and transparently than the 25 cycle? Thank you, Chairman. And it is a challenge that we have [20:11] because of the shutdown for 76 days put us way behind on the MOUs that we had with local and state [20:19] partnerships. Fortunately, the local and state partnerships, just along with ICE, DHS and other [20:26] DHS officials, were still willing to go out and do their job for free. And so we haven't dropped the [20:32] mission, but it has made it more difficult. We're up against a timeline. We're 10 days, roughly, I think [20:38] we're 11 actually, but we're 10 days from the first kickoff, 11 days from the first game in L.A. on June 12th. [20:45] And we have, we have a lot of work to do. But our grants are out. We're getting the local law enforcement [20:53] back pay because they didn't get the grants on equipment, on personnel, on overtime. We feel like [21:00] we're in a good spot, but it definitely, it definitely put us at risk. But I will tell you, [21:05] I feel very comfortable we're at and we feel like we have a zero fail mission, but it's going to be [21:10] complicated. We have seven, five to seven million visitors coming in. We have some very complicated [21:16] countries that are going to be playing each other that have a tremendous amount of just like against [21:20] each other. We have open areas to where we have the fans being able to experience the game without [21:28] getting inside. We have 78 Super Bowls and 38 days and it's, and we get to highlight our country [21:36] and I'm looking forward to it. And I will tell you, even in sanctuary cities where we have some of these [21:41] games, we've had great cooperation with local and state officials. And I hope when FIFA is over, [21:47] we can show that we can work together and to continue to keep our cities and our streets safe. [21:53] Thank you very much. I actually visited one of the FIFA sites last week. The part, they did talk [21:59] about the partnership and the money that's coming in. It will be helpful both for protecting those [22:03] sites as well as the FanFest. But you know, moving forward, UASI grants and others that local police [22:10] rely on, like NYPD in New York, FDNY, making sure that those continue to run smoothly. So that money, [22:18] that money goes directly to law enforcement and they need it. So making sure that those keep fun, [22:23] those keep rolling smoothly is very important. I want to move over to CISA. Over the last 18 months, [22:30] it has seen a significant reduction in its total headcount, including through a combination of [22:34] voluntary departures, reductions in force and reassignments of cybersecurity personnel. One [22:39] of my top priorities since being on this committee is ensuring that CISA can effectively execute on its [22:43] core mission to protect federal civilian networks and our nation's critical infrastructure, especially [22:48] as our cyber adversaries are increasingly utilizing tools like AI to enhance their capabilities. [22:53] I'm concerned that some of the proposals in the budget request, including cuts to CISA's personnel [22:58] and cybersecurity education programs, which helps sustain a pipeline of skilled [23:02] cybersecurity professionals in the U.S., could negatively affect those efforts. [23:06] As Secretary, can you talk about your vision for CISA and how this budget would support the [23:13] agency's critical functions during a time of rapid development emerging AI threats? And [23:18] Secretary, I agree. If whoever wants to jump in on that, that's fine. [23:22] So CISA technically has the ability to hire up to 3,400 people, and we have very broad authorities. [23:30] During the shutdown, our fourth shutdown of the year, we had to readjust the way we're looking at CISA and [23:37] better lean on public partnerships. We have a very unique authority that we take care of from [23:44] international cyber all the way down to local small businesses, large businesses, municipalities and [23:50] states. But we also take care of the communications at every major sporting event as well, including FIFA. [23:57] When we looked at that, we think, do we really need 3,400 individuals? Well, we're down to 22. We probably [24:03] need somewhere around 28 if we can actually have the partnerships we need with states and be able [24:09] to use the grants, the monies that's saved with CISA to be able to invest with local and state [24:15] municipalities. And I think we can. We're not going to fail on the mission that we have in front of us. [24:24] And cyber attacks are only getting stronger. And they're attacking our private partnership the most. [24:30] Thank you, Mr. Secretary. My time has expired. I appreciate that. And I now recognize the [24:34] gentleman from Mississippi, the ranking member, Mr. Thompson, for five minutes of questions. [24:38] Thank you, Mr. Secretary, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, while Americans struggle to pay gas [24:45] for gas and groceries, President Trump and his allies are constantly enriching themselves [24:51] off taxpayer-funded contracts. Under then-Secretary Kristi Noem, DHS authorized contracts totaling billions [24:59] of dollars for luxury jets, self-promotional ads featuring horses, recruiting campaigns seeking [25:08] white nationalists, vehicles wrapped in ICE logo that currently sit idle, massive industrial warehouses [25:17] to detain human beings. As all of those contracts went to companies with ties to former Secretary Kristi [25:28] Noem's, her special government employee, Corey Lewandowski, President Trump, and Republican donors. [25:37] In March, the White House confirmed that companies complained that Corey Lewandowski tried to shake them [25:45] down in return for DHS contracts, just like Tom Holman and his restaurant take out bag of cash. [25:54] Secretary Mullen, have you canceled or modified any of the corrupt DHS contracts signed by Secretary Noem? [26:03] Thank you, Member Thompson. I wish we could just ask questions without you injecting your personal [26:13] opinions and things. I'm not here to talk about Corey and Kristi, first of all. We do have some IG [26:19] investigations. I'm not sure what they're about. They haven't shared with me, but we do have some stuff [26:22] going on. But they were happening before I got there. But when you start saying campaigns by hiring white [26:28] nationalists, that's racism. You have no proof on that. That's just your words that you want to [26:33] throw out. And racism is very dangerous. And we should all know that. We should all respect that. [26:38] But that's dangerous language that you're using. Reclaiming my time. There's no question about [26:45] the contracts. We know warehouses have been bought for two, three times their appraised value. It's in [26:52] the public record. There are a lot of other things. A $200 million public ad featuring horses, the [27:01] secretary riding horses. That's grifting. That's wasting money that could go on the core mission [27:08] of the agency. But obviously, you don't see any problem with that. Well, that's not true. We are [27:15] looking at the contracts that weren't already signed, and we did go through and cancel most of those. [27:19] Well, that's the question that I answered. But I was talking specifically about your [27:23] dangerous language. You're saying white nationalists. That's a dangerous language, [27:26] and you should apologize for that. So now, will you provide the committee [27:33] with the contracts that you have had canceled since you've been secretary? [27:39] Go ahead and answer that. Yeah. We're doing a couple things right now. The first thing the secretary [27:46] and I did when we came back into the organization is we met with the IG, and we went through and had [27:52] discussions of any of the open contracts that are out there. So at this point, like I said, [27:57] you know, what we're here to focus on is FY27, not the past. So I'm hoping that we'll be able [28:02] to get to this question. You're reclaiming my time. If you know something is done wrong, [28:08] then I think you are obligated to stop it. I absolutely think so, too. But I think you have [28:12] to follow the process. The IG is the person. No, not the IG. The IG is based on a complaint. [28:20] A number of complaints have come directly to the agency. [28:23] We have on the contracts. We stopped the contracts moving forward on some of the stuff [28:30] that wasn't already signed. Some of the contracts were already there. They're there. Unless we, [28:34] unless the IG takes a look at them and says that they were falsely signed or under false [28:38] circumstances, I can't cancel unless it's under penalty. So what contracts can you share with the [28:44] committee that have been stopped because of some irregularity? You mean the ones that we didn't sign? [28:49] That's right. Yeah, we can give you those. That's easy. Give us some time to respond to that, [28:55] and we'll get to you. And we'll do it in a timely manner, too. All right. There has been some comment [28:59] about punishing sanctuary cities relative to withdrawing CBP agents and other things. Have [29:08] you reconsidered those comments you made based on the map? It wasn't punishing sanctuary cities. It was [29:16] sanctuary cities refusing to allow local and state enforcement officers to respond when we called. [29:22] What we see, and their response was is we don't have the resources. Well, if they don't have the [29:26] resources and we have to pull the resources someplace, I'm not going to pull them from other [29:29] regions. I have 80,000 law enforcement agencies through DHS, and through DHS I can pull them out of [29:35] custom and border protection. That's out of the airport. And unfortunately, until they get the [29:39] resources at the state level, I don't have any other option but protect my employees at these [29:47] federal facilities at the state level. So the cities that you said you would withdraw from, [29:52] you're not going to do it now? No, I did not say that. I said, [29:55] as long as they're willing to cooperate with us, when they say they can't respond, [29:59] local and state officials, because they don't have the resources, that I have to get the resources from [30:05] some place. And I pull my officers as a whole through DHS, and if that means I've got to pull [30:09] them out of custom and border protection from processing international flights, I will. As [30:13] they're cooperating with us, then I don't have to do that. Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. Thank [30:19] you, Mr. Rank. And Secretary, I'll let you finish that, because I imagine that would come up again. [30:24] So I think getting the answer on the record now is great. But again, I want to limit everybody to [30:28] five minutes, or we'll be here all day. And now we're going to recognize the other gentleman from [30:34] Mississippi, Mr. Guest, for five minutes of questions. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Secretary [30:39] Mullen, thank you for being here. Thank you for your leadership. You came into the agency at a very [30:47] critical time for DHS, 76-day government shutdown, the longest shutdown of DHS in the agency's history. [30:57] We still have components of the agency that are not funded. You mentioned about some of the [31:04] major events that you will be helping secure the 11 different sites for the FIFA World Cup games [31:14] across the United States, which will start next week. America 250, the preparation for the Olympics in [31:22] 2028. And so I personally want to thank you and your team for your service. The ranking member [31:29] mentioned in his opening statement, he said that under this administration, that we have set a low bar [31:37] at the Department of Homeland Security for the secretaries running that. I will tell you that [31:45] I am proud to have you serving in that position. We want to talk about a low bar. Let's go back under [31:50] the Biden-Harris administration. Let's talk about Secretary Mayorkas. Under his leadership, [31:58] 10-plus million illegal immigrants flooded across our southern border. Children, hundreds of thousands [32:06] of children were lost under his administration. In one month, there were 300,000 illegal immigrants [32:14] who flooded into our country. And so you want to look at what you have done in a short period of time [32:22] and your predecessor. I want to thank you for that. I want to thank you for the fact that you have changed [32:28] the direction of that agency. And I want to thank you for standing up for the men and women, the law [32:35] enforcement, the first responders who serve under you. Now, Mr. Secretary, you again inherited a difficult [32:42] situation. And I want to ask you, as it relates to that, talk to us a little bit about the impact [32:52] that the Democrat shutdown has had on your ability to protect the homeland. And also talk a little bit [32:59] about the impact that it has had on the men and women who serve under your leadership. The impact [33:05] it's had on morale, on retention, on hiring of additional agents to backfill positions that are [33:13] currently vacant. So would you please share with the committee some of the challenges that you are [33:19] facing with these critical events ahead and the fact that you are still not fully funded and we are [33:27] asking you to do more with less? Thank you so much for that question, Congressman. It's been very [33:33] difficult. When I walked into the building, we had been shut down for the fourth time. And I had a [33:38] tremendous amount of employees that had the spirit of, hey, we'll work for free because we have the [33:44] greatest mission in the world and that's protect the homeland. The problem is, is not everybody has that [33:48] mindset. Some people also have to have the ability to get to and from work. So often the left want to talk [33:54] about the ones that are underpaid, but yet they refuse to pay the people that are actually showing [33:59] up and protecting their backyard, their states and our country. And it's hard. We lost just under 8% [34:05] of our total population or our total workforce through those four shutdowns. And when you start [34:12] trying to recruit the brightest and the best to come work for you and say, oh, by the way, we may be shut [34:17] down again because people on this same committee here is already starting to threaten to shut us down again [34:22] September 30th. And you're going to go without pay again, by the way. How are you going to get people [34:27] to come work for you? And it's not that people aren't willing to. We got, as I said, I feel [34:33] completely honored by simply walking in the building and realize I'm surrounded by the best government [34:38] employees in the country because they're still there, they're still working and they're true patriots. [34:43] But it's tough. Morale gets low when their spouses are upset that they're still having to drive to [34:53] work because out there at St. Elizabeth, there's not a metro stop. There's not a bus stop right there. [34:59] Everybody there has to commute. And so it gets very expensive at points. And yet we're expecting them [35:06] to continue to show up. And all they're doing is enforcing our nation's laws. I don't pick and choose [35:12] which law we're going to enforce. We're enforcing the laws that Congress passed and put within our [35:17] authority to do so. And our employees are still doing it. So yes, it's difficult to retain people. [35:26] It's hard to recruit people. But we still have people showing up and working every day. I'll use [35:31] this quick statistic. The United States Coast Guard has over 90 percent retention. And during this last [35:37] year was the first time we've dropped below 90 percent in retention because of them going without pay. [35:42] And in recent history. If that tells you anything, that's a staggering statistic. [35:48] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize the gentleman from [35:53] California, Mr. Correa, for five minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome, gentlemen. [35:58] President Trump got elected, promised to deport the worst of the worst. I'm from California, a sanctuary [36:07] state from Orange County who follows the laws of a sanctuary state. So picture here, we do have a lot of [36:17] exceptions, meaning we do call ICE when we have the worst of the worst. We call you and we're about to [36:23] release them. I'm going to show you also statistics from Sheriff Don Barnes, who Mr. Troy Edgar knows very [36:29] well. In 2025, we called ICE 323 times, 52 times, didn't show up to pick up the worst of the worst. I showed [36:42] these statistics through your predecessor, and today you're doing better. Only six were not picked up, [36:48] but that's six, the worst of the worst, that you still haven't picked up. Manpower, it's an issue, [36:55] yeah, but right now you're focusing on 70 percent of the people you're picking up don't have a criminal [37:02] record. So I'd advise you, let those folks that are actually working and paying taxes continue to work [37:09] and focus on the worst of the worst. If you want to help me, Mr. Secretary, keep Main Street safe, [37:18] I'm going to ask you to do me a favor. I need your help. DACA recipients, those folks that are [37:25] brought here to this country, little boys, little girls, I have two of them that are police officers. [37:33] Their DACA permits expired. They had to be dismissed by local police agencies. I wrote you this letter, [37:42] I think you're working on one, but there's a whole lot more folks out there that need to have the DACA [37:53] renewals renewed in a timely basis. Can I ask you to please help me with that? I wrote you this letter, [37:59] can we work on this? Absolutely, we'd love to help with this, but as you know, Congressman, [38:05] the fastest way to actually fix this DACA issue is for Congress to actually pass legislation to fix it. [38:10] With all the respect, sir, you cut USCIS. This is a fee-based program. All you have to do is the [38:18] fees that are paid go to DACA renewals. Let's work on that. I'll work with you on it, but it has to be [38:23] And even the President Trump, I believe, supports this, so let's work on this. Congressman, I will work [38:28] on it, but I will still go back. The fastest way to fix this problem is for Congress to pass something [38:34] on this. We've been talking, how long have you been in Congress and how long have I been? I was in [38:38] Congress. This is an issue. The last time we did immigration reform, Ronald Reagan was president. [38:44] But DACA, we can do this like overnight. Help me pass, help me get these renewals of these permits. [38:51] If I can move to the next issue, sir, it's very important. Congressman, you said something that's [38:55] not accurate. I cannot fix this unilaterally by myself. I have limitations. Just help me renew these [39:02] permits on a timely basis. We are going through those permits just like we look at every other [39:08] visa application. There's a lot of vetting that didn't take place. These are police officers on [39:12] Main Street, sir. Not all of them are. Help me keep Main Street. Not all of them are. These two are, [39:17] sir. There's a whole lot more, sir. That's what I'm saying. The case-by-case one's fine. We can go [39:21] through it. As a whole, I'm not going to wave a magic wand and just fix them all. You have that magic [39:26] one. That's your job, sir. So does Congress, and they can fix this issue by legislation, and you [39:31] guys can choose what you want me to enforce on that. You're asking me to do a job that Congress [39:35] isn't willing to do. Let me talk about American citizens, sir. I'm going to ask you the same [39:39] question I asked your predecessor. Am I going to have to tell my children at home to carry an [39:45] American passport with them when they're out in the street? Congressman, I'm from Indian country. [39:51] I'm from Indian country, and we've got a lot of brown people around there, too. I'm cherishing. [39:55] No, no, I'm not talking about- We're not doing that. No, but it is. It's the same thing that you're saying that. [39:59] Good and Alex Petty were not brown, okay? We have American citizens being arrested right now by ICE, [40:07] American citizens that are actually being deported, American citizens getting roughed up. [40:12] I see this every day, sir. Look, your officers have a badge, they have a gun, and they have federal [40:19] power, sir. They have to respect Americans. Forget about undocumented. Let's talk American citizens. [40:26] Let's talk about that. What can we do to protect the rights of American citizens? How can we protect? [40:31] We can protect the rights of American citizens all day long. They don't have the right to assault [40:35] my officers. They don't have the right to impede my officers from doing their job. If you're driving [40:37] by taking pictures of a situation, that's their First Amendment right. To impede a federal officer [40:43] from doing their job? No, if you impede, you take them in, but if they're driving by- To assault my- [40:46] One final question, my ninth second, sir. Make an accusation that aren't true. [40:50] Are you keeping a database of American citizens? Are we keeping a database of American citizens? [40:56] Yes, sir. A lot of your ICE agents out there have said- Well, sir, that's already out there. [40:59] We are keeping a database of- No. Without any- Then how do you get a passport if you don't have [41:04] a database of American citizens? How can you keep a database of American citizens, sir? Why? [41:08] The gentleman's time has expired. I now recognize- That's your authority. [41:11] I now recognize the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Jimenez, for five minutes of questions. [41:15] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, good morning. When I was mayor of Miami-Dade County, [41:20] there was a facility down in Homestead that housed children, minors, and every day that there were [41:30] Democrats outside demonstrating, saying how horrible it was inside. Former Senator Kamala Harris, [41:37] my predecessor, a lot of other ones were out there yelling, screaming, how bad it was. So I decided, [41:42] as mayor of Miami-Dade County, I was actually going to go in and check it out because it was [41:45] in my jurisdiction. So I checked it out. There's nothing wrong in there. What they were doing, [41:49] they were teaching those children how to speak English. They were giving three square meals. [41:53] They were in a dorm setting with a supervisor, with a chaperone. And then there was a bank of