Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin rejected Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s claim that the “majority of people” arrested by the Department of Homeland Security pose “absolutely no threat to public safety.”

Mullin called the Washington Democrat’s characterization of federal immigration enforcement “political.”

Speaking on “Saturday in America,” Mullin said DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement remain focused on dangerous individuals and protecting American communities.

He also criticized Biden administration border policies while highlighting 16 consecutive months of zero releases under current enforcement.

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Mullin argued that national security requires the government to know who has entered the United States.

He said people who entered illegally should not be released back into American communities once authorities identify them.

“If we're going to have national security in this country, we [need to] know everybody that's entered this country. And so, I'm not going to release you back into the public once we know that you entered this country illegally,” Mullin said.

“It's time for you to go home.”

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The Homeland Security secretary also pointed to families who have lost loved ones because of crimes committed by illegal aliens.

He argued that those tragedies could have been prevented if the offenders had not been in the country.

“All the angel families that lost their loved ones at the hands of an illegal is 100% preventable, because that illegal shouldn't be in our country to begin with,” Mullin said.

Jayapal serves as the ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Integrity, Security, and Enforcement.

A vocal ICE critic, she contended that immigration enforcement under the Trump administration has increasingly targeted immigrants who do not have criminal convictions.

“For the first time this summer, the majority of people that DHS arrested were people who pose absolutely no threat to public safety, and the number of people with criminal convictions who are arrested by ICE actually decreased, decreased, not increased,” Jayapal said during a hearing last week.

Jayapal also criticized the use of Homeland Security Investigations personnel in immigration operations.

She argued that using agents for street sweeps and local traffic stops makes the public less safe by diverting them from investigations involving serious crime and human trafficking.

“That’s because when DHS expends all of its energy to go after parents, longtime friends, neighbors, when [Homeland Security Investigations] agents who are supposed to investigate serious crime and human trafficking are instead being moved to street sweeps and riding along with local police for random traffic stops, we are less safe, not more safe,” she added.

DHS reported that ICE arrested nearly 51,000 illegal aliens nationwide in August. According to the department, that marked the highest monthly arrest total in the agency’s history.

The department also said ICE has deported more than 2,000 known or suspected terrorists since Trump took office.

DHS regularly publicizes arrests and deportations involving illegal aliens convicted of murder, child pornography, sexual assault and drug trafficking.

Mullin rejected efforts to distinguish illegal entry from other criminal conduct and described the debate as politically driven.

He also cited fatal incidents involving people who entered the country illegally as examples of the consequences for American families.

“When you have a car accident, and you came… into this country legally, and the Democrats want to say, you're not a criminal, and you kill somebody. Yes, you were a criminal and now… you ruined somebody else's life, and now you're a murderer at the same time,” Mullin said.

“It's political for them. They want to say this every day,” he added.

Mullin maintained that violating immigration law by crossing either the southern or northern border remains criminal conduct.

“You're still a criminal. We’re still gonna arrest you,” the DHS chief said.

WATCH:

The clash left a sharp divide between Jayapal’s criticism of ICE operations and Mullin’s defense of continued arrests, detention, and deportation of people who entered the country illegally.

You can watch the full interview below:

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