Homeland Security chief Markwayne Mullin told governors that carefully managed visa programs could fill workforce gaps in industries lacking American labor, while maintaining that illegal immigrants with criminal records would face removal without exception.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Homeland Security chief Markwayne Mullin said the federal government should consider using legal foreign-worker programs to address labor shortages in selected industries, while acknowledging that such programs can displace American workers in some parts of the economy.
Mullin made the remarks Friday during a National Governors Association meeting in Oklahoma City, where Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and other governors pressed for a greater state role in determining which employers and industries could receive migrant labor.
“This narrative that [visa worker programs] steal American jobs is true in some industries,” Mullin told Stitt.
Mullin said policymakers must distinguish between industries in which foreign labor competes directly with Americans and those in which employers report insufficient workforce participation.
“It’s not true for all industries, and we need to pay attention and be sensitive to that as we move forward because [the top policy] is America First. We want to take care of Americans First. It’s our economy. It’s our homeland. But there’s a way to utilize labor where we’re not having the participation rate [by Americans] we need to [have], and we can plug those holes [with foreign workers],” Mullin said.
“Thank you,” Stitt responded.
Mullin also indicated during the discussion that immigration authorities could reduce enforcement activity in cities and states after removing illegal immigrants considered the most serious public-safety threats. His comments came as governors and employers sought expanded access to workers for agriculture, dairy farms, poultry operations, fisheries, hotels, restaurants, elder care businesses and other labor-intensive industries.
Many companies developed business models after the 1990s that depended on a continuing supply of lower-wage legal and illegal migrant labor. Some businesses have since retained lobbyists as President Donald Trump’s border and immigration policies sharply reduced that labor supply.
Stitt credited Trump with securing the southern border but said the administration and Congress must now confront employers’ workforce demands.
“We give President Trump a lot of credit for securing the border, and then the next step is ‘Now what’?” Stitt told Mullin.
“How do we deal with the workforce needs for our agricultural community, for our dairy farms, for our chicken industry, for our fisheries? … Governors are thinking, ‘Hey, we’re closer to our economies, and so we should have a seat at the table to do maybe some workforce permits and help vet these [migrants] that are actually chasing the American dream, that have been here for 25 years … or that our companies need,’” Stitt said.
Video of the exchange circulated on X.
Stitt, who owns an Oklahoma bank, has repeatedly supported federal legislation that would give businesses additional authority to recruit workers from abroad. He and Mullin have known one another for years, dating to Mullin’s career building a large plumbing company in Oklahoma.
Supporters of expanded migration argue that population growth can increase demand for housing, retail development and other business activity. Critics contend that large labor inflows can increase housing costs, weaken workers’ bargaining power and allow employers to postpone investments in productivity-enhancing equipment.
President George W. Bush promoted a comparable “Any Willing Worker” proposal in 2001, an approach that later contributed to disagreements within the Republican Party over immigration, labor policy and the economic interests of American workers.
Approximately 3.5 million Americans complete their K-12 education each year and enter a labor market that also receives large numbers of foreign workers. Since 1990, the federal government has admitted roughly 1 million legal immigrants annually, while also bringing in more than 500,000 seasonal workers each year and maintaining a population of more than 1.5 million white-collar employees holding multiyear visas.
Critics of expanded labor migration point to the millions of working-age Americans who are not employed, arguing that domestic workers could fill claimed labor shortages if employers raised wages, improved working conditions, offered training and made greater investments in disadvantaged communities.
Stitt’s proposal also raised questions about how a larger supply of lower-cost labor would fit with Trump’s stated goal of expanding automation, technology and worker productivity.
“We have to get efficient … we’ll probably add to [the existing workforce] through robotically—it’s going to be robotically,” Trump said in 2025. “Then, somebody is going to have to make the robots [so] the whole thing, it feeds on itself.”
“Let me unpack that,” Mullin responded when Stitt asked about a potential reform allowing governors to help distribute work permits according to employers’ needs.
Mullin said the difficulty was not necessarily developing a policy but securing the 60 Senate votes required to advance major immigration legislation.
“The problem is … It’s hard to get 60 [Senate votes for any reform] because no matter what you do, it’s not good enough” for Republican or Democratic factions in Congress, Mullin said.
“Can we work with the system we have? Yes. We have naturalization ceremonies [for new workers] every single day in the United States … In fact, over we’re real close to 900,000 individuals that have been naturalized in the last 12 months. There’s a legal system to go through,” he added.
A separate recording of Mullin’s remarks was posted by C-SPAN.
Mullin said employers and foreign workers could not bypass the legal immigration process, particularly when an individual had committed crimes.
“If you have a criminal background, we’re not making exceptions for you. There is no exceptions. There are zero exceptions … you’re going home — there’s no exceptions to that,” Mullin said.
“People want to talk about the workforce. I understand that, but a workforce that’s an illegal workforce only grows illegal activity. It doesn’t grow the economy in long term. It’s a short term solution, but it’s going to be long term problems. It is important that we understand that,” he continued.
Mullin then discussed the H-2A agricultural visa program and questioned why federal policy continued treating certain year-round farming operations as seasonal employers. Recent changes to the program expanded access for dairy operations, although critics argue that providing a steady supply of lower-paid labor reduces pressure on businesses to adopt labor-saving machinery.
“When it comes to dairy farms … for some reason, we’ve looked at this as a as a as a seasonal work visa. It’s not seasonal … nothing seasonal about that. Still, stuff like that needs to be fixed … the huge greenhouses that we have now, they’re not seasonal anymore, and so we’re looking to change that,” Mullin said.
Opponents of additional foreign-worker admissions argue that easy access to inexpensive labor diminishes employers’ incentive to invest in technology that could increase American workers’ wages, output and international competitiveness. Automated dairy equipment, including the Lely Astronaut A5 Next, illustrates the types of machinery available to reduce dependence on manual labor.
Mullin also described circumstances in which immigration agents could release an arrested illegal immigrant who had no criminal history and was actively pursuing lawful status.
“[If] you overstayed your visa, but you’re going through the [bureaucracy] system to change your status because you got married and have been married to a U.S. citizen for four years, and … you have no criminal history … and you been showing up for your court dates, you are going to be released,” Mullin said.
He further suggested that the department’s enforcement presence in cities and states could decrease after agents removed illegal immigrants considered the most dangerous.
“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 because my presence won’t be as big. In fact, you probably won’t see us at all,” Mullin said.
Some Republican officials and business interests have pressed Mullin to preserve access to illegal immigrant workers or create additional legal pathways for employers that say they cannot fill positions. Critics maintain that employers should instead recruit, train and raise compensation for Americans who have left the workforce.
President Joe Biden’s administration admitted approximately 8 million migrants classified as “inadmissible” across the southern border. Trump administration officials were on pace to deport about 1.25 million of those migrants by late 2026.
Mullin’s remarks drew criticism from Republican-aligned voters and activists who viewed his support for additional foreign workers and possible limits on deportations as inconsistent with Trump’s immigration platform. Mullin responded Sunday night in a post on his official X account.
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