- Mullin said Democrats had contacted him about immigration legislation.
- Mullin said he and Trump had not discussed concrete immigration policy changes.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said November 9, 2026, he would discuss a possible DACA deal that could let recipients pursue legal status, while rejecting amnesty. He announced no proposal or change in effect.
The remarks concern people covered by Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which protects eligible recipients temporarily from deportation and lets them work. Any new path would need lawmakers to act.
Mullin said Congress could consider whether DACA recipients might become “legal permanent citizens or something like this,” but left the decision and any details of such a change to lawmakers. He did not announce a proposal.
“I’ll be open to talk to anything,” he said, while adding that a decision would be up to Congress. He also said a bipartisan approach was needed to get immigration reform done.
Mullin left the terms of any DACA proposal to lawmakers
Mullin gave no eligibility rules, application process, or timeline for a possible change. The details remain unsettled. His comments offered an opening to discuss the issue, not a plan recipients can apply under.
DACA was created in 2012 under the Obama administration for people brought to the United States as children. It grants temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to eligible recipients. It does not itself provide permanent legal status.
Mullin said he would not accept amnesty as a solution. He did not define the term or explain how he would distinguish it from a DACA-related route to legal status.
DACA protections remain temporary as policy talks stay limited
The Department of Homeland Security said in a March post on X that DACA “does not confer any form of legal status in this country.” It also warned recipients could be arrested and deported. DHS said ICE arrested 264 DACA recipients nationwide between January 20 and September 28, 2025, and that more than 92% had been charged with or convicted of a crime in the United States. That warning did not announce a change to the program.
Mullin said he and President Donald Trump had not discussed changing immigration enforcement policy. “But has there been a conversation about changing the policy? No, we haven’t had that conversation,” he said. He said the administration’s law enforcement approach “isn’t going to change.” No enforcement shift accompanied his remarks.
Trump’s comments on the subject came after a “60 Minutes” interview that aired November 8, 2026. He said his deportations had been “too tough” and cost Republicans in the election. He summarized his idea: “Get the killers out, get the rapists out, get all the rough ones out, get the drug dealers out. But let the people that are here — and in some cases here for 10 and 15 years — work a deal for them.” Trump suggested a deal could include immigrants who have been in the U.S. for 10 or 15 years and work in jobs such as landscaping or hotels.
Democrats have called Mullin, but no proposal is in place
Mullin made his remarks to reporters at a counter-drone conference in National Harbor, Maryland. The event was unrelated to immigration. He said Democrats had contacted him about working together on legislation.
He told Trump about those calls, and said the president encouraged him to begin working with the Democrats and meet with them later. That was the extent of their discussion, Mullin said. He did not describe negotiations over an agreed proposal.
The remarks drew opposition from some Trump allies. The Heritage Foundation and House Freedom Caucus posted “No amnesty” without specifically referring to Trump’s interview. Missouri Rep. Bob Onder posted “NO amnesty for illegal aliens” in response to it.
Congress has not been given a specific DACA proposal in Mullin’s remarks.
