Trump homeland secretary testifies before Senate panel amid airport threats, detention protests

WASHINGTON - U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is set to testify before a Senate panel on Tuesday after tensions flared over conditions in a New Jersey immigration detention center and Mullin threatened to shut down international travel into a major airport with the World Cup less than two weeks away.

The public faceoff comes as Republicans are pushing for $72 billion in additional funding for President Donald Trump's mass deportation effort over the next three years, a sum that comes on top of a historic $170 billion devoted to the crackdown in a spending package passed last year.

Mullin, a former U.S. senator from Oklahoma, became secretary in March and pledged to continue Trump's immigration crackdown with a more low-key approach. The hearing on Tuesday will be his first time appearing before a Senate panel since he was confirmed.

Mullin's predecessor, Kristi Noem, prominently surged federal agents into U.S. cities and drew scrutiny for federal contracts awarded to Republican operatives. Trump fired Noem as public approval for his immigration policies fell after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.

While Mullin moved away from public immigration sweeps, the Trump administration continued to arrest far more immigration offenders than historic norms as of early March.

Some 56,000 people were detained in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities as of last week, two people familiar with the figures said. While that number was down from 68,000 in mid-February, it was still above the 40,000 in custody when Trump took office in January 2025.

U.S. Senate Republicans postponed plans to vote on the additional ​immigration enforcement funds in May due to opposition to the inclusion of a $1.8 billion fund for victims of government "weaponization." Reuters reported on Monday that Trump had put plans for the weaponization fund on hold.

TENSE SCENES AT NEW JERSEY DETENTION CENTER

Protesters have amassed in recent weeks outside the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, where immigrant detainees raised concerns about conditions.

Mullin said on Thursday that he would shut down international travel and cargo into the Newark airport unless local law enforcement secured the area around Delaney Hall. Over the weekend, New Jersey State Police closed ​off an area where protesters had been gathering.

Mullin said on Monday that he did not presently need to halt international flight processing at Newark, citing cooperation from state and local law enforcement near the detention center.

The threat to cut off international transit into the Newark airport follows earlier comments by Mullin to try to pressure so-called "sanctuary" cities into fuller cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Major airline, travel and business groups have warned that barring border processing at Newark or other major U.S. ‌airports could lead to chaos, strand thousands of tourists and Americans trying to get home, and prevent crucial cargo shipments.

The World Cup, which begins on June 11, could potentially draw millions of foreign visitors to the U.S., further raising the stakes for Mullin's airport threat. Eight matches, including the final, will be played at MetLife Stadium, a short drive from the Newark airport.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson and David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Kristina Cooke in San Francisco and Richard Cowan in Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 9:10 AM.