'No amnesty’: Mullin changes statement hours after defending foreign work visas

WASHINGTON, DC: Hours after defending work visas for foreign workers, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said illegal migrants would receive no amnesty.

Markwayne Mullin defended legal employment visa programs, suggesting the US should modernize and use permanent or seasonal foreign work visas to plug labor gaps where domestic workforce participation is low.

Mullin changes immigration stand within hours

Markwayne Mullin, hours after defending work visas for foreigners in sectors where domestic workforce participation is low, changed his immigration statement, saying that illegal immigrants would be arrested and deported and no amnesty would be given to them.

Mullin’s X post was apparently intended to quell criticism over his statement at the National Governors Association Summer Meeting in Oklahoma City.

"NO amnesty for illegal aliens. Ever,” Mullin wrote on X on Saturday, August 1.

"We are a nation of laws," he wrote. "If you are illegally present in the United States of America—you will be detained and deported. Period."

Soon after Mullin shared the post, Former Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino criticized Mullin's remarks, writing on X that "Voters asked for mass deportations. Clear demand. High priority. No ambiguity." He added, "The guy running DHS is making the case for 'immigration reform.' We've seen this script before."

What Mullin said about foreign workers at the meet

At the event, when asked about immigration reforms, Mullin said, “We have naturalization ceremonies every single day in the United States. In fact, we're real close to 900,000 individuals that have been naturalized in the last 12 months. There is a legal system to go through.”

He added, “If you are over here and you over stayed your visa, you haven't changed your status, or you came illegally, you haven't changed your status, you claimed asylum, and you have not asylum claim, there is nothing i can do for you.”

Mullin tells sanctuary cities he would leave after getting worst off the streets

On sanctuary cities refusing to cooperate with ICE, Mullin said, “Let me work with you on this stuff. I'm not handling things like maybe the past secretary had. I'm just saying let's work to get the worst of the worst off the streets. And then you won't see me in your cities and states like you do as much… In fact, you probably won't even see us at all.”

Mullin also argued that America needs a more permanent solution on foreign work visas.

“If we're looking to grow our economy, we need more permanent solutions on [work visas for foreigners]… Because this narrative that it steals American jobs is true in some industries, it's not true for all industries,” Mullin said during the event.

“It is America. We want to take care of Americans first. It’s our economy, it’s our homeland, but there’s a way to utilize labour where we’re not having the participation rate we need to, and we can plug those holes,” the DHS secretary added, which, for many, means that cheap labour would replace Americans.