people [41:59] that were actually calling around the country to find sponsors for these children. And the reason [42:04] the children were there is because you can't house children in a detention center where adults [42:09] are. That's why they were separated. But do you know what they weren't? They weren't lost. You said [42:18] we had 340,000 lost children under the Biden administration? That is correct. That's a rough [42:24] number because that's the best we can identify for sure, but that number we expect could go much higher. [42:31] Much higher than 340,000 lost children. And so the Democrats on the other side of the aisle here, [42:37] they're yelling and screaming because the Trump administration separated them because they had to [42:40] separate them, but actually found them sponsors, didn't lose them. And yet the Biden administration [42:47] under Mayorkas lost over 340,000 children. Let me clarify this too. We do not separate families. [42:56] If families want to stay together, we have a detention center in Texas where we put family units. [43:00] The only time that that happens is when we ask the parent if they want the child to be deported with [43:05] them or not. And some parents choose not to because they want their children to stay in the U.S. [43:09] And then we have to find sponsors. Fair enough. But the difference was [43:13] when they were separated, we found sponsors. That's right. The Biden administration just lost [43:19] them. And a lot of them are probably being sex trafficked or they're being used for slave labor, [43:26] etc. Would you agree with that? I would. Unfortunately, we had that suspicion [43:30] because the ones we have found, they were actually where they said the the person who picked them up [43:37] at the border was. We had to track them. The ones we can't find, there's a reason why they're off the [43:43] grid. And it's very, very concerning. HSI is spending a tremendous amount of resource, [43:48] and ICE is spending a lot of the resource on trying to locate these kids because it's vitally important. [43:53] And they should never have been released the way they were on the border when they showed up like that. [43:58] It's shameful and disgraceful. It is shameful. It's disgraceful. It's actually, [44:03] it's one of the worst things I've ever heard of, how we, the American government, can do that to [44:08] children coming in and allow them to be abused. Now, my next question is this. Who finds them? [44:14] What agency, what agency of yours finds them or is trying to find them? HSI and ICE is trying to find [44:21] them. And ICE, the agency that my Democrats don't want to find. Is that the one? Yeah, [44:28] it's been defunded for quite some time, yes. Uh-huh. The ones that are trying to find the [44:31] children. It's ICE. Yes. Uh-huh. Okay. Well, how much more money do you need so that we can [44:36] actually focus on the still hundreds of thousands of children that are missing? Right. Do, is this [44:42] part of this budget or do you need additional funds for that? Well, we did have it in the budget. [44:46] Unfortunately, it got stripped out and the budget that was, that was put forth that Congress originally [44:52] passed in the House and then decided to flip their vote and vote against it. Uh, it made it difficult. [44:57] So what we want to do is have continuous funding, which is why reconciliation 2.0 is vitally important [45:01] because every time we have a lack in funding, we have a lack of investigations going forward because [45:06] we're limited to what we can do. Will the reconciliation give you the money, the reconciliation [45:11] package being looked at at the Senate, will it give you the money to go find those children? It'll give us, [45:16] it'll give us three years of continuous funding, which allows continuity between local and state [45:21] officials. Keep in mind, we don't do all the research. We actually partner and give tools, [45:26] for IPO addresses that help find these sex trafficking rings and we break them up every [45:32] single day. But every time we have a lapse of funding, we have to, we have to relax those contracts [45:36] and most states and especially small municipalities do not have the resources to continue. And, and [45:41] typically we have agents that are actually assigned to those agencies that work side by side and we have [45:46] to recall them. And that's what, that's what disrupts the, the, the continuing. Mr. Secretary, [45:51] this should be one of your top, if not your top priority to find those children and get them away [45:56] from the situation that they're at. It is one of the hardest missions we have, yet the most gratifying [46:01] when we rescue these, these children out. And we're seeing a tremendous amount of, of kids coming in [46:07] from this country that are being trafficked. One final point, I will agree with my, with my colleague from [46:11] California. I think you need to use your discretion a little bit more as to who is being deported, [46:16] who's being arrested, et cetera. Let's go after the worst of the worst. To have six, six of the worst [46:21] of the worst not being picked up, that needs to be rectified. So real quick on that, we have 48 hours. [46:28] But just to respond to that, we have 48 hours from the time they're in custody to the time to pick [46:32] them up. And time they're in custody, not the time we get called. And if they call us, let's say six hours, [46:38] and they've had the individual with 42 hours and we have six hours to respond, it's difficult. [46:42] If we can, we can get anywhere in 48 hours, but once they're arrested and we don't get informed [46:46] until the day after or right before the clock expires, it's hard for us to do that. And there's [46:50] no excuse for it, but we just don't have the resources to get there like we need to. Fair enough, yield back. [46:57] I recognize the gentleman from Michigan, Mr. Tanidar. Five minutes. Thank you, Chairman. And thank you, [47:03] Ranking Member for having this hearing today. And thank you, Secretary Mullen for your testimony. [47:11] Secretary Mullen, for the past year and a half, the American people suffered under the disastrous [47:20] leadership of your predecessor, Kristino. Cities across the country faced an unprecedented onslaught [47:30] of immigration raids targeting civilians based on color of skin or language they spoke. Grants [47:40] for communities that faced environmental disasters often went unfunded or were paused indefinitely. [47:50] But political donors received numerous DHS contracts worth millions and decisions made by the highest [48:00] codes in our land to put a leash on your department were often blatantly ignored. Secretary Mullen, [48:10] it's a yes or no question. Are you making concerted efforts to fast track the backlog of FEMA grants [48:20] that needs to be awarded to communities that have suffered while hearing nothing from the federal [48:26] government? We made that a priority as soon as you walked in the door. The deputy and myself went to work [48:34] from day one and you immediately started seeing grants start flowing again. The biggest thing we had to do [48:38] is to raise that threshold from where my predecessor added to $100,000. We raised it significantly higher [48:43] than that so we could empower those that we have in those positions to make those decisions. [48:49] How about contracts with companies that work with DHS agencies? I understand that you have [48:56] quite an enormous amount of shares in companies that hold DHS contracts. Are you prioritizing giving [49:06] contracts to companies you hold shares in or to companies with political ties to your boss? [49:14] That's not accurate. I had to sell every bit of stock I had before I was confirmed. So I have no stock. [49:22] Secretary Mullen, I'm very concerned that your department is promoting white nationalist anti-immigrant [49:29] sentiments on official social media accounts. One post quotes a song embraced by neo-nazis and state law [49:40] enforcement agencies have raised concerns that your post will motivate white supremacist violence. [49:48] When will you stop DHS from using its social media accounts to spread bigoted and racist words [49:57] and imagery promoting great replacement theory? It's interesting how you make those claims and [50:03] give no facts, but yet your party's the one that's supporting the guy that's got a Nazi tattoo on his [50:07] chest in Maine. I have the facts. I have the facts, sir. No, there is no facts. You throw out nationalism, [50:11] Naziism, and that's exactly what causes the hatred and the violence that happens to our officers every [50:16] single day, and you should be ashamed of using that reckless behavior. No, it's not my words. [50:21] It is your words. Look here, here's Colorado Fusion Center. Could you endorse the candidate in Maine? [50:26] Here is Colorado. Could you endorse a candidate in Maine? That's a Nazi. Let me reclaim my time, [50:30] sir. Colorado Fusion Center says ICE white nationalist messaging could lead to violence. There's just [50:38] numerous reports. Who said that? Who said that? And what is they actually? This is Colorado Fusion [50:43] Center. Tell me exactly what message you're talking about. Now, don't give me what some some poll that [50:49] is ran by the left is talking about. Let me reclaim my time. Yeah, you don't want to talk about it because [50:56] but you want to throw out racism all the time to my heart. Mr. Secretary, we got numerous reports. [51:01] I want to move quickly to ICE training. Under Kristi Noem, new ICE agents received 42 days of training [51:08] rather than the standard 72 days to meet President Trump's demand. We saw the efforts effects of this [51:16] training shortage with ICE agents often ignoring the rule of law, engaging in unprofessional behavior, [51:23] using unjustified force, including shooting and killing an American. When will DHS revert back to [51:31] the 72-day training requirement for new ICE agents? When will ICE agents who received less training [51:40] have to retake or recertify courses they were exempt from because of the accelerated training schedule? [51:47] It's interesting to me how you always point out the behavior of our ICE agents, but you don't point [51:51] out what caused it by the so-called peaceful protesters, which is a lie. It's a simple question. [51:56] I'll answer the question. July 1st, we bring it back up. We had to rewrite the curriculum. [52:00] All training starting July 1st will be back up to the regular standards. Secretary Mullen, [52:04] can you promise the American people that the scenes we saw? Gentlemen, time has expired. [52:09] I now recognize the gentleman from Texas, Mr. McCall for five minutes. [52:13] Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Mr. Secretary, for your, in such a short period of time, [52:18] your leadership you brought to the department. It's been really phenomenal. Getting the funding, [52:25] working with members of Congress, your accessibility means a lot to us, [52:29] and when you met with us privately to talk about the funding, you got it done. And we still have to [52:35] get CBP and ICE, but it has allowed you to do a lot of things that I was concerned about [52:40] as chairman of the Special Events Task Force with respect to FIFA, World Cup, and the 250th anniversary. [52:48] As you know, while these are great entertainment, sporting games, they also provide a high-threat [52:57] environment. I also want to commend you when we spoke of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, [53:04] how quickly you were able to restore that in working with Congress. And I think that's the way it should [53:11] be. So I just want to thank you at the outset for that. I want to see if you could maybe expand to [53:19] the extent you can in this room, given the funding that came through, what you're able to do now to [53:27] make sure these games are safe. My biggest concern are the drone threats, as we've seen, you know, [53:34] from Iran's head drones to Ukraine and Russia, that kind of attack here in the United States. [53:40] I used to be. Congressman, I know. Congressman, I want to say, first of all, thank you for your leadership [53:49] in the WMD program. You see the threat there, and our conversation was very helpful, and your [53:57] leadership on making sure that we were able to realign it and have the funding to do so is not [54:02] unnoticed throughout all DHS, so thank you for that. Thank you. Drones are my biggest concern, too. [54:07] We have spent a tremendous amount of ability and money to be able to be very offensive with drones, but [54:15] on the counter-drone measures, everybody's a little behind. I will tell you, all 11 of facilities [54:22] do have counter-drone equipment at the facilities. We have CBP that has five stadiums, United States Coast [54:31] Guard has two, FBS has one, and FBI has three, so we're well prepared for it. And we learned a couple [54:39] of things lately, too. At the F-1 in Miami, we had eight drones that entered the space that shouldn't [54:46] be there. We were able to bring them down and find out where they came from and find the individuals or [54:51] arrest them on some occasions. During the Augusta Golf Tournament, we had 12 that entered a no-fly [54:57] zone. We were able to bring those down, too. Every single day, we improve, but that is a huge concern [55:03] that we have within the stadium. I also have concerns outside the stadium, in the FanFest area, in the [55:08] soft areas, that's outside security. The lone individual that's got this crazy mindset about him, [55:16] maybe it's because of too much alcohol, maybe it's because of the temperature, maybe it's because his team [55:20] lost, maybe because he's too excited, whatever it is. Those areas do concern me, but we have a lot of [55:26] partnership with our local law enforcement that is going to be out there in that area to make it as [55:31] hard as an area as it can to take the soft look away. Well, on cyber, I authorized CISA many years [55:39] ago into law. The idea was to make it the civilian interface to the government, to the private sector, [55:48] to the federal government. There was a debate in Congress at the time about NSA taking this over. [55:53] We didn't think that was the right place for this, their offensive, and it's worked. I think we've built [56:01] up CISA's capabilities. I'm a little concerned. I just want to raise the issue. I know in the latest [56:09] executive order on AI, that the president is putting the Treasury Department in the spearhead role [56:17] as the clearinghouse for that effort. And I, while I understand, you know, FinCEN and the financial sector [56:26] being threatened by a lot of cyber models out there. I just want to, you know, reiterate the [56:33] intent of Congress was for DHS to be the point person, the point agency on this. So CISA interacts [56:43] with just about every other agency out there. And when we started looking at the biggest threats that [56:48] AI is used for, it is through financial gain. But there isn't a single agency that DHS doesn't have [56:56] counter operations with. So why Treasury and Scott Bessett and I talk all the time. He is very [57:02] capable. We are very comfortable with what's happening there with them leading in this area [57:06] because we're partnering with CISA and our tools with the unique authority we have. And then he has [57:12] separate authorities. So we're, because of the coordination, I think we're better prepared than [57:16] just leaving it within DHS. Excellent. Thanks for that answer. [57:20] Gentleman, he'll be back. I now recognize the gentleman from Rhode Island, Mr. Magazzino, [57:23] for five minutes of questions. Thank you, Chairman and Secretary. [57:26] We understand that laws need to be enforced, but your department has a lot of discretion [57:31] in how you enforce those laws. When raids or apprehensions are carried out at schools [57:37] and parents are forcefully separated from their children, as other children look on, [57:42] it terrorizes those kids. When raids are carried out at hospitals, people's lives can be put in danger. [57:48] When they're carried out in courthouses, people may be afraid to show up [57:52] and offer testimony that could be needed to put bad guys behind bars. But under the Trump administration, [57:58] there have been numerous examples of raids and apprehensions being carried out in these types of [58:04] sensitive locations, churches, hospitals, schools, courthouses. Now, I recognize that most of this occurred [58:10] under your predecessor before your watch when you stepped into the role. So now that you're in charge, [58:16] will you direct the people under you to avoid operations in those kinds of sensitive locations? [58:21] First of all, Congressman, I want to thank you for coming out to St. Elizabeth and visiting me. [58:26] There's not too many members that make that drive, but I hope you got to see a dedicated workforce [58:31] when you walked in that building and the professionalism that we do every single day [58:35] on keeping the homeland safe. So when we start talking about sensitive areas, we're not actively [58:41] patrolling or enforcing insensitive areas. However, we do serve warrants in those areas, [58:46] and these are going after the worst of the worst. When we go in there and we're serving the warrants [58:50] at a hospital, or in fact, I don't think we've ever done it at a church. The only thing that's [58:55] happening at church is the protester by Don Lemon. But when we start looking at actually what's [59:01] happening in these sensitive areas, we're pulling it out. Now courts, I will say in courts, when we go [59:06] pick the individuals up, we're not rating the courts, we're picking them up on final orders, [59:10] meaning that they've already went through all the court systems. [59:12] Can I just ask for some clarification on this? So are you saying it's your policy, [59:16] and again, I'm talking about your tenure, not your predecessor. It's your policy that there won't [59:21] be operations, apprehensions in these types of sensitive locations, unless you're serving a [59:26] warrant? Unless it's a felony warrant. And has this been made clear to everyone working under you? [59:31] Like, is there, will you put out, have you, or will you put out some sort of a written bulletin? [59:34] We have made that very clear. Tom Holman and I have talked about this. Now, listen, if people are [59:41] avoiding us in those areas, we got to go get them. But we're not doing full-scale immigration [59:46] operations. Just to reclaim my time, there have been examples of this occurring still. On April 9th, [59:51] several men were detained at a courthouse in Rancho Cucamonga, California. There was another [59:57] incident in New York City on May 19th. And as far as we're aware, none of these individuals have been [1:00:02] charged with any crimes. There was not a removal order. And so I just want to make sure that what you're [1:00:08] saying is filtering down to the people under you. Will you put out some sort of a written bulletin or [1:00:13] something to codify this? We have it out there. Yeah. And Congressman, in both those cases, [1:00:18] we looked into, both those cases, there was people that were arrested that didn't have [1:00:23] final orders. But there was a person that was with them in both cases that did have final orders. So [1:00:28] when we go into a house, for instance, we're serving a judicial warrant, and we go after the [1:00:32] person that's there, we don't, we check everybody else's immigration policy too. I appreciate that. [1:00:36] My question is, again, so that everyone working under you is clear on the policy. Will you put out some kind [1:00:41] of a written directive or something, just to clarify it? We'll look into that. I think it's [1:00:45] already out. I'd like to move to another topic now. So the administration deployed thousands of [1:00:53] Border Patrol and ICE officers into American cities, including Minneapolis, Chicago, and Los Angeles. [1:00:58] In the chaos that followed, two American citizens were killed. Countless other people were seriously [1:01:03] injured. Now, I recognize, again, this all happened before your tenure, or much of it happened before your [1:01:08] tenure. I asked for the data of how many DHS officers have been disciplined for improper use [1:01:14] of force in recent years. And I'll give you credit, because while your predecessor did not respond to [1:01:19] my request for information, your office has begun to provide some. But the data is concerning. This is [1:01:25] CBP. At the same time that ICE and Border Patrol were engaging in all of these violent conflicts in [1:01:31] American cities last year, the number of Border Patrol officers disciplined for improper use of force [1:01:37] actually went down dramatically. And in fact, that number two there is inflated, because one of them [1:01:43] was disciplined for failing to bring his firearm to work. The other was a worker's compensation issue, [1:01:48] which I assume was misclassified. So can you explain this? And can you explain what you are going [1:01:53] to do to ensure that those who do step over the line, those who do act inappropriately, will be held [1:01:57] accountable? Because this accountability did not exist under your predecessor. We hold everybody at the [1:02:02] highest standard. And if you fail to meet that standard, we will hold you accountable. I'm glad to hear you say that. [1:02:07] Because that was not the case under your predecessor. And I think a part of your charge, part of the [1:02:11] reason you're sitting here, by the way, is because your predecessor lost the trust of the American [1:02:15] people. If you're trying to regain it, you need to show that there will be accountability, just like [1:02:19] there is in any other law enforcement office agency in the country, when someone does engage in improper [1:02:24] use of force. Last question, will you commit to continuing to provide this data, say, every six months [1:02:29] or so? And will you provide it for ICE as well as CBP? We'll provide it upon request, say, [1:02:36] it every six months. We get inquiries from you guys constantly. Okay. And it is overwhelming. [1:02:40] Still waiting on the ICE data. Will you provide the ICE data? [1:02:42] As we get requests on it, we'll try to get to it as fast as possible, too. [1:02:45] Gentlemen, thank you very much. The gentleman's time has expired. I now recognize the gentleman [1:02:51] from Texas, Mr. Pflueger, for five minutes of questions. