Mullin Explored Bipartisan Deal to Rein in Immigration Crackdown

Senator Markwayne Mullin, the Oklahoma Republican chosen by President Trump to be the next homeland security secretary, surprised some lawmakers this week when he broke with the administration and signaled that he would be willing to require judicial warrants for immigration agents to enter private homes.

It was a concession that Democrats had sought for weeks as a condition of reopening the Department of Homeland Security, which has gone without funding for more than a month amid a fight over immigration tactics, and one that the White House had repeatedly rejected.

What some of his colleagues may not have known is that well before the hearing — and before Mr. Mullin had been nominated to head the department — he had been quietly working with a House Democrat to hash out a compromise on immigration enforcement that offered substantially more ground than the White House had publicly given in talks aimed at reopening the agency, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

For weeks, Mr. Mullin and Representative Josh Gottheimer, a moderate Democrat from New Jersey, have been discussing a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security that could placate Democrats seeking restrictions and a White House disinclined to give ground, according to both people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations.

Their proposal, according to a draft reviewed by The New York Times, would require federal immigration agents to obtain judicial warrants “for forced home entry, unless in hot pursuit.”

It also would effectively bar civil immigration enforcement actions at certain sensitive locations, including hospitals, churches, schools and polling places, in most cases, except with the approval of a judge. And the legislative framework calls for reverting to the training, use-of-force and detention facility standards that were in place under the Biden administration.