Democratic Party leaders are undermining law enforcement with rhetoric targeting the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said Monday.
In an interview with Newsmax's "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE," Mullin responded to comments by Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin.
"You have Ken Martin, who's the chair of the DNC, came out and compared the U.S. to Iran and saying it's because of DHS," Mullin said.
"But yet what DHS is doing is actually enforcing our nation's laws."
Mullin said DHS and ICE are simply carrying out their legal responsibilities and do not have the option to selectively enforce federal statutes.
"We don't have the privilege of picking and choosing which laws we are going to enforce," he said.
"We have immigration policy that has been put in place."
Mullin said the nation's immigration system has gone largely untouched for decades.
"The last time it was fully overhauled was in 1959," he said.
"The Democrats have fully controlled the Senate, the House, and the White House multiple times, and not one time have they ever actually went in and tried to redo the policies."
Instead of reforming the law, Mullin said Democrats are now attacking federal agencies for enforcing existing statutes.
"Now we're asking DHS and ICE to go out there and enforce the nation's laws by saying we need to get these criminals off the streets," he said.
"Regardless of how long you've been in the country, if you broke the law coming into the country, you're still a criminal."
Mullin also criticized remarks made by House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., that Democrats will use every lever they can pull to rein in the work of ICE.
"They're going out there and doing that," he said of ICE agents.
"And for her not to want to do that, not wanting to enforce the laws, then why is she a lawmaker at all?"
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