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Secretary, [1:02:55] thanks for your leadership. Thanks for coming in with an attitude of establishing the rule of law [1:03:01] and not picking and choosing. And if there's one thing I disagree with on your opening statement, [1:03:05] you have had secretaries that picked and choose. Not you, but Secretary Mayorkas picked and choose [1:03:11] which laws he would enforce. And as a result, we had an impeachment that started in this very committee [1:03:17] room. I spoke to some of your agents, incredible people, over the weekend. And I asked him a couple [1:03:24] of questions that said, give me an idea of what's happening in New Jersey, the sickening threats that [1:03:33] we are seeing. Give me an idea of what that means to your officers and your agents. The entire country [1:03:39] saw a person threaten one of your agents and said, I will effing kill you and I will effing kill your [1:03:47] family. That is absolutely disgusting. There is zero room or tolerance in this country for something like [1:03:54] that. Your agents recommended that we work on enhancing the penalties for doxing, for intimidating, [1:04:01] for threatening federal agents, including Customs and Border Protection agents. That's exactly what [1:04:07] I'm going to do. And I want to ask my Democrat colleagues right here in this committee room, [1:04:09] right now, who wants to join me in legislation to enhance federal penalties for doxing, intimidating, [1:04:18] or threatening federal agents? Who wants to join me? Will you include federal judges? [1:04:21] No. Because I'll join you if you include federal judges. [1:04:24] So if you include Mr. Goldman, Mr. Correa. And if you include elected officials, because all of us [1:04:30] have gotten our families threatened as well. The gentleman will suspend. I'm happy to join [1:04:34] you in that. The gentleman will suspend. This is your time. Questions are directed at the Secretary. [1:04:42] Please continue. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, we're going to work in a bipartisan manner [1:04:47] to protect your agents. And you just heard it from my colleague, Mr. Goldman, and you heard it from my [1:04:51] colleague, Mr. Correa. We're going to work in a bipartisan manner to protect your agents, to make [1:04:56] sure that that never happens again. And those penalties are enhanced as much as humanly possible. [1:05:01] Yeah, I would, I think it should be that way too, because we have your colleagues from the other [1:05:06] side of the aisle a lot of times talk about the mask and why they're masked men, but it's the doxing [1:05:11] that takes place. This officer that was threatened didn't have a mask on, but he does have a family. And what's [1:05:16] interesting is they knew his family because they're very sophisticated. These aren't just peaceful [1:05:21] rioters or peaceful protesters out there. They're well-funded and they have technology and we see it [1:05:26] immediately. When we have officers that are out there that don't have a mask on, they get doxed and [1:05:30] their family starts getting attacked on social media. They start getting attacked at their schools. [1:05:34] They start getting verbally attacked. They start getting verbally attacked at their schools and at [1:05:38] their homes. And so I, it should be, if we want to take, if we want to eliminate the, the officers from [1:05:44] having to wear a mask, then increase the penalties. And we should all agree with, if they dox them, [1:05:49] they threaten them in any way whatsoever, it should be a very stiff penalty to get all their attention. [1:05:54] And then those that are funding the protest should also be held accountable the same way. [1:05:59] We're going to work on that. You have my commitment. Now we have a bipartisan agreement to do that. [1:06:03] Let me ask you the same exact question that I asked Secretary Mayorkas when he was sitting here. [1:06:08] And I said to him, are there people who match the terror watch list that have been let into the United [1:06:13] States? And if so, is the Department of Homeland Security trying to do something about it to [1:06:19] extract them, to find them, to prosecute them, to get them out of our country, to keep our country [1:06:23] safe? So I'll ask you that question. Every single week we're, we're arresting terrorists either coming [1:06:29] across our border or that's already in this country. What's interesting to us is one of the ways we're [1:06:33] able to find these terrorists on the terrorist watch list that was let in on under probation with our [1:06:38] previous administration is when they're coming back flying from this terrorist country that they, [1:06:42] that they came from to begin with. What they'll do is they leave the United States, they go into Canada, [1:06:47] they fly out of Canada and then we, because of the relationship we have with them, we'll recognize [1:06:53] when they come in and land, they'll either arrest them or we'll track them until they cross the [1:06:56] border and we'll arrest them at the border. But every single week we're arresting terrorists that are [1:07:01] ending in this country and we've seen a dangerous tick up in Iran right now. It only took a change of [1:07:07] our administration to get the correct answer on that and I thank you for that. [1:07:10] President Trump every single day is focusing on making America safe and great again. [1:07:15] I appreciate that secretary and I believe you and we know that you're doing everything you possibly [1:07:21] can and your agents are as well. Last question for you. It's been talked about with CISA and just want [1:07:26] to, you know, kind of get an understanding to make sure that CISA is kind of, it is definitely the central [1:07:33] authority when it comes to the coordination whether it's Treasury or anybody else because there were some [1:07:37] concerning things that we heard last 15 seconds to you. So we coordinate with Treasury but we coordinate [1:07:44] with all the agencies along the way and CISA, as I said, has very unique authority. It hasn't completely [1:07:50] been utilized. We're going to restore that. We're putting the right people in place. We've got a person [1:07:55] soon to be nominated that'll be running CISA that has the ability to recruit and focus on the [1:08:03] the authorities we have. We want CISA to be the leader in cyber security. They should be and they [1:08:07] will be. Thank you, Secretary. Thank you very much. I now recognize the gentleman from New York, [1:08:13] Mr. Goldman, for five minutes of questions. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Secretary Mullen, [1:08:17] how do you determine when a court order is political or not? Well, typically when it's overturned by a higher [1:08:25] court. So in the interim period when it's on appeal, do you follow that court order? Sir, we enforce the [1:08:35] law every single day. We don't pick and choose which law we enforce. I'm not talking about the law. I'm [1:08:40] talking about a court order. But it is law. So we're enforcing the law every single day. Okay, [1:08:44] because yesterday the thing that concerned me is that you would not, you would not certify to Senator [1:08:52] Murphy that you will follow the court orders. What I said is the exact same answer I gave you right [1:08:59] now. Sorry? I gave him the exact same answer I gave you. We'll enforce the nation's laws, [1:09:04] that we don't pick and choose which law we enforce. We enforce the nation's laws. But it is... [1:09:07] So then why is it relevant whether it's political or not? Because we see lower benches and even [1:09:12] upper benches that make decisions based on political reasons, not just... But so who makes that [1:09:16] decision? You say we see it. Who decides that it's political? We see it all the time. Tell me it hasn't [1:09:20] happened. You guys complained about it when the Biden administration was in office. I didn't say [1:09:24] that. You said it. You said you see it all the time. Do you decide that? Congressman, I said we're [1:09:29] going to enforce the law. We don't pick and choose which law. We enforce the nation's laws. We'll stop. [1:09:34] So you will follow court orders? Is that... I said we'll enforce the nation's laws. Now you are aware, [1:09:44] I'm sure, of a case in New York related to the arrests at immigration courthouses. In March, [1:09:54] the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York wrote an extraordinary letter to a judge [1:10:01] accusing an ICE lawyer of concealing a memo from both the U.S. Attorney's Office and the judge. [1:10:09] And that memo specifically undermined the policy that ICE was using to arrest immigrants at immigration [1:10:19] courthouses. You're familiar with that? I'm actually not. You're not. Okay. Well, that is what happened. [1:10:26] It's a little disappointing to me that you're not familiar with that. I don't know the number of cases [1:10:31] we have that we get sued every day. Well, this is the question though. I've never... I was worked in the [1:10:36] Department of Justice for 10 years. I've never seen a letter like that where a representation by a [1:10:42] government agency to a court that another government agency actively concealed a memo that ultimately [1:10:53] changed the decision. Has there been any disciplinary action taken on that ICE agency lawyer? I'm not [1:10:59] familiar with the case. I already said that. Well, that's disappointing to me because... We get hundreds. [1:11:04] I've never... We get hundreds. You get hundreds, but I trust you. You do not get letters like this to [1:11:09] courts from the U.S. Attorney's Office accusing their own government colleague in a different [1:11:16] agency of concealing a memo. And now the problem is... I would have to see it before I take your [1:11:21] report. That's fine. You should also look at the judge's order where he then prohibited any arrests [1:11:30] at immigration courthouses at the three federal buildings in New York City. Are you aware of that? [1:11:36] Well, if he has the authority to do that, because when they're on final order... [1:11:40] You don't think he has the authority to do that? When they're on final order, [1:11:43] we pick them up after the court case. That's law. So we're supposed to arrest them with their own [1:11:48] final order and it gets denied. Sir, they're not going for a final order of removal. [1:11:55] Well, that's a blanket statement that you just said. You just said a blanket statement. You didn't give [1:12:00] preference to it. I said, if it's a final order, you said they're not supposed to arrest any. [1:12:04] That's what you just said. At immigration courthouses. If they're on final order of [1:12:08] removal and they final... they last appeal, then we have the right to pick them up and deport them. [1:12:13] That never happens. Never. No appeal is ever happens at a courtroom in immigration court. [1:12:19] Okay. What happens every day and thousands and thousands of time against your own policy [1:12:26] is that people who are here lawfully seeking lawful status go to court because they're required to do so. [1:12:32] And then they come out of court and they're snatched by your ICE officers. They're arrested. [1:12:38] They're sent to Delaney Hall. They're sent to the MDC. They are not the worst of the worst. [1:12:44] They have no records. And you know how we have no record? They have no records. [1:12:47] Because those two facilities are low security. They are not allowed to go there if they have [1:12:53] serious criminal conditions. I didn't ask a question. I didn't ask a question, sir. [1:12:58] You made an accusation. I reclaimed my time. [1:13:00] 666 people that's in Delaney Hall, 228 are serious. [1:13:03] I reclaimed my time. I would like extra time, please. [1:13:06] So the problem is that they are being arrested without a final order of removal. Judge Castell, [1:13:15] a Bush appointee, I don't know if that matters in the political calculation, [1:13:19] has stopped, has ordered that to be stopped. Are you going to stop that same process outside of New [1:13:27] York City because it applies equally every single place in this country? [1:13:31] The gentleman's time has expired and I will remind the gentleman's time has expired. I will [1:13:38] remind the witness that when this is the member's time when they reclaim it, please allow them to move [1:13:44] on. I am trying to hold everybody to the five minutes. I'm letting him try to answer when these [1:13:49] are important because these are important questions, everyone. I'm trying to let him answer, [1:13:52] but I will still keep order here. So witnesses, when the time is reclaimed, please allow the member to [1:14:00] continue. Their time is limited to five minutes. It's a simple question. Can he answer it? [1:14:04] No, your time's now expired and I will recognize the gentleman. Way to run interference. [1:14:09] No, your time was limited to five minutes and you started with a statement. I will now recognize [1:14:14] the gentleman from Oklahoma, Mr. Burkine, for five minutes of questions. [1:14:18] Mr. Secretary, it's truly great to see you in this role. I mean, I think you're doing an outstanding job. [1:14:24] I hope that the exchange between Representative Magaziner, Democrat from Rhode Island, I thought [1:14:30] that was a really great exchange between the two of you. He paid you a huge compliment and [1:14:37] you paid him a compliment and you've shown that, you know, the way even you started this was you [1:14:42] didn't go on script and that's your strength. You straight talk and then there's also the ability [1:14:49] to reason together and so I just want to commend you for the tenor that you bring in before this [1:14:54] and I thought his comment and his compliment to you was well deserved. Because we're going to talk [1:15:00] about the budget and that's why people came here was to hear you speak and because of the way that [1:15:05] the One Big Beautiful Bill was fashioned on border wall construction and you know as someone that was [1:15:12] in the House and the Senate how important it is under President Trump's tenure to make sure that [1:15:18] the physical barriers, I want to give you a chance to talk about that and kind of the progress on that [1:15:24] for, you know, concerns for this committee and I'll transition to something else and I know the [1:15:30] people want to hear you. Yeah, so on the border wall, first of all, we are on track to have the primary [1:15:35] wall done completed from the Pacific to Gulf of America this time next year. We have, we'll have all [1:15:45] contracts out by the end of this month and we're having great progress. Now the primary wall is not [1:15:51] the secondary wall, the primary wall is the first wall up because of the way the cartels adjust and [1:15:56] they're criminals and they're thugs and they're terrorists. We have to push out a secondary wall [1:16:02] because they've been going in and cutting the wall and before we can respond to some of these remote [1:16:06] areas they've been able to get through because every mile we put up the bigger or the smaller the choke [1:16:10] point gets for criminals across. But we see that so we're putting 150 foot some places sometimes [1:16:16] is smaller than that for a secondary wall that they got to go over plus a smart wall which will [1:16:21] tell us approximately how many people are there if they're carrying a pack they're not carrying a pack [1:16:24] the smart wall is pretty pretty impressive if we can put a drone in the sky to immediately keep eyes [1:16:29] on them. So we're we're well within track the secondary wall we feel like if we can continue to have the [1:16:35] progress we have and the partnerships we're having we will probably complete that the summer of 28 and [1:16:42] so all of it will be fully completed. Now weather can play a role in that but that's being pretty [1:16:47] pretty generous with time. I think your construction background is going to be paramount. And we have [1:16:53] I've made a I have made some trips and we've been able to look over that wall flew over a tremendous [1:16:59] amount of it we have some democrat members that's had some concerns some democrat senators congressmen [1:17:04] every one of them we try to address immediately. President Trump's safety if you could talk about [1:17:10] the things that you know we've seen the multiple attempts attack against him your role over secret [1:17:16] service. Secret service does a phenomenal job and they're understaffed. We need to hire about 860 agents [1:17:24] right now. President Trump unfortunately assassination attempts on him have become normal [1:17:28] and it's sad it doesn't seem like it faces him he's laser focused on his job he trusts the secret [1:17:33] service I trust the secret service they're the ones that protect me every single day they are [1:17:37] phenomenal people but they're working around the clock. I just want to point something out the [1:17:41] reason why it's so important to continue funding and keep it pushing forward in 2028 we're going to have [1:17:46] the busiest year for secret service in the history of the secret service and just to keep in mind we're [1:17:51] going to have a tremendous amount of of of governments that's going to be going to be visiting during [1:17:56] the olympics we're going to have an election year coming up there's a real possibility we could have three [1:18:01] presidential details and uh and three vp details and possibly more than that because if they require [1:18:07] us to do it before the convention it could take it could stretch us thin that secret service's [1:18:11] responsibility to do that plus all the dignitaries that's coming in from out of the country secret [1:18:15] service provides uh service for that and just about every one of these major events even though dhs [1:18:21] has uh the overall view of it when you start taking freedom 250 you start taking uh the fifa games you look at what's [1:18:29] going on the olympics the the seer rating that is the the rating of seriousness of uh protection needs [1:18:35] to be there that's all ran by secret service now we partner with them but they are stretched thin and [1:18:42] uh and and we're going to have to plus their budget up significantly to be able to allow them to meet [1:18:47] that that that threat coming towards us given 30 seconds um regarding the task force that was set up [1:18:53] about trying to find more uh greater means for efficiency with fema as someone who's from [1:18:59] oklahoma who readily knows how oklahoma is often impacted by weather events um you got about 10 15 [1:19:04] seconds here you know you can tell us about the progress of that task force yeah we're going to have [1:19:07] to restructure the way fema operates and push it closer to the states the dollars that get to the [1:19:13] states they can do it cheaper and more efficient and faster than fema could ever do fema is never designed [1:19:17] to be a the first in and last out there is there to to support the state and the local community on [1:19:23] their bad day the gentleman yields back i now recognize the gentlelady from illinois miss ramirez [1:19:30] for five minutes questions thank you chairman i appreciate it secretary mullen you have been [1:19:35] now in office for 71 days and you've been in this new row in 71 days of your watch and i'll be honest [1:19:43] with you my office is getting more of the same as you can see in the posters i'm not going to go into [1:19:48] details here because i want to really focus on questions with you so my questions are going to [1:19:52] be yes or no because i want to be able to go through a list of them first one secretary as a [1:19:58] former member of the house and senate are you clear that members of congress have statutory oversight [1:20:03] authority over federally funded detention facilities yes or no i do with proper notice yes when we're in [1:20:10] a shutdown it takes a little bit more time i'm reclaiming my time i want to go to the second question here [1:20:17] yes or no given that senator andy kim was acting within his statutory oversight authority at delaney [1:20:24] hall would you retract your comments that a senator probably shouldn't have been there yes or no would [1:20:29] you retract them andy kim and i have visited multiple times there is no yes or no on that if you [1:20:35] don't i can sit right here and not answer any questions if it's going to be yes or no because [1:20:38] there's a back story behind that they're claiming my time i talked multiple times and we let him in [1:20:42] in the center that day thank you these yes or no questions chairman chairman i am the member [1:20:51] i'm glad i agree we need to stop we need to stop the clock i said suspend i said suspend [1:20:59] okay again the members are entitled to ask questions they are the witness is entitled to answer them he is [1:21:08] here voluntarily the members are entitled to ask their question they cannot limit his answer they say yes or no [1:21:18] and it's not a yes or no question and they they want to chairman if he's unwilling to answer we're [1:21:24] reclaiming and we're moving yeah that's fine you can reclaim your time that's fine but do not you get [1:21:30] to ask the question the witness gets to answer it he does you do not get to tell him every claim does [1:21:35] he stop speaking i'm still it's still suspended okay but this is for everyone not just this is for [1:21:42] everyone not just you again i will we can add the because you did it i think 10 more seconds back [1:21:48] onto the clock it's more like 20. um 10 more seconds back onto the clock so we're going back to another [1:21:58] question let's get it let's get everything set and then i will i will let everything start again 3 46 [1:22:04] please so secretary are you familiar with the ice national detention standard standard for food service [1:22:13] that establishes that food and ice attention must be nutritious and hygienic are you familiar with [1:22:18] the standard that's a pretty easy yes or no are you familiar with the standard thank you so given [1:22:24] ice's standards and reports of decaying food confirmed by congressional oversight would you retract your [1:22:29] comments dismissing detainees concerns about rotten food as a desire for ethnic food would you retract [1:22:35] those comments i didn't say rotten food i said they wanted ethnic correct food and i said this isn't a [1:22:39] holiday inn we're not providing that but we did release a menu and if you saw time if you look time to look [1:22:43] at the menu you're not retracting your comments okay so uh