Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has taken immigration detention in a different direction than the “flashy,” gimmicky style that his predecessor, Kristi Noem, had sought to carry out the Trump administration’s mass deportations, according to three sources aware of department plans.Mullin has spent nearly two months in his new role plotting a course that will make the jailing of illegal immigrants through court proceedings more efficient and cost-effective, without the pomp and circumstance seen over the past year.To do this, Mullin and DHS advisers have chosen to walk away from several warehouses that Noem had tried to buy with the intention of converting the facilities into immigrant jails. DHS has also looked at doing away with the alliteratively named state detention sites, such as “Alligator Alcatraz” and the “Deportation Depot” in Florida.
“I would say that the approach is more sensible and not flashy. No gimmicks,” a senior administration official wrote in a text message. “Not hooking up their friends.”
The move comes amid pushback from communities where new immigration detention sites were planned and as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a DHS agency, continues to carry out President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown.
