Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has publicly criticized legislation introduced by Rep. Delia Ramirez, a progressive Democrat from Illinois, that proposes dismantling the Department of Homeland Security and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The bill, known as the Reimagining Safety Act, represents one of the most extensive structural changes to federal security agencies proposed by a member of Congress.
Mullin told Fox News Digital that the legislation is part of a broader push by "radical leftists" to defund police and abolish DHS, a move he described as impossible. He defended the agency's workforce, stating that 270,000 DHS employees are keeping Americans safe, while accusing Ramirez of prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens. A DHS spokesperson added that Ramirez should be thanking law enforcement for removing dangerous criminals from her district rather than vilifying them. The spokesperson cited a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against law enforcement as a consequence of the rhetoric used by sanctuary politicians.
In support of its position, DHS provided Fox News Digital with a list of individuals arrested in Illinois, including Rumen Georgriev, a Bulgarian national convicted of rape with a weapon; Abdukadir Haji, a Somali national convicted of sex assault and rape; and Samuel Reyes-Silva, a Cuban national convicted of robbery and homicide. The agency used these cases to counter the perception that immigration arrests do not involve threats to public safety.
The Reimagining Safety Act would replace DHS with a new "Department of Community Safety." Under the proposal, specific agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Coast Guard, and customs functions would be preserved. However, the bill would abolish both ICE and Customs and Border Protection, the agency responsible for securing the southern border against illegal crossings. According to a release on the bill, it would also begin the process of establishing a separate civil immigration system.
Ramirez’s proposal follows a recent surge in calls to abolish ICE, driven by bipartisan criticism of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement tactics. The debate intensified after federal agents shot a Venezuelan national in Austin, Texas, and following the killing of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration officials earlier this year. While other Democrats have moved to block ICE arrests at airports or criticized specific agency actions, Ramirez’s bill targets the entire DHS structure.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Ramirez rejected the administration’s criticism, asserting that Americans have a growing reason to dismantle DHS. She argued that the current agency has become a weapon and that a new department is necessary to honor shared humanity. Ramirez stated that Mullin and DHS are spreading lies and fearmongering to save face, claiming that dismantling DHS is essential to holding them accountable for corruption and lawlessness.