let me just make sure i clarify these [1:22:49] questions were important because i know it shows this you've been in congress before you've been [1:22:52] in the house and senate you understand the separation of powers you know congress's role you understand [1:22:57] there are rules and standards that you're required to follow you've been saying this uh in the last [1:23:02] 45 minutes we've been here and still you're disregarding what you we know which is that you're doing the same [1:23:08] thing that your president and miller want you to do which is spew this garbage that makes [1:23:13] immigrants criminals and that creates the standards and conditions for even children in detention [1:23:19] to be living in inhumane conditions you know what i call that i call that being a tool and let me [1:23:25] tell you the impact of these actions kevin gonzalez my 18 year old u.s citizen constituent with stage [1:23:35] four colon cancer he wanted to see his parents one last time secretary but you rejected his parents [1:23:43] visa to come say goodbye to their son in desperation they came the only way that they knew how they [1:23:51] tried to cross the border and when they tried to cross the border they were detained by cbp in arizona [1:23:59] they weren't just released so they can go back to mexico they sat in that detention center for one [1:24:05] whole month my office the mexican consulate and their legal team they worked tirelessly to ensure that [1:24:12] the gonzalez family could be could be reunited because they knew that kevin just had weeks to go [1:24:17] that he could die at any time he was diagnosed in january kevin i want to show you the video this is [1:24:29] when he finally got to see his mother and father kevin went to mexico hear that cry from that mother [1:24:40] what you're not seeing is the father is wrapped around his son's feet crying hysterically after a month [1:24:48] in detention secretary kevin died less than 24 hours after that engagement so i want to ask for [1:24:57] every parent in this room including secretary mullen and including my colleagues on both sides of the [1:25:04] aisle wouldn't you go at any length to be able to see your dying child one last time you know rejecting [1:25:14] visas to kevin's family that didn't protect our communities family separation that doesn't make [1:25:20] any communities safer so who then ends up benefiting from this i'm going to tell you who benefits for [1:25:27] profit prison corporations they profit from cruelty and point and you now are operating as a secretary [1:25:35] inflicting cruelty and pain and i have to say this for kevin for virginia his grandmother who's my [1:25:41] constituent we will not forget the terror of ice and we will not forget what dhs continues to do [1:25:48] even under your watch we know that a better world is possible we need something new and that means [1:25:54] i will say it loudly so that you could go ahead and quote if you need to we need to abolish ice [1:25:59] and we need to dismantle dhs and like i told your predecessor secretary i wouldn't get comfortable [1:26:06] because you have to be held accountable with that i yield back gentlelady yields back i now recognize [1:26:12] the gentleman from alabama mr strong for five minutes thank you mr uh chairman garbarino and ranking [1:26:18] member thompson secretary mullin thank you for being here today and for the work you and your team [1:26:23] are doing to keep our nation safe i represent alabama's fifth congressional district home to [1:26:28] home in huntsville alabama and redstone arsenal you may know that north alabama offers a unique [1:26:33] combination of mission capability affordability workforce talent and room for future growth we're [1:26:40] proud to host hsi's xcom south for the national academy for advanced training and leadership along [1:26:47] with numerous companies organizations and other federal components that support dhs mission every [1:26:53] day i'd like to welcome the opportunity to host you in huntsville i know that you're well aware of [1:26:58] us but it'd be a great trip if we could have you there to see all of our different things that we [1:27:02] have to offer in north alabama like many of my colleagues the threat posed by uas is at the top of [1:27:08] the mind of at the top of our mind especially as we prepare to host major international events such as [1:27:15] fifa world cup and the olympic games redstone arsenal is home to the national counter uas training [1:27:21] center which trains federal state and local personnel to detect track and respond to drone threats [1:27:27] the center is playing a critical role in preparing law enforcement partners ahead of the world cup [1:27:32] and other major national events secretary mullen can you discuss the role the national counter uas [1:27:38] training center is playing in dhs's broader counter drone strategy and do you believe we are making [1:27:46] the investment and building the partnerships necessary to stay ahead of emerging uas threats [1:27:53] thank you for the question i'm actually going to be there at the facility on friday [1:27:56] with katie britt understand you can't make it because you got duties here in congress i think we're [1:28:01] trying to make huntsville too we're going to reschedule it to where you can be there [1:28:05] because alabama is leading in this area we really appreciate the leadership as i said counter us is [1:28:12] the is i think the largest concern that i have on a on a daily basis and the fact that we're able to [1:28:18] partner with alabama to be able to put this center there be able to bring local law enforcement from [1:28:25] all over the country and really quite frankly we're going to be bringing people from all over the world [1:28:29] uh to be able to train in this facility and continue to grow and collaborate with uh with [1:28:36] those that have the best uh technology the best ability work with the private public partnership [1:28:41] is invaluable and and we look to we look forward to seeing what that's going to uh produce by 2028 [1:28:46] when the olympics are here thank you mr secretary we welcome you to uh to the rocket city i recently [1:28:51] uh introduced a bill the safe what it's called is rocket city rocket city i didn't know that [1:28:55] alabama the propulsion capital of the world uh the recently introduced a bill the safeguard act [1:29:01] to mandate that revenue collected through tsa's 911 passenger security fee be dedicated to bolstering [1:29:08] aviation airport security can you speak to the importance of investing in security technology [1:29:14] and what it would mean if congress could end the uh diversion as these fees when it expires next year [1:29:20] right now we're looking at rolling out new programs with tsa um tsa has they they touch more americans [1:29:29] and more people on a daily basis than any other government agency and the top 20 or the top 10 [1:29:35] of the top 20 airports that operate within the united states is actually um privately ran tsa agents [1:29:43] where we reimburse them for but we only reimburse them for personnel what we're doing now is we're going to [1:29:48] roll that out even farther and partner with public companies private companies uh to be able to um [1:29:54] to be able to bring in technology and and have it run smoothly without without uh decreasing our [1:30:01] security but increasing our security there's a lot of technology that's out there that we're just not [1:30:06] utilizing we feel like when we really bring in the the private sector we'll be able to expand and uh and [1:30:12] and be ready once again we have four to five to seven million visitors coming in for fifa we're [1:30:17] going to have more than that in 2028 during the olympics and we need that process to continue to [1:30:22] move without interruption i believe there's about five dollars and fifty cents per direct flight going [1:30:28] anywhere and what i want to do is get that money just like you've said uh where it's doing great [1:30:33] things for safety switching gears i want to commend dhs and the administration for their continued focus [1:30:39] on strengthening operations and addressing the challenges along the southern border given the scale [1:30:44] and the complexity of ongoing border security efforts does dhs currently have the internal [1:30:50] expertise and operational capacity needed to execute its large-scale uh initiatives on time are you [1:30:58] specifically talking about the wall uh everything what we're you know what we're seeing there to carry [1:31:03] out those initiatives from protecting the southern border the construction of the wall those dollars that [1:31:08] we've approved we do we see the cartels are adapting right now because they had uh luxury city uh [1:31:14] availability uh during the last you know administration where they didn't have to invest [1:31:19] in technology they simply walked across drove across uh and rode across and so we we're doing now as [1:31:25] we're seeing that we well we discovered a tunnel for the first time recently in many years and we're seeing [1:31:31] more drone technology so we're adapting but we had the ability and we um we definitely need more resources [1:31:37] thank you mr secretary mr chairman i'll yield back gentleman yields back i now recognize the gentleman [1:31:41] from new york mr kennedy for five minutes of questions thank you mr chairman narul amin shah [1:31:47] alarm secretary mullen does that name mean anything to you i'm sorry repeat that narul amin shah [1:31:54] alarm does that name mean anything to you no i don't think so i'm very saddened heartbroken [1:32:00] and disgusted by that quite frankly mr shah alarm was here lawfully in our country arriving in buffalo [1:32:08] new york as a refugee in december of 2024 with his wife and children he and his family were in search [1:32:14] of the american dream a life free from persecution free of genocide at the hands of their government [1:32:19] free from crimes against humanity unimaginable to those of us that are lucky enough to be born [1:32:24] in our free country mr shah alarm was promised a fate far different from what he'd been subjected to [1:32:30] in burma instead his 14 months in the united states came to a tragic end following his release [1:32:36] from your department on february 19th mr shah alarm was detained by dhs dhs agents determined he was [1:32:43] here lawfully and upon release they dropped him at a closed coffee shop in buffalo new york in the [1:32:51] dead of winter that night agents left him without proper clothing without the care of his family without [1:32:57] any resources to find safety in near freezing temperatures he was blind disabled spoke little to [1:33:04] no english his family who filed a missing persons report days later had no idea of his whereabouts [1:33:10] or that he'd even been released tragically mr shah alarm was found dead five days later on february 24 [1:33:16] 2026 on a street in the unforgiving buffalo winter five miles from his home well i just want to [1:33:23] i just want to say that i am from his death was caused by a stress ulcer dehydration and hypothermia and [1:33:31] it's been ruled a homicide in the days following his passing dhs claimed mr shah alarm was dropped at [1:33:38] a warm safe location dhs said he showed no signs of distress mobility issues or disabilities requiring [1:33:46] special assistance so mr secretary yes or no would you say that someone who's blind has severe mobility [1:33:54] issues and who speaks a specific non-english dialect generally requires special assistance first of all i i [1:34:01] need to correct my answer i am familiar with this case it is under investigation and that's all i can [1:34:06] say about it and would you say that a the back of a dark parking lot in a closed coffee shop on a [1:34:15] winter night in buffalo without proper clothing is a warm safe it's it's under investigation sir [1:34:21] the family of nurul amin shatlam the burmese community the people of buffalo refugees in every [1:34:27] community in our country in every single american deserves answers from your department i've sent [1:34:34] multiple letters to your department including the day after you were sworn in on march 24th demanding [1:34:40] that dhs open an investigation into this case i've received nothing in return i just told you twice [1:34:48] it's under investigation okay so why wouldn't you explain that and answer very simply in in some sort of [1:34:55] public response to the american people over two months ago over two months ago when this letter [1:35:01] was written and over three months ago when this man was found dead and the last people that were had [1:35:09] any contact with him that we are aware of were your department i i apologize but not responding to you [1:35:15] in two months we want to really lean into that uh you know in the past i don't think this department [1:35:21] underneath um anyone's leadership has been really responsive to congress i have changed that we are [1:35:26] trying to be as responsive to anybody that calls me reaches out to me that's not acceptable two [1:35:31] months i agree with that but we could have easily told you it was been under investigation so will [1:35:36] you commit to providing my office and the people of this country with a timely response to my march 24th [1:35:41] letter i just answered the question for your letter if you want me to re-put it in writing i can put it [1:35:47] in writing for you here we want it in a piece of paper i'll put it down for you yeah we want the american [1:35:51] people to see what your department is doing so this community's committee deserves answers the [1:35:55] people of this country deserve answers your predecessor christy noem ran this department [1:36:00] straight into the ground her conduct as secretary disgraced the brave career law enforcement officials [1:36:06] who signed up to work at the department of homeland security to protect their fellow citizens since you [1:36:11] became secretary what have you done to change the culture of your department and ensure the actions of [1:36:16] all dhs officials are consistent with the constitution and our values as americans beneath the previous [1:36:22] administration they they took the the the teeth out from our law enforcement dhs uh my predecessor [1:36:28] and myself were enforcing the law of the land not turning a blind eye to it and that's what [1:36:34] mario chris did he turned a blind eye to it yours your predecessor is no longer here she disgraced [1:36:39] this department and it seems like you are following right in her footsteps under your leadership that [1:36:45] is not true don't accuse me of something that's not true without food you can say all you want [1:36:50] but don't accuse me of something that's not accurate you can sit there until lies all day long [1:36:53] and all it is is a lie gentlemen's time that's a flat-out lie you know it's a flat lie that's a lie [1:36:58] time that is that's a lie the gentleman's time has expired we will we will you know that's a lie [1:37:04] that's a lie you know it's a lie secretary secretary please everyone we will continue to do this [1:37:17] hearing like we have done the ones in the past i'm asking everyone please questions answers do [1:37:24] not attack each other's characters that is something that is a violation of house rules [1:37:30] so no i did not i did not attack his character mr chairman i'm just saying the statement is for [1:37:37] everybody stated facts about the department what i'm saying right now a lot of fact you can't point [1:37:41] to a single fact that that's accurate wait mr chairman i think the point is if the witness is [1:37:52] not addressing a question but making a statement that's not not a question he shouldn't be allowed [1:38:02] to the point is we've had these hearings before this is not the first time we've had a secretary in [1:38:09] front of us members know how we do things around here since i've become chairman i'm trying to keep a [1:38:16] lid on this members will ask questions they know there's there are rules you cannot attack other [1:38:22] members you cannot questions can only be directed to me or or the witnesses witnesses will answer [1:38:28] the questions when a member reclaims their time the witness should give back that time nobody should [1:38:36] be going after anyone's character that is not how we do things we will get back on track here again [1:38:46] questions answer questions answer this is not the first time we are we are going to keep a lid on [1:38:52] this hearing today if and when a member asks a question they they get to ask their question the [1:38:59] witness gets to answer it they can't direct how the witness answers it they can reclaim their time [1:39:06] they cannot tell the witness what to say the witness is here and gets to answer the question [1:39:11] that is asked if the member does not like the answer and wants to get another question in [1:39:16] before their time is expired they can reclaim their time and i will enforce that but they can't be [1:39:23] they can't be upset and i don't want people talking over each other that has been happening quite a lot [1:39:28] today so again rules of decorum members will ask questions witnesses will will answer the question [1:39:36] remember doesn't like if they want to get on to something else they can reclaim their time the only [1:39:45] point i'm trying to make is the witness is interrupting the members in the midst of asking their [1:39:52] question and just direct the witness just hold whatever he is has to say until the question is [1:40:01] asked yeah interrupt the question and and yes and i understand that and i think what the secretary was [1:40:06] doing there was just pointing out that he was familiar with the case with the answer i think he [1:40:10] did clear that up but of course questions asked answered so everybody we're going to move forward now [1:40:18] and now recognize the gentleman from arizona mr crane for five minutes of questions thank you mr chairman [1:40:25] thank you uh mr secretary for coming we've had a lot of names of uh people thrown out in this uh [1:40:31] committee hearing so far i want to throw out some names myself and i don't expect you to know these [1:40:36] names uh secretary mr secretary marianne mendoza doug and patricia quetz steve running back fernardo [1:40:46] beserto shannon estes patty fox karen griffin and fun funder i know you don't know these names [1:40:56] but myself and congressman biggs we spent about two and a half hours with these angel families [1:41:02] last week in arizona with uh the drug czar sarah carter and these stories were shocking and they [1:41:10] were horrific and i'm just interested i find it i find it so sad and curious why my colleagues on the [1:41:18] other side of the aisle are so concerned with living conditions food and safety of illegal aliens but [1:41:25] they never seem to care or bring up these angel families and the fact that their loved ones are [1:41:32] no longer with us um they don't get to eat food anymore their living conditions don't matter anymore [1:41:40] because they're gone they're dead and the saddest thing to me mr secretary and talking to them [1:41:46] and this is what broke all of their hearts was that in every single one of these cases [1:41:51] their family members should be alive and it was completely avoidable [1:42:00] mr secretary do you find it interesting that in the past democrats have supported border security [1:42:09] and barriers like democrats like obama clinton schumer voted for in 2006 for the secure our fence act [1:42:20] they also supported enhanced barriers in 2013 immigration bills do you find it interesting [1:42:26] that the democrat party has shifted away from helping protect the homeland unfortunately what we [1:42:34] continue to see is political theater uh because of the far left base is where they demand them to be [1:42:40] uh and it has nothing to do with the living conditions and if you if you would permit me here congressman [1:42:45] i just want to sorry point out a couple of things about delaney versus uh the state penitentiaries in new [1:42:50] jersey and delaney um you're are in the state penitentiaries in new jersey you're two times more [1:42:56] likely to die in new jersey state facilities facilities than you are in delaney we have two times the [1:43:01] amount of space in delaney so when they say it's overcrowded that's not accurate we have two times as [1:43:06] much more space than they do in the state penitentiaries in new jersey uh we have two times the medical [1:43:11] personnel uh based on individuals that are in the delaney versus the state penitentiaries when you start [1:43:18] talking about horrible conditions in the northern state prison penitentiary the garden state youth [1:43:24] correctional facility and in the new jersey state prison they have horrible conditions let me just [1:43:30] talk about this garden state youth correction facility they received citations for filthy [1:43:35] conditions in the kitchen standing water rodent and insect infestation and expired fire extinguishers in [1:43:42] um and uh northern state penitentiary you they have multiple violations for continuing flooding raw [1:43:50] sewage wastewater spillage and uh lack of temperature control that they've never fixed not one of these [1:43:57] individuals have ever protested about what's happened in their own state yard or backyard thank [1:44:01] you mr secretary um it was interesting because several of my colleagues earlier on in this hearing [1:44:07] brought up dhs supporting white nationalism do you remember a couple members yes pointing that out [1:44:14] and then you actually brought up something you know you you said you asked one of my colleagues if he [1:44:20] had endorsed the senate candidate candidate from maine uh mr platner i believe his name is he was [1:44:27] a nazi sympathizer i i actually looked it up he had not endorsed that individual but certain members of [1:44:35] congress had um i'm going to read those names for you bernie sanders elizabeth warren ruben gallego [1:44:43] and martin heinrich and roqana have all endorsed um this senate candidate from maine you find it [1:44:51] interesting that all these accusations and targets of dhs and white nationalism are being targeted at you [1:44:59] yet their party continues to support this nazi sympathizer running in maine it's hypocritical at best [1:45:06] thank you yeah that's that's what i thought i want to move on to uh tunnels real quick um i know [1:45:12] my time's running out you guys just discovered