MAGA faithful are revolting against Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, accusing him of surrendering to Democrats on a recent ICE reform.
Mullin, who replaced “ICE Barbie” Kristi Noem in March, finds himself in the crosshairs of some of Trump’s biggest supporters after he ordered ICE to suspend traffic stops in the wake of two fatal shootings of men by federal agents this week.
Fox News host Tomi Lahren fumed on X, “We are being betrayed in real time. If you want Trump voters to stay home in November, keep this up, Markwayne and co.”
Accusing DHS leadership of tailoring policies “around favorable Lib media coverage,” she added, “Vote for ‘Republicans’ get Democrats anyway.”
MAGA influencer and self-styled citizen journalist Nick Sortor blasted the change in ICE policy as a “TOTAL CAPITULATION to the left” and “WEAK” in an X post.
Laura Loomer, the Islamophobic far-right influencer and President Donald Trump’s “loyalty enforcer,” simply wrote, “Deport Markwayne Muslim!”
Meanwhile, MAGA troll and failed congressional candidate Robby Starbuck declared, “If @SecMullinDHS isn’t up for the job, then he should do the honorable thing and resign.”
“Weakness is an invitation for chaos. Weakness is an invitation for chaos,” Starbuck wrote. “Now more than ever, you must be strong.”
The order to suspend traffic stops except in cases involving serious criminal targets came after federal agents fatally shot Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian man, in front of his daughter in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday. Last week, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, a Mexican homebuilder, was also fatally shot by federal agents in Houston.
Neither man was the target of the operation that cost them their lives.
Maine Sen. Susan Collins put a target on Mullin’s back by claiming credit for the new policy, claiming that she had urged the DHS secretary “to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops” until the investigation into the most recent shooting is completed.
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, told Fox News that the “decision was made by the secretary along with leadership at ICE.”
Trump-aligned lawyer and former Senate aide Mike Davis wrote, “In no way, shape, or form should Susan Collins dictate DHS policy,” before declaring in another post, “Markwayne Mullin needs to go.”
When reached for comment, a spokesperson told the Daily Beast in a statement, “Secretary Mullin serves at the pleasure of President Trump and will continue delivering on the American people’s mandate to make America safe again. Our message is clear: if you come to our country illegally, we will find you, we will arrest you, and we will deport you.”
Homan had sought to downplay the suspension of traffic stops, saying, “It’s a short pause just to make sure we’re doing the right thing.” Agents are receiving additional training on vehicle-stop tactics, CBS News has reported, citing a law enforcement source.
The death toll from encounters with ICE rose to three in the past week on Tuesday morning, when a 28-year-old man exited a truck in a gas station parking lot and fled federal agents by running into the street, where he was hit and killed by a tractor-trailer.
