Jake Tapper And Markwayne Mullin Go By The Numbers In Face-Off Over ICE Shooting

CNN anchor Jake Tapper pressed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Sunday over last week’s shooting of an illegal immigrant by ICE officers in New York City — one of two such shootings since Mullin took over the department — and Mullin answered with numbers of his own.

Mullin, who succeeded Kristi Noem as secretary in March, argued that the figures deserving attention were the hundreds of illegal immigrants in New York wanted for or convicted of murder — and the American lives he said were lost because those suspects were in the country at all.

The Homeland Security chief told Tapper that Oscar Belgal had an impressive rap sheet for someone who had only been in the country for three years, and in addition to being in the United States illegally, he was credibly linked to the Trinitarios street gang. Mullin explained that often, when ICE went to apprehend someone, “fight or flight” instincts kicked in.

“When we’re approaching a vehicle, that individual knows that they’re going to jail,” Mullin explained. “Now, you want to talk about the two individuals that have been shot since I’ve been the secretary, let’s talk about the 258 illegals that are in New York City right now that are wanted for murder. Let’s talk about the 258 that are currently in state prison that killed individuals, that were illegals that we got detainers on.”

“All 258 of those individuals took an American life,” he added. “All 258 of those deaths were 100% preventable because those illegals shouldn’t be here. If people are really concerned about the tactics that are being used, how about the states cooperate with us? These individuals that I’ve talked about have detainers on them. Oscar had a detainer on him.”

Mullin also referenced two illegals who had been implicated in the stabbing of off-duty NYPD Detective Jose Mercedes, saying that one of the two had also had an ICE detainer.

“That means they were locked up before, we asked the state, we asked the city to give them to us, and they released them back on the streets,” he said. “If anybody should be outraged, it should [be] the public to the sanctuary states and sanctuary politicians that continue to release these murderers and thugs back to the streets and put the public in danger.”