a big tunnel um what are you guys doing to make sure [1:45:19] that the cartels aren't going underground since we've done a good job in stopping a lot of what [1:45:24] they're trying to send through the ports of entry and at the ports themselves as you know this is the [1:45:29] first tunnel that has been um discovered in many years we're deploying technology all around there for [1:45:33] this because we see that they're force we're forcing them underground because of president trump's [1:45:37] policies gentleman yields back now recognize the gentlelady from new jersey miss macgyver for five [1:45:45] minutes of questions thank you mr chairman um i asked unanimous consent to enter the sos letter signed by [1:45:51] 300 plus detainees of delaney hall into record without objection thank you so much secretary mullen have [1:45:58] you ever had a visit to delaney hall for oversight visit no i have not thank you the department of [1:46:04] homeland security was meant to safeguard the people our homeland and our values with the legal obligation [1:46:11] to observe the basic human right and due process for everyone on u.s soil we have seen former [1:46:17] administrations support transparency and cooperate with congressional oversight unfortunately trump and [1:46:23] his administration are doing the exact opposite this is a humanitarian crisis happening in my district [1:46:30] at delaney hall detention facility in norark new jersey we're talking about norark new jersey [1:46:35] delaney hall detention center recently more than 300 detainees sent an sos letter about the torturous [1:46:42] conditions they face inside after that letter detainees went on a hunger strike to protest spoiled rotten [1:46:48] food lack of medical care and violent and unsanitary conditions i have spoken to these people i have seen [1:46:56] these conditions with my own eyes detainees and their families have told me that the food served inside [1:47:02] delaney hall is green and rotten even containing live worms they report that shower walls are covered in [1:47:09] black mold and that toilets are backed up in what can only be described as an overflowing sewage they are not [1:47:16] given adequate cleaning supplies and they are told that they must use paper towels and their own toothbrushes [1:47:22] sometimes to try to get the facility to a safe level of cleanliness detainees and their families also [1:47:28] share horrific accounts of being dumped into solitary confinement cells after surgery for medical [1:47:34] observation and remaining there for months without any actual medical care they are three there are three [1:47:41] detainees currently right now at delaney trapped in this medical isolation right now sometimes when i visit no [1:47:48] doctor is present no doctor when the doctor has been there they have known almost nothing about their [1:47:55] patient's care there were pregnant women in there without getting any ob-gyn care that the doctor didn't [1:48:02] even know where they go for outside services tragically two pregnant women miscarry after their emergencies [1:48:09] were dismissed as psychological frenzies by g geo staff additionally when they tell members of congress [1:48:17] about these conditions when they participate in hunger strikes when they try to seek help they face [1:48:23] retaliation in this facility and from ice communication access is revoked visitations are cut and even worse [1:48:32] things happen to them instead of addressing these inhumane conditions and attempting to solve them [1:48:37] this administration has chosen to weaponize dhs to cover up the abuses thankfully secretary mullen you are here [1:48:45] today to answer some of these questions that my colleagues have the department of homeland security [1:48:51] issue official statements calling the hunger strike a complete fabrication while quietly by quietly [1:48:57] transferring 15 women from delaney hall to a facility facility in louisiana soon after the hunger strike [1:49:05] began along with other detainees they were transferred one of those women transfer is a victim of medical neglect [1:49:11] to miscarried i will continue to say his name as well 41 year old john wilson brutus he died within 24 hours [1:49:21] of entering in ice custody at delaney hall and ice passed his death off as natural causes and even as a [1:49:29] family member and even as family members and civil rights groups practice their constitutional right [1:49:34] to peacefully protest federal agents tased pepper sprayed and put them under arrest inside [1:49:41] delaney officers beat detainees in unit 2a and 2b pepper sprayed them and proceeded to cut off their [1:49:48] communication with family and their attorneys by placing them under lockdown secretary mullen unit 2a [1:49:55] and 2b hopefully you're taking notes this department has doubled down on partisan showmanship as well [1:50:01] even threatening to stop the processing of international flights in cities like mine in north because they [1:50:07] don't like that americans are protesting inhumane conditions and demanding oversight and accountability [1:50:14] this is not a matter of politics the american people are concerned by what they hear in on and are [1:50:20] unwilling to give their heart on tax dollars to what is happening lastly secretary mullen you talk [1:50:27] about racist racism a lot in today's hearing you know what's racist is the fact that every detainee in [1:50:34] delaney hall is a person of color the cruelty runs to the top of dhs weaponizing the immigration system [1:50:42] for your president in this administration racist grievances with that i yield back generally yields [1:50:49] back i now recognize the gentleman from new york mr lolota for five minutes of questions thank you [1:50:54] chairman uh thank you mr secretary for being here and for your leadership and all your hard work to help [1:50:58] secure our awesome homeland i know mr secretary that your short tenure as homeland security secretary [1:51:04] you fought hard to ensure our people have the resources they need to do their jobs in light [1:51:11] of the dhs shutdowns you've properly advocated for our people that they receive compensation for their [1:51:16] hard work so they can keep our homeland safe and i want to thank you for your efforts there along those [1:51:21] lines mr secretary i want to talk about the housing allowances afforded to our coast guard personnel [1:51:27] my long island district is home to several coast guard equities including sector field office [1:51:33] marichis marine safety unicorum aids navigation team marichis station eaton's neck station shinnecock [1:51:39] and station montauk several of those bases mr secretary on the hamptons this isn't a trick question [1:51:46] mr secretary but what comes to your mind when you think of the hamptons hamptons yes sir not a trick [1:51:54] question i can't afford what is it someplace i can't afford that's that's the right answer um would you [1:52:01] be surprised to hear mr secretary that the housing allowance afforded to coast guard personnel [1:52:07] stationed in the hamptons is the same the housing allowance there is the same in the hamptons as the [1:52:13] amount afforded to those who were stationed in more affordable middle-class blue-collar neighborhoods [1:52:19] elsewhere on long island is that a surprise to you that those two allowances are the same uh it well [1:52:25] yeah it is but it isn't because we have talked to the commandant about this we're looking at doing a pay [1:52:29] raise across the across the force by seven percent we're looking at the housing too the commandant has [1:52:35] made this an issue because unfortunately a lot of places where the coast guard has been for many many [1:52:40] years it's beautiful area and um communities have grown up around it which has put a strain on on [1:52:46] housing so we got to bring back um coast guard housing to make it affordable we're going to talk [1:52:51] about coast guard housing in a few minutes mr secretary and my staff is coming with a map in a moment [1:52:55] um the disparity the lack of coast guard personnel to afford to live in the areas they protect has [1:53:03] caused many of them to live far away from their duty stations good here that the map as you can see [1:53:10] mr secretary shows that some of our coast east stations on the south fork of long island and montauk [1:53:16] in particular have to live a good hour and 40 minutes one way almost uh three hours round trip sometimes [1:53:24] four hours round trip with uh bad summer traffic they're in their cars four hours a day simply to [1:53:30] live in a place that they can afford because they can't afford to live based on the current housing [1:53:35] allowance structure where they're stationed uh the impact in my mind mr secretary is twofold first [1:53:42] their own quality of life this is time spent away from their families this is time on the roads [1:53:48] this is some folks showing up to work a very important job fatigued because they have to be in that [1:53:53] car for two hours second as it relates more directly to the mission it's a harm to recruiting [1:53:59] that i've heard in my couple of years of visiting these bases that a lot of coasties don't want to [1:54:04] take orders to some of these coast guard stations because they can't afford to live there their kids [1:54:10] can't go to the local schools they have to go far away and the recruiting efforts are damaged and when [1:54:17] we don't get the best coasties on long island the the mission gets degraded so my question mr secretary [1:54:23] is can you help us long islanders resolve this issue uh we are we're working on it president trump [1:54:29] has made it a mission to reinvest uh in the force focus uh for 2028 he's investing 24 billion dollars [1:54:37] into the coast guard first president to do that in decades to take an emphasis on there i the only way [1:54:44] we're going to actually be able to fix it is we're going to have to build housing it's going to be [1:54:48] very difficult to fluctuate the let me ask you about housing as my one minute time starts to wind down [1:54:54] right now there's a coast guard property i don't expect that you know all the different coast guard [1:54:57] properties throughout the nation there's a coast guard property in my district at west hampton beach [1:55:02] it's not a small property includes 24 units two single family homes an office a workshop facility [1:55:08] it was initially built in in 1977 but we're going to sell it i don't oppose uh the premise of selling [1:55:15] it but the question i have relates to what we do with the funds afterwards i've asked some folks [1:55:21] in and around the government what are we going to do with the money once we divest ourselves of this [1:55:25] very valuable piece of property and the answer i've gotten so far mr secretary is they're just going [1:55:30] to put into a national fund and figure out what to do with those dollars uh nationally i've presented [1:55:36] mr secretary a very regional a very localized problem that has a lot to do with money we're [1:55:40] going to cash out on this property i don't oppose the cashing out my request to you mr secretary is [1:55:46] can you commit to when we dispose of that property and get money for it that we keep those dollars [1:55:52] regionally so we don't exacerbate an existing problem you've said that we need more housing let's [1:55:58] reinvest those dollars more locally so we don't have complicated existing problem we we will we'll try [1:56:05] we'll look into that i do understand the situation that we have here because it's very costly because [1:56:10] the environmental impacts we have in that area to develop it because we're going to basically [1:56:16] tear down those buildings and rebuild it but i i would think it only makes sense to reinvest in in [1:56:20] housing thank you mr secretary appreciate your leadership sir bill manil's back i now recognize [1:56:25] the gentlelady from texas miss johnson for five minutes of questions uh thank you mr chairman mr [1:56:30] ranking member and mr secretary thank you for being here today um dhs personal personnel carry enormous [1:56:36] responsibilities every single day tsa officers protect our transportation systems fema personnel [1:56:42] respond when communities are devastated by floods hurricanes and wildfires cyber security and [1:56:47] counterterrorism professionals work around the clock to identify threats before americans are harmed these [1:56:52] public servants should be empowered to focus on these missions not forced to operate inside a [1:56:57] department increasingly consumed by political agendas and headline driven decision making serious [1:57:02] operational failures continue to mount at the department of homeland security under this [1:57:06] administration we've seen individuals with lawful legal status being wrongfully detained or [1:57:11] deported despite having authorization to remain in the united states we've seen repeated allegations [1:57:16] of detainees being denied adequate medical care and in some cases dying while in federal custody [1:57:22] secretary mullen americans are now looking to your leadership to determine whether this department can [1:57:27] return to its mission it was originally created to fulfill they want to know what steps you are taking [1:57:33] to restore professionalism within dhs improve oversight of detention facilities prevent further deaths [1:57:38] in federal custody stop the wrongful deportation of individuals with legal status eliminate political [1:57:44] interference inside fema improve training and operational standards for enforcement personnel and ensure [1:57:49] that disaster response decisions are driven by urgency and public safety rather than bureaucracy [1:57:55] and politics to highlight some of the incompetence we've seen over the past year i want to take a [1:58:00] moment to quote directly from the final report which was released earlier this month issued by [1:58:05] president the president's own fema review council under the trump administration this report was not [1:58:11] written by democrats this was your administration's own assessment of fema and frankly the report reads like [1:58:18] a broader indictment of how this agency has been allowed to deteriorate over the past year the report states [1:58:23] that fema acknowledges concerns about staffing sufficiency disaster response delays and operational [1:58:29] shortcomings that have weakened fema's disaster response capabilities americans in my home state saw [1:58:35] the consequences of those failures during texas floods an overwhelmed system staffing concerns and [1:58:40] response delays left families waiting for help during one of the worst disasters in our recent history [1:58:45] so frankly i think you in this administration should spend less time turning dhs into a political messaging [1:58:50] operation and more time focus on fixing these failures mr secretary i was sitting here listening [1:58:56] to my colleagues and i too have a line of questions about a gentleman in my one of my constituents that died in dhs [1:59:04] custody and i too have letters written to dhs that have been unresponded to this seems to be a pattern [1:59:11] in practice um in fairness to you a lot of it is from your predecessor but we as members of congress [1:59:19] deserve timely responses to our inquiries when we have constituents that have had um you know terrible [1:59:26] outcomings with your agency and i heard you say earlier that you're committed to do that and i hope [1:59:32] that's true for the letters that my office have sent you on multiple occasions um relating to a death of [1:59:38] mr paktawali he was a 41 year old husband and father who was part of the brought here on the afghan evac [1:59:45] program he served alongside our men and women in military in afghanistan and was brought here [1:59:51] because he was his life was deemed in danger if he remained due to his service to our military men [1:59:56] and women and he was detained and dead 24 hours later i think he and his family and this country [2:00:04] and the afghan community who've risked their lives to help our men and women in the military deserve an [2:00:09] answer as to what happened and i've sent multiple letters and i'm here again and i asked your [2:00:14] predecessor if she would respond she told me she would she did not now i'm asking you can you please [2:00:20] give me a response to what happened to mr paktawali in your custody yes because can you is it possible [2:00:28] that we can get a copy of that letter just so we can find it there was a lot of stuff that's been hard [2:00:31] to find absolutely and and i don't think i may be wrong but i don't think we received that letter [2:00:37] since i've been in office i will be happy to resend it to you thank you um because we have asked on [2:00:41] multiple occasions you know it's not normal for a 41 year old uh to be detained uh taking his kids to [2:00:48] school and to be dead in your custody 25 hours later that's not a normal natural course of events [2:00:55] and i think we all deserve an answer as to what happened and a comprehensive review because we've [2:01:01] had just in this one hearing sir three members of congress have had three constituents die after being in [2:01:08] dhs custody in a very relatively for 24 hours or a few days or whatever and this is part of the [2:01:16] problem with why the american people are so frustrated because these events happen that should not happen [2:01:24] and there's no accountability and there's no transparency as to the cause and what happened [2:01:28] and no assurances that they're going to stop in the future and i'm so sorry i just ran out of time [2:01:33] i yield back gentlelady yields back i now recognize the gentleman from gentlelady from [2:01:40] south carolina miss biggs for five minutes questions thank you mr chairman and thank you [2:01:44] secretary mullen for being here today in january of 2025 president trump issued an executive order [2:01:53] number 14157 formally designating cartels and other transnational criminal organizations [2:02:01] as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists this was a [2:02:08] consequential action and one that fundamentally reframes how the federal government must approach [2:02:16] the threat these groups pose these are sophisticated violent ideologically motivated organizations that [2:02:24] control territory they weaponize human beings and deliberately target the vulnerable [2:02:31] and those of on our borders um only to advance operations inside the united states the fto designations [2:02:40] created by executive order 14157 are legal tools with operational consequences and i want to understand how dhs [2:02:51] is using them with that framing in mind i want to ask you directly how has the department of homeland security [2:02:58] used these new tools to protect americans from terrorist cartels and have these tools help the department [2:03:06] arrest cartel linked criminals and seize their money and assets and break up their networks here in the united [2:03:14] united states thank you so much um through cbp and hstf uh in a partnership with uh with the mexican [2:03:23] government we've seen record amount of seizures of drug seizures uh money seizures weapon seizures and [2:03:30] plus the arrest of these cartel leaders they are highly sophisticated they're highly organized to [2:03:35] every single inch of our southern border and mexico's northern border is controlled by nine separate [2:03:42] cartels and they call them plazas and they have plaza bosses in every single one of them majority of [2:03:48] those plaza bosses uh well actually every single one of them we know who they are uh we're actually [2:03:54] searching for them we're actually arresting them and we're constantly leaning in towards the threat [2:03:58] we've seen uh drug seizures go up and availability of drugs in our cities go down uh fortunately we've seen [2:04:06] fentanyl uh deaths go down but we're they're way way too high that's all the pressure that we continue [2:04:12] to pour into it that's because of president trump's leadership and the the the war that uh that we [2:04:18] have waged against the cartels and the poisoning of our streets and our cities uh in the amount of [2:04:23] criminal activity that's taken place every single order the president has put in place has caused these [2:04:29] cartels to squeeze and because we see we took the human trafficking away which was a multi multi [2:04:34] billion dollar industry that was stood up underneath the biden administration has went away they started [2:04:39] pushing harder on the drugs we saw the narco boats we started attacking they started we started attacking [2:04:45] the the trafficking lanes on the on their borders now we're seeing them go underground we're putting [2:04:49] in that technology uh but we need more partnership and we i just recently returned from mexico city [2:04:56] speaking with the uh with president shy bomb and her cabinet about the cooperation and i will tell you [2:05:03] we've been impressed they have been very cooperative way more cooperative than the last administration [2:05:08] but they still believe in their sovereignty and we have to respect that well thank you so much for [2:05:12] your efforts i know there has been a lot done but we still have a lot of work to do i i represent a [2:05:20] district that covers between atlanta and charlotte um interstate 85 and we have seen trafficking of drugs [2:05:28] and people as a matter of fact huge trafficking court uh human trafficking corridor right there as you [2:05:34] are aware of absolutely and we were in district this this week this past week working and i met with [2:05:42] one of my constituents who just recently lost his wife to a fentanyl overdose and um people are still crying [2:05:52] out and it's still a huge problem and we should have never gotten to this point and thank you [2:05:58] and thank you to your staff for all of their efforts in stopping this thank you so much a staggering [2:06:04] statistic i learned uh yesterday from senator haggerty was that they've had 41 deaths in tennessee [2:06:12] that is directly related to uh illegals in this country um that's part of the problem with human [2:06:17] trafficking the drugs are a second problem every death that comes from illegal drugs come in the [2:06:22] country or from someone that was entered in this country legally is one too many it should never happen [2:06:28] absolutely and it's hard to sit here and hear about the negativity and pointing the finger