Markwayne Mullin Tells Dana Bash: “A Criminal Is a Criminal”

Jimmy ParkerSeptember 18, 20260

Watch the full exchange below.

Mullin Rejects Bash’s Premise

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin did not let CNN host Dana Bash set the terms of their immigration debate. During a Friday interview, Bash pointed to Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar’s claim that 50 percent of 50,000 people detained by ICE had no criminal record. She said the figures had been obtained through FOIA and asked whether Mullin was comfortable with that record and planned to continue the policy. Mullin rejected the premise. His argument was direct: a person who entered the country illegally had already broken the law, even if that person had no separate criminal record.

Illegal Entry Is the Line Mullin Draws

When Bash demanded more, Mullin said the government cannot simply decide which laws it wants to enforce. “That’s actually not true. Every one of them was criminals because they broke our nation’s laws when they came across our borders illegally,” he said. Mullin later repeated that Congress writes the laws and the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for enforcing them. He also rejected the idea that the word criminal should apply only to people accused of the most serious offenses. “Regardless if you consider a criminal being a pedophile or not, a criminal is a criminal,” he said. That blunt distinction was the central point he wanted viewers to hear.

Bash Keeps Pressing the Question

Bash continued by asking, “What level of criminal activity are you willing to accept?” She pressed Mullin to distinguish illegal entry from more serious crimes. Mullin answered that enforcement officers are tasked with enforcing the nation’s laws, not picking and choosing based on personal judgments. He praised the men and women serving at the Department of Homeland Security and referred to its “80,000 strong law enforcement agencies.” As Bash attempted to interrupt, Mullin returned to the same point: Congress sets the rules, and people who cross the border illegally have violated them. The exchange showed two competing definitions of criminality. Bash centered the absence of a prior record, while Mullin centered the act of illegal entry.

Salazar’s Ad Adds Political Pressure

Salazar’s campaign ad supplied the talking point Bash used in the interview. Salazar claimed that “50 percent of the 50,000 people that were detained had no criminal record” and said that “the same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.” She also told President Trump that some of his immigration enforcement efforts had gone too far. Her criticism has become part of a larger fight over whether immigration enforcement should focus only on people with additional criminal records or apply the law to illegal entry itself. Mullin’s answer made his position clear: DHS should enforce the law Congress has written rather than wait for another offense.