at ice [2:06:34] agents when i can tell you over and over individuals in my district that have been impacted by illegals [2:06:41] who've taken the lives of so many people and it's unfortunate that we turn our head to that thank you [2:06:48] i yield back gentlelady yields back and i recognize the gentleman from puerto rico mr hernandez for five [2:06:54] minutes of questions thank you mr chairman mr secretary fema has failed puerto rico we're three [2:07:00] months away from the ninth anniversary of hurricane maria and there's still over 24 billion dollars left [2:07:08] to disperse according to a rand report at the current pace the reconstruction projects won't be [2:07:15] finished until 2051 basically after my newborn baby graduates from college and when he is probably [2:07:22] graduating from grad school this is not by accident this is by design there's an inspector general [2:07:29] report that says that inadequate technical assistance and guidance from fema is responsible for the slow [2:07:35] disbursement of funds the trump administration is largely responsible for this failure christy noah [2:07:43] made things a lot worse she had acted she enacted a stupid ridiculous absurd policy that anything over a [2:07:53] hundred thousand dollars had to be signed off by her that blocked over two billion dollars for puerto rico [2:08:00] secretary mullin i believe you rescinded that policy do you agree that it was a bad policy [2:08:07] people have different leadership styles that's not my leadership style i believe empowering people [2:08:12] it's a yes or no question do you agree it was a bad policy it's not personal it wasn't my decision [2:08:17] i'm just saying i just managed different well you decided to rescind the policy right if you hire [2:08:21] different managers for different parts of the company i think i think we agree it was a bad policy [2:08:25] thank you would you support legislation to make sure that policy doesn't get reinstated [2:08:30] would you support legislation to basically enact your leadership preference that i no longer make the [2:08:37] policy you guys do i will enact whatever you guys pass and and would you be supportive of that you [2:08:42] have i don't know it's not my place to lean in on the policy i just want to get my agency funded that's [2:08:47] it okay i think you do lean in on policy a lot you're doing it today constantly but i think you [2:08:53] should uh i have a bill called the disaster without delay i reclaimed my time i reclaimed my time my [2:09:00] bill the disaster aid without delay act would do just that and i hope my colleagues join in co-sponsoring [2:09:05] it now mr mullen on february 20th after meeting with our governor christy noen fired fema's puerto rico [2:09:12] recovery coordinator andres garcia martino on may 20th three months later we found out he was [2:09:18] reinstated why was he fired i wasn't the one that fired him i don't know why was he reinstated well [2:09:25] we're looking for good people to be put in place and people have different ideas i've reinstated [2:09:30] several people in court including my deputy secretary that sat beside me so is it common to fire and [2:09:36] rehire people at dhs right now no i think people have different management styles is that good for [2:09:40] the agency stability you may answer the question sorry i mean you ask me a question i'm willing to answer [2:09:46] i don't want to talk over you okay but it's a good for the uh offices stability i have to be firing [2:09:51] and rehiring we have different management styles and that's just common in any business or government [2:09:56] when you bring in different leadership they have different management styles and they look at things [2:09:59] differently because they may reprioritize their roles okay and that's what we did uh since i'm running [2:10:04] out of time mr mullen are you familiar with core three did you say core three yes i don't i don't know [2:10:11] if i am or not sir okay it's a central office for recovery reconstruction and resiliency that [2:10:15] manages fema funds for puerto rico the largest amount in history so a month ago core three announced [2:10:20] that fema approved an extension for the period of performance for almost 600 disaster reconstruction [2:10:25] projects in puerto rico are you familiar with the term period performance yeah so do you support a [2:10:32] blanket extension of the completion deadline for all projects in puerto rico until 2035 i don't and [2:10:38] unfortunately sir i've got a great relationship with your governor there i think she's absolutely [2:10:42] wonderful and she's proposed that yeah and something that i think we should all support yes [2:10:45] and i and we have talked multiple times unfortunately we found with rebuilding this grid [2:10:51] and the first go-around and including through the biden administration is a lot of the funds that we [2:10:56] were awarded through fema just wasn't getting to where they need to go and why the millions of dollars [2:11:00] have been spent you couldn't see the progression like you would here inside the states so we had to [2:11:05] stop and say listen there must be fraud going on or or they're incapable of doing it themselves let me [2:11:10] reclaim my time and i appreciate that answer it's the government of puerto rico who's been [2:11:15] administering these funds during the past nine years since the hurricane happened so would you say [2:11:19] that this fraud is occurring under those governments of puerto rico no no i'm not saying that i'm saying [2:11:24] that we're putting in safeguards we're looking at the program to make sure that it is used for its [2:11:27] intended purpose and not have the broad uh abuse that it could take place the way it was then do you [2:11:33] have a lot of proof of abuse sorry do you have proof of the abuse well we're still looking into that [2:11:39] according to the last administration we don't want to i'm sorry but i'm running out of time we don't [2:11:42] want to wait more we've waited too long at the current pace it's going to have you're going to [2:11:47] make us wait until 2051 your agency is responsible for this problem your agency is responsible for [2:11:53] fixing this problem the felt system sir and the felt system and you was your agency should do more to [2:11:59] make sure the reconstruction of puerto rico is finished in a timely manner thank you and i'm out of time [2:12:05] gentleman yields back i now recognize the gentleman from colorado mr evans for five minutes of questions [2:12:10] thank you chairman ranking member and of course to the secretary for coming today [2:12:14] and thanks to the new administration and republicans in congress the border is secure [2:12:19] and our homeland safer unfortunately in places like colorado sanctuary states and sanctuary cities and [2:12:25] their soft on crime policies are continuing to endanger communities in colorado and denver today [2:12:32] homicides in denver are up 50 percent compared to this time last year colorado's got two percent of [2:12:37] the nation's population but 10 percent of the human trafficking in colorado and we're one of only a [2:12:42] handful of states in the country where overdose death rates are going back up again and so mr secretary [2:12:49] we know who's responsible for a lot of that it's the cartels the foreign terrorist organizations the [2:12:53] organized criminal enterprises and that's why i support policies to identify and dismantle [2:12:58] these organizations that are bringing death and poison into our communities and so my question to [2:13:04] you is mr secretary you mentioned it earlier deporting the worst of the worst how are you [2:13:10] prioritizing immigration enforcement resources on these terrorist criminals drug dealers gangbangers [2:13:16] and how are sanctuary policies impeding your efforts sir there's a couple answers in this one [2:13:23] first of all the 287g program will be partnered with local law enforcement and state law enforcement [2:13:29] really helps put the pressure on on these illegals it's where we reimburse a local [2:13:34] community the state uh for equipment for hours that they put in to help go after the worst of the [2:13:40] worst we don't see that cooperation in and um and in throughout colorado because of governor polis's [2:13:48] policies we also have a huge issue with the lax banking policies in the state banking system [2:13:53] with the drug trafficking it creates a safe haven for money laundering to take place [2:13:58] throughout colorado and we see some of the worst places in denver when you do that you encourage [2:14:03] that kind of behavior when you become a sanctuary city you don't just become a sanctuary city where [2:14:07] you're housing criminals but that criminal activity pushes out from that state into surrounding states [2:14:12] and surrounding areas and you attract more of that criminal activity because the individuals feel [2:14:17] like they're safe in there they don't have to worry about local law enforcement looking at them [2:14:21] because they're a sanctuary city they know they'll be pulled over and be released [2:14:25] even when we ask for retainer on some of these individuals that have serious criminal backgrounds [2:14:31] they release them constantly and i know it's not the state the state police or the local law enforcement [2:14:36] they want to do their job it's the local officials and your governor that's handcuffing them from [2:14:41] bail to enforce the rule of law thank you mr secretary i wish we could have 287g programs in colorado but [2:14:47] uh ruling democrats explicitly outlawed those um we've talked before you know i was a cop in the [2:14:52] denver metro area for a little bit over a decade um sergeant lieutenant so not only you know was my [2:14:58] responsibility to get the bad guys but it was to preserve those professional standards within the [2:15:02] agency and make sure we're following the law and so during your confirmation i was very pleased to hear [2:15:08] you say that uh under um your um how you run the department uh that ice would need judicial warrants [2:15:16] unless there were some of the accepted uh the exceptions but they would need judicial warrants to [2:15:20] go into homes uh to make arrests the same way i needed when i was a cop can you just talk very briefly [2:15:26] about how you're implementing that requirement uh in the in the department yes if we're going to be [2:15:32] entering a business or a house and we're not in pursuit uh currently after the individual we want [2:15:38] a judicial warrant to go and there is two things that happens right it covers the officer that's [2:15:41] walking in the door just in case something takes place um it also assures us that we have the [2:15:47] authority to do so what we what we what is deemed necessary to to get the fugitive we're after so we [2:15:53] want to make sure we have cover but there is exceptions um the administrative warrant can be [2:15:57] administrated if the individual is avoiding us by running through places of business running [2:16:02] into an apartment complex uh going through a door we feel like they're a danger we've got to enter [2:16:06] in there we don't have time to stop if we're going to knock on your door at three o'clock in the [2:16:10] morning though we'll have a judicial warrant glad to hear it there's supreme court approved exceptions [2:16:15] to the judicial warrant you got to learn them in police academy it sounds like that's exactly what [2:16:19] you're referring to um you know exigency fresh pursuit things like that final question to you [2:16:24] i got a lot of constituents in my district farm workers youth ministers nurses uh grocery store business [2:16:30] managers they've been living and working legally in the u.s for decades with visas um but because [2:16:36] biden threw the borders open and flooded the immigration system um a lot of these folks that [2:16:41] are legal are having trouble renewing their visas and so uh would love to work with you to be able to [2:16:47] find ways to help expedite uh these approvals so that we can keep the american economy uh working [2:16:53] and keep those employers working last 15 seconds to you we would applaud any assistance you could give us any [2:16:59] assistance that congress could give us by passing new policies to help us streamline this would be [2:17:04] wonderful um but unfortunately we haven't upgraded our immigration's you know true legislation since [2:17:09] 1959 and it needs to be updated today i'm out of time yield back gentleman kneels back and i recognize the [2:17:17] gentlelady from new jersey miss poe for five minutes thank you mr chairman um and thank you uh secretary [2:17:25] not mullin for being here let me just begin real quickly by following up on something that you was [2:17:32] recently that you've recently stated recently uh it was indicated that you had threatened to have your [2:17:39] department pull customs custom agents from newark liberty airport among other airports the idea that [2:17:47] thousands of international travelers around in the unit around arriving in the united states for the world cup [2:17:54] could be turned around at the airport is not only obscured but reckless and dangerous that is why a broad [2:18:01] coalition of uh industry groups including the chamber of commerce uh the u.s travel association and the [2:18:08] airlines for america are strongly opposing your plan noting that it will cause chaos for travelers fights [2:18:17] and our economy while also posing safety risk um today mr secretary would you commit to not pulling [2:18:28] any custom officers at newark international airport ma'am first of all i want to thank you you've been [2:18:35] sitting in front of me this whole time your demeanor has been uh very polite and i do appreciate that [2:18:41] that speaks a lot about someone uh my whole purpose of having to flex with personnel was because [2:18:47] prior to the governor sherrill allowing the state police and local police to respond they were [2:18:52] saying they didn't have the resources we were having officers get bit get uh hit we were having [2:18:57] employees have a hard time getting in and out of work their their employees their vehicles are getting [2:19:01] damaged federal vehicles are getting damaged and what we have to do is prioritize prioritize our [2:19:06] resources so as long as they're still cooperating which they are and it worked out great when the federal [2:19:10] when the state police showed up and local police showed up and started taking control of their [2:19:14] streets we can we can secure our building but when we got to make ways for our employees to get in [2:19:18] and out of work because our vehicles are getting damaged they're getting threatened we have to [2:19:22] prioritize our secretary i'm so sorry i know i'm just trying to answer your question no no i appreciate [2:19:27] it sounds to me like you're agreeing that you will not be pulling any of the officers from the internet [2:19:35] from the newark international airport so long as the two uh entities are able to work and it appears as [2:19:41] as though that there is cooperation being as long as the cooperation continues very well thank you so [2:19:46] very much i just want to just i'm not trying to be rude i just want to make sure that i get an [2:19:51] opportunity to ask the other questions as you know last week um i conducted a visit to uh delaney hall uh [2:20:00] this was an oversight of a rogue facility that should in my opinion be shut down what i witnessed was [2:20:07] shocking delaney hall cannot provide the basic native human beings being held there it is a stain on [2:20:14] new jersey and on our country detainees are being given given moldy bread and lunch me in fact while i was [2:20:23] there that was clearly shown to me where there was actual mold on the lunch me those are the kind of [2:20:31] food that they are being served uh food with worms and and absolutely filthy water um they are not [2:20:40] receiving adequate medical care let me just ask uh mr secretary when the new jersey department of uh [2:20:48] health arrived to examine conditions they were initially turned away they were later allowed to [2:20:56] entered only into the kitchen and nowhere else not any of the medical base not the sleeping areas not [2:21:02] bathrooms nothing that was absolutely inappropriate and it's a disgrace that they were not allowed [2:21:09] new jersey continues to push for full access but ice and the geo please tell me otherwise groups have [2:21:17] refused can you commit to get granting new jersey department of health full access can we get your [2:21:25] cooperation to the facility to ensure basic sanitary conditions that are being met we allow them to [2:21:34] enter the facility and inspect areas that they are contracted and legally able to account to inspect not [2:21:39] all the dependent because there's a federal location not all state inspectors have access to it there [2:21:44] is federal inspectors but let me point out that not one single fine this year has been given to delaney [2:21:49] yet in your own state penitentiaries they have over 8 000 complaints because of medical conditions [2:21:55] because of sleeping conditions because of facility conditions that's filed annually with a state [2:22:00] penitentiary or don't even touch that there's been 333 in delaney i would say we probably need to spend [2:22:06] as much time looking at their state penitentiaries as to do delaney but delaney is a political topic it's [2:22:10] not it's no no i don't want to make it a pollute it is talking about we're not talking about individuals [2:22:17] that have had their due process and were sentenced to go to jail at a correction facility we're talking about [2:22:24] people who are detained have yet not to be proven given the opportunity for due process in order for [2:22:30] them to be granted one one decision or the very very different situation that we're talking about [2:22:38] here thank you mr secretary uh chairman i yield back general lady yields back and i recognize the [2:22:44] gentleman from north carolina thank you mr secretary uh just a point of reference i believe it was president [2:22:51] obama who opened up an ice facility at delaney hall so your point is well taken this is strictly political [2:22:57] it's strictly political and i think that that your agency is doing quite well when one of my democrat [2:23:02] colleagues just complained that an illegal immigrant subject to deportation uh had a legitimate complaint [2:23:08] that he was not being served ethnic food that was stated just across the aisle to you that we need to [2:23:15] provide a menu service for their ethnic food before they are deported i find it just staggering [2:23:20] and what's most staggering about this mr secretary is that unchecked mass migration obviously transforms [2:23:26] our country for the worse we saw that over the last five to six years the the biden open border [2:23:32] it was felt in every pillar every every corner of our country but it remains integral to the democrats [2:23:39] and their policies they're still defending it they're still promoting it they're still fighting for it [2:23:44] and uh when you look at the effects of it it's very obvious that mass migration robs americans of a [2:23:50] whole lot of the american dream of public safety of good schools of affordable health care mass [2:23:56] migration will transform this country for the worse yet they still defend it and from where i sit sir [2:24:01] i don't know why they continue to defend it but there's really only three reasons that someone would defend [2:24:07] mass migration the first big business wants cheap labor the second nefarious political motivation [2:24:14] starting with congressional apportionment and then with the mass amnesty voting bloc [2:24:20] and then second some type of twisted ideology that americans owe the world free healthcare free schooling [2:24:28] free housing on our soil and i find every one of those justifications disqualifying [2:24:35] thank you for your partnership in trying to get this problem under control and i want to give you [2:24:42] a chance to respond to some of the unbelievably slanderous accusations that you have been the [2:24:48] recipient of at this hearing first that those who are resisting you in new jersey and elsewhere [2:24:55] in sanctuary jurisdictions that they are peaceful protests your response that's absolutely not accurate [2:25:01] and i think when the state police showed up with their um with their riot unit by the way a phenomenal [2:25:08] group of guys real professionals uh they recognized really quick that these weren't peaceful protesters [2:25:13] and they took action because of it in fact the next day they showed up with a bus to start arresting [2:25:18] the individuals and when we saw them respond with the cooperation with local government we got the [2:25:23] rioting not protesting we got the rioting under control yep this is criminal activity it's organized and [2:25:29] it's funded by far left agitators isn't that correct we saw fifa or not fifa sorry sorry my guys um [2:25:35] we saw antifa flags being uh flown uh we were doing facial recognition out there we saw individuals coming [2:25:43] in from portland that had organized uh those those riots and um and we were we were in the process of [2:25:50] tracing down the funding which was funding this writing not protesting writing it's criminal secondly one of the [2:25:56] the most disgusting but common accusations is that your agency exercises white supremacy i'm a former [2:26:02] federal prosecutor i know that border patrol is a majority minority workforce the agents for border [2:26:09] patrol are majority minority heavily occupied by hispanic americans patriots to say that they are white [2:26:16] supremacists is disgusting it's a lie and it's a politically motivated attack same thing with ice [2:26:22] officers vastly overpopulated with minorities as opposed to the general population your response [2:26:29] unfortunately what we see is when the left can't argue actual factual points they just move to racism [2:26:34] and they it's it's reckless it's reckless and demeaning to all of our uh our federal employees [2:26:41] throughout di dhs uh and we have to stop it because it feeds into this narrative that you hear chanted [2:26:47] all the time in these riots not protest i'm okay with protest sure you have the right for the [2:26:52] first amendment but you do it in a peaceful way in a legal area that's right if anything sir i would [2:26:57] submit that we're being too tolerant to the rioters who obstruct law enforcement from not even their [2:27:02] duties i have zero tolerance if you verbally assault our officers you go after our vehicles you assault [2:27:07] our property uh you assault one of our officers we will find you we will arrest you and lastly i want [2:27:12] you to to answer the democrats claim to be they that they want to remove the worst of the worst but in [2:27:17] judiciary committee we had a sanctuary prosecutor from northern virginia who campaigned on the fact [2:27:22] that he was going to consider immigration consequences before charging and before plea deals [2:27:29] he released murderers he released pedophiles he released violent criminals because they were going [2:27:34] to be subject to deportation it's disgusting they are not working to remove the worst of the worst [2:27:39] they're not working with you to achieve that your response and delaney alone over 35 percent or roughly [2:27:46] 35 percent of the detainees have serious criminal records yep but if you release the criminals you [2:27:52] can't get a conviction that's right it's a nefarious circle that's right there's a lot more to talk [2:27:57] about thank you for your time sir and we're ready to help you in any way that we can thank you i yield [2:28:00] back gentleman yields back thank you very much and i now recognize the gentleman from virginia mr [2:28:06] walkenshaw for five minutes thank you mr chairman mr secretary do you recognize this actually no i [2:28:12] don't okay you stated that you have a different management style than secretary gnome and when you [2:28:19] started there were reports saying that dhfs dhs staff hoped that you could be the knight in shining armor [2:28:26] to repair the agency's reputation which was damaged by your predecessor you mentioned earlier shutdowns and [2:28:34] the impact that shutdowns have had on dhs there's no question that's true one of the things that the [2:28:41] 2025 shutdown did not impact or slow down at dhs was the purchase of luxury jets your predecessor purchased [2:28:50] two gulfstream g 700s and then later i think a boeing 737 max that they termed the big beautiful airplane [2:29:00] during the shutdown while dhs staff were not getting paid the gulf streams had special paint [2:29:09] and cabin enhancements the largest cabin of any gulf stream this is the top of the line gulf stream an [2:29:17] expert on private planes in the industry when asked about the purchase said it was quote bizarre and that [2:29:24] quote these jets are normally associated with billionaires you just said you can't afford to visit the [2:29:30] hamptons neither can i okay i can afford hold on i haven't asked you a question on april 17th a [2:29:37] spokesperson from your agency said under new leadership dhs is assessing all of our resources [2:29:43] including aircraft to maximize efficiency and that you the secretary 100 focused on ensuring the needs [2:29:50] of our department are met while being the best possible steward of taxpayer dollars that's april on may [2:29:55] 27th it was reported that flight logs show that you have used one of the gulf streams to fly to [2:30:04] oklahoma the 80 million dollar gulf stream have you used the gulf stream jet to fly to oklahoma mr [2:30:11] secretary sir under statute aren't required uh to provide use the g700 okay thank you no no no you [2:30:17] asked me a question sir can i answer the question answered the question you said yes no because claiming [2:30:22] my time he's walking over an important fact he answered the question again we will remember you [2:30:27] get to ask questions the witness gets to answer the question my statute i required i'm familiar with [2:30:33] the statute okay then you know why i had to fly a government plane yeah uh and and so my family is [2:30:39] in oklahoma like claiming my time mr chairman i also like reclaiming my time it appears to me that you [2:30:45] assessed the aircraft and your assessment is you really like flying on the gulf stream as a [2:30:54] senator as a senator or you're making claiming my time mr chairman questions and answers i didn't [2:31:00] ask a question okay he's making this as senator something you're walking into that you're not [2:31:05] familiar with or you're using the clock chairman spend the clock in the senate hold on suspend the [2:31:11] clock i think suspended right now again you have a statement questions secretary you can address the [2:31:21] questions when there's a question members as you know we had some just read statements if and if you [2:31:29] when you have the time to answer and you want to say that something was not truthful you can you can [2:31:35] answer the questions but again this is the members time we will let them use it uh as long as they [2:31:43] do within the rules as as as they see fit when you are asked a question you will be afforded the [2:31:49] opportunity and the and the members should afford the member the other witness the opportunity to answer [2:31:54] the question i do not want people this is this is when people are talking over each other we're not [2:32:00] actually getting to what we want to get to so let's try not to do that i appreciate it uh we will [2:32:07] add 10 seconds back on because i did i i i did suspend and the clock kept running um but again [2:32:13] please mr secretary if you get if something that is said is not truthful you can address it but just [2:32:19] wait for the question to be asked wait for the question to be asked and then you can address it [2:32:23] it question asked sir he's making accusations just because he's trying to make nothing i [2:32:28] said i'm still me still me still me make it fact just because me everyone everything i've said is [2:32:35] a fact that is not true it is it is not true it is how do you think it's true actually because it's [2:32:41] your opinion isn't anything i will i will we i don't want to be here all day but we will i will adjourn [2:32:47] this until everybody calms down we will again if something that is said is not truthful in a [2:32:55] statement the secretary wants to address when he's asked a question he can say something was not [2:33:00] truthful he can answer the question you can ask it if you want to make your statement you'll make your [2:33:04] statement but we will not talk over each other and mr secretary if if if you're not asked a question [2:33:13] here and you want to address it when somebody asks you a question later i'm sure some of the colleagues [2:33:18] some of my colleagues might allow that but again we are not going to be talking over each other we [2:33:24] have only a few more uh questioners to go through let's let's finish this questions answers if it's a [2:33:33] statement that's fine but again let's not talk over each other thank you mr chairman i'll share a fact [2:33:44] mr secretary when you were in the senate you voted for the so-called big beautiful bill that blew up [2:33:50] the deficit trillions of dollars of deficit spending and some of that was used to buy the gulf streams [2:34:00] you are deficit riding on a gulf stream g 700 so i want to give you the opportunity to answer a question [2:34:10] nbc news reported recently that the department was considering selling some of the luxury purchases [2:34:18] that your predecessor made and as you well know i think or certainly your deputy knows there are [2:34:25] other jets that could meet the needs of the secretary there's a gulf stream g280 i don't know whether that [2:34:33] would meet your standards only 25 million dollars not 80 million dollars you have aircraft in the coast [2:34:39] guard fleet folks who work for you are flying mh-65 a helicopter they've been flying it since 1984 but [2:34:49] secretary noem and you need a brand new shiny gulf stream g700 so my question for you is will you [2:34:58] commit today to sell the gulf streams sell the big beautiful plane the 737 max and put that money [2:35:08] maybe into helping mr lalota's constituents who can barely get by on their housing allowance actually [2:35:14] those planes are inside the coast guard so they were actually purchased for the coast guard will you sell [2:35:19] the planes why do i need to sell them sir we need assets inside the coast guard just like the d8 [2:35:25] so you're going you want to keep the gulf stream you want to keep the 737 max you got to have top of [2:35:29] the line 737 max is actually detailed to the executive branch and i've never seen it oh actually [2:35:37] i seen i drove by it i've never i've never have you flown the gulf stream to oklahoma of course i have [2:35:42] i'm required to all right i yield back actually i don't fly it personally myself because i'm not a pilot [2:35:48] gentleman yields back i now recognize the gentleman from california mr fong for five minutes of [2:35:56] questions uh thank you mr speaker uh i thank you mr secretary i want to congratulate you on your [2:36:02] appointment uh you're the right man for the job and i look forward to working with you i know as [2:36:06] someone who represents bankersville do you have a personal relationship uh traveling with your son for [2:36:09] for medical treatment so we just uh we just appreciate uh the you know just you acknowledging uh i guess our [2:36:15] region i want to give you some time to address any any questions that that you felt you didn't get [2:36:20] to answer well i think what is failed to mention is by because of the continuity that i'm required [2:36:26] to be in communication 24 7 365 days a week i cannot fly commercial uh i'm required by statute the same as [2:36:34] the department of war same thing is the department of justice same thing as the vice president and the [2:36:39] president we have to be in communication at all times so if i'm going to go see my family which my [2:36:45] family lives in oklahoma um i'm required to take that uh if i had other means i'd be happy to take [2:36:51] it but just like i did when i was in the senate i flew back and forth every weekend thank you um i [2:36:58] want to to to as a as a californian we certainly are uh concerned about the planning for the world cup [2:37:04] as well as the la the la olympics in 2028 um heightened threat environment um clearly the the [2:37:11] the two uh homeland security shutdowns were uh not good and uh and certainly we as republicans we've [2:37:18] been trying to give you the resources uh that you need um with that being said these two international [2:37:24] events will test every level of our homeland security operations you know as the secretary [2:37:29] now what are your top what are the top vulnerabilities that keep you up at night and what resources do you [2:37:34] need to address these challenges biggest concern i have is honestly with uh drone defense our [2:37:41] countermeasures with drones is a is um i wouldn't say a vulnerability but it is it is one of the [2:37:47] areas that we are struggling with every single day uh it when we start talking about the soft areas [2:37:53] having great great cooperation with local law enforcement is is vitally important to us soft [2:37:59] areas are period are areas outside of our perimeter leading up to the perimeter um and and we rely heavily [2:38:05] on that we've asked uh for some uh governments or some uh i'm sorry states to help a national guard [2:38:13] they could use it for a training event if they wanted to in some of these weekends uh we have a [2:38:18] lot of these cities are going to be doing every other day we'll have an event uh at their facility [2:38:23] for uh weeks on end it puts a strain on everybody and just the more pleased presence we have out there [2:38:30] the the uh the better we'll be thank you and it's okay congressman can i address one more thing too [2:38:36] yes by statute i'm also required to have a number of seats a a set number of seats that's on the plane [2:38:43] with me when i travel because of the continuity aspect of it uh the resources plus secret service [2:38:50] has to fly with me so you can't i can't i can't simply jump into a smaller plane i didn't make these [2:38:56] rules these rules were in place when i was when i was uh nominated and confirmed to be in this seat [2:39:02] your role as the head of department of homeland security is extremely vital i totally totally [2:39:07] understand um you had mentioned earlier in in i think another question that um because of the [2:39:13] shutdowns um oh we've missed milestones in the planning of the olympics and um and the world cup i [2:39:22] i wonder if you could go into a little bit more specifics in terms of how we're how how you and [2:39:27] your department are trying to catch up sorry we had to start prioritizing um when we came back alive [2:39:36] you know after 76 days of being shut down so i say we came back alive we started to prioritize what we [2:39:41] can put efforts to because during the shutdown we didn't we weren't able because we didn't have the [2:39:47] employees and we didn't have the the department to be able to start issuing these fema grants that we [2:39:53] need to run uh with all the host cities in for the olympics and and also fifa so when we came back [2:39:59] alive we had to start really focusing on fifa because we were behind and those agencies were hurting for [2:40:05] finances we had to put um all efforts into it now we're getting we're caught up well we're not totally [2:40:12] caught up troy but we're close to being caught up and and as soon as fifa is over which is the 19th of [2:40:18] july is that correct sir i think it's the 19th of july is our uh or the 18th one of the two of july we [2:40:25] will be able to to um to start focusing on olympics again and yeah look just let me add to we in the [2:40:31] last three weeks since uh secretary uh has taken over we've released six billion dollars in fema [2:40:37] and a big part of to get back out to the states because we were pent up with these uh with these [2:40:42] shutdowns and i'll also just add to this is that one of the the hardest part is uh what we've had to [2:40:47] piece together the big beautiful bill money and the appropriations you know something we really [2:40:51] haven't talked a whole lot about today is fy 27 and what we're doing here today so you know i i think [2:40:57] at some point you know i would just say you know big things that are out there they talked about [2:41:00] the tsa passenger fee you know that was something every year in the president's budget we put that [2:41:05] forward and we asked for you guys to give that to us to make the investments in tsa uh yeah same thing [2:41:11] this year we hope that you guys would help us out we'd really be able to use that money for the [2:41:14] technology to help screen for this big event for fifa i appreciate that uh i run out of time but [2:41:19] thank you for your questions so we should focus on the topic of the committee hearing and with that i [2:41:23] yield back gentleman yields back and i recognize the general lady from new jersey miss me here for [2:41:28] five minutes thank you chairman thank you ranking member uh thompson secretary mullen you you called [2:41:38] our complaints about facilities like delaney hall a hoax and have stated that detainees receive health [2:41:47] care three meals a day due process but i will say that from dozens of conversations like my colleagues [2:41:54] poe and macgyver that i have personally had with detainees and what i've witnessed at delaney hall and at [2:42:02] the elizabeth detention center i can say that i am horrified about the conditions that i [2:42:07] that i am seeing that i have witnessed in these facilities the most shocking to be honest is the [2:42:14] what i would describe as medical abuse i will say that i met detainees who complained about weaponized [2:42:22] poor sanitation spoiled food specifically lack of medical care and as it as it is related to their [2:42:32] medication a level of abuse that frankly is putting immigrants lives and detainees lives at risk i will [2:42:40] share that i interviewed teenagers pregnant mothers the elderly vulnerable people with chronic conditions [2:42:49] and here's what i heard i met detainees who were given critical medications sporadically insulin metformin [2:42:58] diabetes medication other diabetes medication high blood pressure medication cholesterol medication [2:43:05] thyroid medication hormonal medication all medication that is given sporadically can in fact [2:43:12] harm in individuals lives i met detainees who not only were given their medication sporadically or had their [2:43:20] dosages lowered without consultation of their doctors but i met detainees who were not even made aware of what [2:43:30] medication they were given just handed a bunch of pills and not told what had changed and whether or not any [2:43:38] additions had been made i also met detainees with chronic health conditions that were not being treated at [2:43:46] all or if they were being treated insufficiently so sir i'm going to make it easy i would like to ask you [2:43:52] a few yes or no questions since we're short on time again questions so first do you audit how many detainees have [2:44:01] chronic illnesses like diabetes cancer heart disease or any chronic disease yes or no as i said before we [2:44:12] provide two times the medical person yes or no sir because i'm short on time penitentiary does so you do [2:44:18] you do audit the say that i don't know if we audit that specific issue okay so that's a no overseeing [2:44:24] okay i'm going to take that as a no do you monitor the conditions of detainees as warranted and prescribed [2:44:30] by their doctors and not not just by ice employees or contractors yes or no times more medical staff [2:44:37] than state penitentiary does per individual you monitor the conditions of detainees who have chronic [2:44:43] conditions as prescribed by their doctors yes or no two times the medical personnel okay i'm going to [2:44:48] take that as a i do not know the answer third question detainees complain of health care treatment [2:44:54] taking up to a week or more do you audit or track how long it takes between complaining about a health [2:45:01] condition and the time it takes to to receive care yes in a state penitentiary a 48 hour we're not [2:45:08] talking about state penitentiary sir you do not oversee i'm not speaking of state penitentiaries i'm [2:45:14] i'm speaking of delaney hall our our standards pass and succeed your own okay so as i understand it [2:45:21] yet again the answer is i don't know will you allow new jersey's department of health [2:45:27] to conduct full and rinse routine inspections of all areas including areas that have impact on [2:45:35] the health of detainees and staff where they are legally able to go by state statute and the federal [2:45:41] contract and we will allow them to enter which is so if the bathrooms pose a health threat are they [2:45:46] allowed to go inspect the bathrooms and zones within their contracts and our state agreement that [2:45:51] we have with that federal so i am hearing that it's a yes that they should given that where they [2:45:58] are legally able to go based on the okay so again i'm going to take that as i don't know will you [2:46:04] provide the state with the number of individuals that are detained the number of seniors pregnant [2:46:10] women individuals with chronic diseases like diabetes congestive heart failure hormonal conditions [2:46:17] cancer or more we are required to report we will report uh by the way you made a statement about [2:46:22] teenagers i haven't been higher we don't can add in a moment will you institute a non a no tolerance [2:46:29] policy for retaliation against any detainee or staffer that is a whistleblower is that a no gentlemen [2:46:38] gentle ladies time is now expired and i recognize the gentleman from tennessee mr van epps for five [2:46:44] minutes questions thank you mr chairman for convening this hearing today and thank you secretary mullen and [2:46:49] deputy secretary edgar for joining us you both lead one of the most critical components of our entire [2:46:54] government the men and women of the department of homeland security devote every day to keeping americans [2:46:59] safe at home and as a citizen and as a father thank you for all you do the first group of questions [2:47:05] are on the alignment between dhs and local law enforcement there's an opportunity to improve dhs [2:47:12] intelligence and analysis intel sharing with local law enforcement that we have worked on and you all [2:47:17] are leading on so that intelligence sharing is a two-way street can you discuss how your plan to [2:47:22] consolidate ina with other offices to report directly to you will affect reporting structures and improve [2:47:29] intel sharing and how it will better enable dhs's relationship with local law enforcement who need [2:47:35] actionable intelligence yes we're trying to expand the 287g program to bring ina in uh to allow us to [2:47:42] work and cooperate we have a cooperation uh with where we reimburse for uh equipment for overtime hours [2:47:50] for salaries and that's from vehicles to to drone defense to everything in between uh to build a to work [2:47:57] with them to train them on intelligence gatherings there's a lot of small municipalities that doesn't [2:48:02] have the ability to do so if we're able to to give a grant to them where they can hire somebody full [2:48:07] time and then we're able to train them and then and bring them up for training facilities that's what [2:48:13] we're doing we have the ability to do it in a small scale if we can include it in the 287g program [2:48:18] it'd be extremely helpful great thanks sir uh next next question uh how how is dhs working with fusion [2:48:28] centers in every state to maximize communication clarity and effectiveness and many many fusion [2:48:34] centers are heavily reliant on dhs grants for staffing how will this budget better support [2:48:38] fusion center functions in relationships with dhs components yeah hey uh i'm going to go ahead and [2:48:43] answer that so uh it kind of relates to your first question the way that uh ina is set up the we have [2:48:49] 88 different fusion centers across the u.s we insert ourselves into so we are the key line between the [2:48:55] intelligence community and the law enforcement community into the local jurisdiction so this [2:48:59] budget as you know is kind of a combination between fy 27 what we've asked for at dhs and fy 27 what [2:49:06] the odni asked for in title 50 type money because a lot of stuff that we do is classified so the way [2:49:11] this is set up the osm consolidation that you asked about that actually consolidates ina one of the [2:49:18] benefits of that that the president put forward is that we'll be able to consolidate the mission [2:49:22] support the things that aren't so focused on the uh fusion centers like cfos three cfos for those [2:49:28] different groups procurement leads all that we basically are taking a lot of the back office [2:49:33] out of that admit that organization being able to focus it on fusion centers thank you sir moving on [2:49:40] to the coast guard the budget request follows through on transforming the coast guard to meet modern [2:49:44] needs as the arctic grows increasingly competitive the coast guard is a critical piece of the u.s force [2:49:51] posture in the region how does this budget support increased coast guard operations in the arctic [2:49:56] and what else is necessary to ensure a capable and sustained presence in the arctic ice breakers are [2:50:01] obviously a huge asset that we lack we have one icebreaker russia has 49 the president has made this a [2:50:10] focus right now we have 11 under contract hopefully three will be delivered by 2028 [2:50:17] um and being able to respond to our own cargo ships being able to respond to our own flag ships and [2:50:23] also be able to help surrounding countries is vitally important but it also allows us to get up to areas [2:50:28] that are contested areas to which china is fishing in uh russia is exploring in and in areas they [2:50:35] shouldn't be so the focus that president trump has put in there by putting 24 billion dollars [2:50:40] into realignment and investment with the coast guard is extremely important keep in mind the coast guard [2:50:46] is our first line of defense before they make it to our sovereign land they take care of our coastal [2:50:53] waters and in some areas pushing into the international waters and the way they've been neglected over the [2:50:59] years um for me now being secretary over dhs and over uh the coast guard i can't tell you how much i [2:51:07] appreciate the investment president trump has made and the focus he's put in there we recently just [2:51:11] came back from the grant from the academy graduation that's his second time to go to the [2:51:16] coast guard graduation and be the commencement speaker it's just unheard of yes sir i agree very [2:51:21] very uh glad to have that that investment can i add something uh specifically to fy27 so uh [2:51:27] you'll see that the president asked for about another 1.8 billion dollars to actually help with [2:51:32] the staffing and so specific to your request to the arctic not only for the arctic cutters but for [2:51:37] the people that are needed to go up there it's really important we hope that you guys will [2:51:40] support the budget thank you great thank you gentlemen for what you do and with that i yield back [2:51:45] gentleman is back and i recognize the gentleman from louisiana mr carter uh thank you mr chairman [2:51:50] first of all let me thank you for uh at least an attempt to to balance and to measure the discussion [2:51:57] in order to get answers we have to be able to have a some flow of respect back and forward so so thank you for [2:52:05] uh attempting to do that secretary mullen i'm a balls and strike kind of guy i get the impression [2:52:13] that you are too so uh i'm going to treat it that way and and my my line of questioning will be i'll [2:52:19] assume that you're going to tell the truth and you're going to do the right thing as i'm going to [2:52:22] be honest in my questions and try to return the favor um let me start by thanking your organization [2:52:30] for approving critical projects in my district that have been stalled for nearly a year including flood [2:52:34] mitigation projects in st bernard parish and new orleans these types of mitigation projects are [2:52:40] critical to communities in my district of south louisiana where we can still see destruction caused [2:52:45] by hurricane katrina over 20 years later the storms and the costliest natural disaster in u.s history [2:52:52] claiming over 1800 lives fema's partnership and resources have been the backbone of louisiana's rebuilding [2:52:59] efforts while the states have closed over 99 of the 2000 recovery projects we still need help we're [2:53:09] projects that are still waiting for resources mr secretary the city of new orleans and the joint [2:53:15] infrastructure recovery program jirr is a comprehensive fema funded initiative uh to pair some 10 000 [2:53:23] repairs some 10 000 blocks of streets drainage systems damaged by historic floods and storms will [2:53:31] you please consider a time extension for these projects through 2028 to ensure that they can be [2:53:38] completed responsibly it's been just dragging along i'll definitely look into it sir and any effort that [2:53:44] you can will be greatly appreciated additionally state louisiana submitted time extensions and i'll get [2:53:49] back to you on that too what we can what we come up with okay and what is the holdup and why if we [2:53:54] do or if we don't what the reason is fair enough additionally louisiana submitted time extensions of 43 [2:53:59] other container related related infrastructure as facilities recovery projects across south louisiana these [2:54:06] projects face extraordinary challenges beyond grantees control including covet 19 disruptions and [2:54:13] construction firms uh capacity supply chain they were held up will you please also consider time [2:54:19] extensions for these last few katrina projects yes sir i'll definitely look into it and once again i'll [2:54:26] get back to you with our findings on it fair enough finally i'd like to bring your attention the impact of [2:54:30] the recent jones act waiver on the american mariners the merchant marine act of 1920 also known as the jones act [2:54:37] requires that good that good shipped between the u.s and ports by trend to be transported on vessels are [2:54:46] american-built american-owned crewed by americans ensuring a strong domestic merchant marine fleet [2:54:53] ready to transport national defense and economic security the current waiver initially issued in [2:54:58] march and subsequently extended in august has resulted in the loss of millions of dollars to our domestic [2:55:04] maritime industry with work with work instead going to foreign flag vessels that undercut the cheap [2:55:10] undercut cheaper labor approximately 95 percent completed waiver voyages primarily benefit maritime [2:55:17] operators that do not pay u.s tax dollars tax pay taxes or comply with the u.s immigration laws uh is [2:55:27] there if there's time is there's a way can you assist with advancing issues to address these [2:55:36] we just recently uh has opened up a uh a new shipyard i think in corpus christi is that correct [2:55:43] in galveston i'm sorry and uh what we've seen sir i just i haven't seen the millions of dollars lost [2:55:48] because we're seeing that there was a huge backlog of product needing to move to the inland waters and [2:55:54] we didn't have the flagships the vessels and the crews to be able to get to them and so right now until we [2:55:59] can get the the ships built that can be flagged inside the united states and we don't want to do any harm [2:56:04] the jones act i i there i have no issue with the jones okay with no disrespect 43 seconds and i think [2:56:09] you've answered me and i appreciate that and and notwithstanding we can get into the particulars [2:56:13] of it was a million was 10 million whatever the reality is we need to make sure and i think you'll [2:56:17] agree that we protect our uh american vessels to make sure that they're correct the jones act is a way [2:56:23] of doing that listen it's been exhausting very frankly to hear my colleagues on the other side go back to [2:56:30] obama and biden and mayarcus listen i'm a balls and strike kind of guy i'm going to assume whatever [2:56:37] happened in the past whoever did it wrong your job now is to get it right and i want to give [2:56:41] you enough time and room to do just that uh let me ask you a final question my final five seconds [2:56:47] mr secretary the agents and officers who shot miramar martinez and killed renee good and alex [2:56:52] pretty are they still working the dhs i'm not sure i know uh one of them's under investigation the [2:57:01] situations under investigation but i would assume typically in those situations they put on [2:57:06] administrative leave once the investigation is complete there'll be a termination if they stay [2:57:10] on the force or not and you mentioned thank you and i appreciate that and then finally thank you [2:57:14] mr you you indicated that you had a zero tolerance for anyone that would violate the rights or safety [2:57:20] of your agents do you will you also say on the record that you will also have zero violence um zero [2:57:26] tolerance for anyone who violates the rights of citizens gentlemen's time's expired can he please just [2:57:31] answer that he wants to answer it in his next second he can um i never think he was shaking [2:57:36] his head for the record so thank you listen i've known the secretary for a very long time as a [2:57:41] man who takes his job very seriously and i i'm sure and i think my comments suggested that i agree with [2:57:45] that i agree i now recognize the gentleman from pennsylvania mr mckenzie for five minutes of questions [2:57:52] thank you chairman and thank you to secretary mohn for joining us today i appreciate you being here [2:57:57] before the committee i want to start by expressing my appreciation to your department and specifically [2:58:03] fema for working with our pennsylvania communities to recover millions of dollars of funding that they [2:58:10] were owed from the covet 19 pandemic earlier this year i led an effort with several of my colleagues [2:58:16] in our pennsylvania delegation to advocate for the release of long-standing public assistance [2:58:21] reimbursements that were owed to hospitals and health systems across pennsylvania these funds went back to [2:58:27] an application that they submitted back in 2021 ultimately it ended up being 580 million dollars [2:58:35] of previously outstanding public assistance funding over 103 million dollars in support of hospitals and [2:58:41] healthcare networks right in my lehigh valley and pocono district that funding is critically important [2:58:47] obviously it can go into their ongoing operations to keep our community safe and healthy [2:58:51] uh but that money was held up for years on end uh and so i want to thank your department for being so [2:58:58] responsive when we sent you that letter very quickly in short order you and your team were able to get [2:59:04] those funds released and coming back to pennsylvania to help uh again keep our community safe and healthy [2:59:09] so i want to thank you for that i can't take all the credit on that that was the karma culmination between [2:59:15] uh deputy secretary and um brian kavanaugh who brought it to my attention uh when we took it to the white [2:59:22] house with president trump uh he he immediately agreed to get the money out the door so we went to [2:59:30] russ vote and the money started flowing but it was just a matter of bringing it to the president's [2:59:34] attention to get it done well we appreciate that because again hadn't happened for probably about five [2:59:38] years that they were owed that funding so uh appreciate you being so responsive in getting it out to uh [2:59:44] everybody back in our communities that needs that assistance to that end i would like to look [2:59:49] forward what are we going to do uh to make sure that these types of hang-ups don't happen going [2:59:54] forward with fema so uh can we talk about fiscal year 26 preparedness grant cycle how it's being [3:00:01] administered uh what you're seeing going forward so that hospitals non-profits local governments and [3:00:06] first responders everybody else in our community doesn't experience this type of delay again [3:00:11] unfortunately with fema we have uh an issue with our own bureaucracy and uh we have a gentleman [3:00:19] right now cameron who has been nominated by the president that hopefully we get confirmed quick [3:00:23] the president is laser focused in fema and getting it working and and streamlining making sure the [3:00:29] dollars get to the states faster instead of being held up in fema like this um and uh and i appreciate [3:00:36] that but it's going to take some time it's a huge agency and we're i told the president when i met [3:00:42] with him last week i said give me two months once i get cameron in place and we will start looking at [3:00:48] all these systems uh and seeing how we can streamline it take care of what we are what we are required [3:00:55] by congress's statute so statute what are we required to do and what layers we have built on top of because [3:01:00] our own bureaucracy and get it down to mission focus thank you and appreciate your focus on this [3:01:07] issue as you pointed out these funds are so critically important and getting them out in an appropriate but [3:01:13] also timely fashion is important so thank you for your your focus and and work that you're doing on [3:01:17] that going forward i'd like to shift gears in your opening remarks you talked about how the biden [3:01:22] administration had lost track of over a hundred thousand unaccompanied minors and that you were in part [3:01:30] tasked with tracking down and rescuing uh some of these children who were in really heinous situations [3:01:37] whether it be sex traffic human traffic forced labor uh please talk about your ongoing efforts [3:01:43] how you're making progress on that front what we can do to be of assistance as we move forward using [3:01:48] rough numbers 340 000 kids were lost underneath the biden administration lost i mean we had no idea [3:01:54] where they're at there had been no uh checks on them there was from the time they released at the state [3:02:00] level excuse me or from the border to where they'd been no one had had been uh contacted to say that [3:02:07] that was actually where they're at and what they're supposed to be doing uh we have now recovered over [3:02:11] 120 uh that could be 140 but i think 120 000 those are the cases that they were where they were supposed [3:02:18] to be uh some of them we had moved and we had to track them down now we're going after the hard ones [3:02:24] which is the ones we're very afraid are either in labor trafficking human trafficking sex trafficking [3:02:30] and it's it's very very concerning every single day matters during the shutdown it um it put that [3:02:38] mission at at risk and we wasn't able to do things we've been through four shutdowns the last one was [3:02:43] 76 days hsi is the one that leads this and we lost our partnerships with state and local because we [3:02:49] wasn't able to fund them because we fund their activities as they work alongside us and so we're [3:02:54] just now standing that up thank you for your work to protect those incredibly vulnerable children [3:02:59] and look forward to continuing to work with you thank you currency thank you gentleman goes back [3:03:04] and i recognize the gentleman from texas mr green for five minutes questions thank you mr chairman [3:03:11] i thank the ranking member as well mr chairman the secretary has commented on race a topic that i believe [3:03:21] i'm eminently qualified to speak on given that in my lifetime i went to the back door to get my food [3:03:31] i drank from filthy colored water fountains i sat in the back of the bus in the balcony of the movie [3:03:38] when a seat was available so let me just share some of the characteristics of a racist mr secretary a [3:03:46] racist will depict people of color as apes the pictures have been blurred but you know who they [3:04:00] are this is what a racist would do and a racist wouldn't apologize after doing this mr secretary [3:04:11] that's what a racist would do a racist mr secretary would take offense at peaceful protest you said you [3:04:22] believe in peaceful protest this was peaceful protest with the secretary racists take offense at peaceful [3:04:30] protest a racist mr secretary would do what happened are you calling me a racist a racist i'm asking [3:04:44] a question reclaiming my time asking to shut up that's a pretty shut up up up up up it's my time [3:04:52] i'm not going to let anybody call me call me a racist chairman i said i never called him a racist [3:04:57] it's my time it is gentlemen he'll suspend he will not tell him to shut up it'll gentlemen suspend no [3:05:03] the gentleman will suspend no one will call me a racist i'm charity too my my family has been [3:05:10] pretty pretty uh tall i ask that my time be restored i ask that my time the clock has been [3:05:17] the clock has been stopped since i suspended the clock i will continue to interrupt as long as someone [3:05:21] is yes i agree there as i said before there will be no uh no addressing anyone's character in negative [3:05:28] way uh by the way uh mr green i need you when you're speaking i need you to speak into the [3:05:36] microphone because i can't i can't hear you up here but we will evidently his his constituents heard [3:05:42] enough of him because they voted him out of office mr secretary please again we're almost done here today [3:05:48] mr green you can continue but again i will stop if if this sounds like you are either directing [3:05:56] that this the secretary is a racist or as well as uh the president or vice president because we [3:06:04] we do know under our rules you cannot uh disparage a member of congress or the president or the vice [3:06:11] president so be very i understand what what you're trying to do be very careful because it is a violation [3:06:18] of house of our committee rules to disparage another member a witness or the president or the vice [3:06:26] president parliamentary point of parliamentary inquiry uh mr chairman uh when i'm speaking uh [3:06:36] i believe that the time belongs to me i don't think that the secretary should interrupt me when [3:06:42] i'm speaking i have made very clear today that when the member has their time it is their time [3:06:49] but again i want to i want to reiterate it is a violation of house rules to make statements that [3:06:55] might be personally offensive to the president or vice president so i we will let you continue with [3:07:04] your time the time has stopped since i suspended the clock but again it is a violation it is your [3:07:11] time sir it is your time i agree but it is a violation of the rules of the house to make [3:07:16] statements that might be personally offensive to the president or the vice president of the united states [3:07:21] as well as other members or question motives of colleagues so i will let you continue but we want to [3:07:28] be very i've now stated the rules so we want to we want to follow them thank you mr chairman i will [3:07:37] speak into the microphone so that i may be heard i ask that any person who desires to interrupt me shut up [3:07:48] now this is ruby bridges she was integrating a school you can see the hate on the faces of people this [3:08:03] was called racism this was racism all i did at the state of the union address was displayed this mr [3:08:15] chairman this was what i did i was peaceful the secretary says he believes in peaceful protest cue [3:08:26] the video please q1 freeze the frame please that my friends is the secretary of homeland security he [3:08:45] traversed some distance to get to a peaceful protester and display his despicable behavior [3:08:53] unbought that's me unbossed unafraid that's me and by the way unelected yes liberated democrat you [3:09:04] sir have engaged in despicable behavior now let's just talk for a moment about this behavior it's not the only [3:09:17] time that you've behaved in a dastardly way cue the second video please where to find me any place [3:09:31] anytime cowboy sir this is a time this is a place you want to run your mouth we can be two consenting [3:09:39] adults we can finish it here okay that's fine perfect you want to do it now i'd love to do it right [3:09:43] now well stand your butt up then you stand your butt up oh hold on stop it is that your solution [3:09:48] every public no no sit down sit down you know you're a united states senator that was the secretary [3:09:58] of homeland security the secretary of homeland security concerns me because of his behavior [3:10:08] as it relates to peaceful protest as it relates to the way he chose to come over and with force [3:10:18] address a peaceful protester it concerns me because in that department they have many people of color [3:10:27] i'm concerned about how they will be treated under the leadership of this secretary of homeland [3:10:33] security i do not believe that he is qualified because he doesn't have the temperament to deal with [3:10:41] people in a respectful way i peacefully protested i would do it again because i know the history of apes [3:10:55] and how they have been used to delete people of color gentlemen's time is expired i recognize the [3:11:01] ranking member for a unanimous consent request thank you very much mr chair i ask unanimous consent to [3:11:09] enter into the record the following a bulletin from the colorado information analysis center warning that [3:11:17] ice recruitment materials could motivate white supremacist violence a report from the global [3:11:25] political project against hate and extremism that dhs continues to post white nationalist content [3:11:35] on social media and an article from the new york times that dhs hired a social media manager with a [3:11:45] history of making white nationalist posts that objection recognize the gentleman from california for [3:11:51] uc request thank you mr chairman i have unanimous consent to submit for the record uh article woman [3:11:57] held by ice for 25 days despite evidence of citizenship finally gets a u.s passport that objection you see [3:12:06] requests recognize the gentleman from texas for unanimous consent request that the posters in a pro and [3:12:12] appropriate size be placed in the record and that a document indicating the percentage of persons of color in [3:12:24] homeland security be added to the record as well without objection members of the committee may [3:12:30] have some additional questions for the witnesses and we'd like to ask the witnesses to respond to [3:12:34] these in writing pursuant to committee rule 7e the hearing record will be held open for 10 days [3:12:39] without objection the committee stands adjourned