Political speech, timestamped and in context

Markwayne Mullin: “If you're here illegally, regardless of your status, if you're a convicted criminal or not, you're still in…”

Featuring: Markwayne Mullin, Republican | U.S. Senate, Oklahoma

BREAKING NEWS: Markwayne Mullin Reveals Results Of NYC Crackdown Dubbed 'Operation Rotten Apple'

Published September 1, 2026

It is our job through DHS and ICE, to enforce our nation's laws. We don't pick and choose them. We'll simply enforce them. If you're here illegally, regardless of your status, if you're a convicted criminal or not, you're still in this country legally. And it is our job to hunt you down and to deport you. And we will do that to our best ability. With that, I'll open up to questions. (19:15–19:26)

STATEMENT

Asserts that being in the country illegally is a violation of law regardless of criminal status.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

See the main statements from Markwayne Mullin in this video

“President Trump points out all the time that only 2% of the population causes 80% of our crime.”
Asserts that 2% of the population is responsible for 80% of crime.00:51-01:00
“New York Sanctuary politicians have released over 13,000 criminals on your streets in New York.”
Asserts that over 13,000 criminals were released by New York Sanctuary politicians.06:00-06:10
“We're still missing roughly 300,000 kids that are in dangerous situations because the Biden administration kept no track of them.”
Asserts that 300,000 children are missing due to lack of tracking by the Biden administration.25:53-26:02
“I'd say close to 50% of the individuals that say they don't have any type of criminal record and we do biometrics on them, we find individuals like this in individual that had rape charges from Germany.”
Asserts that biometrics reveal that close to 50% of individuals without claimed criminal records have charges elsewhere.27:57-28:09
“They just wrote down whatever name they gave them and paroled them into this nation at a pace of, I think, roughly 96% of the individuals that came across our country illegally or enter our country legally under the Biden administration.”
Asserts that 96% of individuals entering the U.S. under the Biden administration were paroled without identity verification.28:15-28:28
“Department of Homeland Security. We don't make the laws. That's Congress's job. But we will do everything to enforce those laws.”
Asserts that DHS enforces laws made by Congress.01:12-07:49
“Underneath President Trump's leadership, homicides are down 18%.”
Asserts that homicides decreased by 18% under President Trump's leadership.01:32-01:36
“Carjackings down 47%.”
Asserts that carjackings decreased by 47%.01:39-01:42
“Motor vehicle theft down 20%.”
Asserts that motor vehicle theft decreased by 20%.01:42-01:47
“Robberies are down 17%.”
Asserts that robberies decreased by 17%.01:47-01:50
“Operation Rotten Apple has taken over 2,100 criminals off our streets.”
Asserts that Operation Rotten Apple resulted in the arrest of over 2,100 criminals.02:40-02:48
“Seven of the safest cities in the country cooperate with ICE and the 287 program.”
Asserts that seven of the safest cities in the U.S. cooperate with ICE and the 287 program.05:48-05:59
“President Trump has emboldened and empowered DHS to do our job.”
Asserts that President Trump has empowered the Department of Homeland Security.07:06-07:14
“We're fighting every single day for the American people so you can be safe on your streets.”
Asserts that efforts are being made daily to ensure public safety.07:16-07:22
“I want to thank our brave men and women and ICE that are out there enforcing these laws, making our country safe, protecting the lives of every American.”
Asserts that ICE is enforcing laws and protecting American lives.07:51-08:04
“It is our job through DHS and ICE, to enforce our nation's laws.”
Asserts that DHS and ICE are responsible for enforcing immigration laws.19:05-19:12
“Governor has made a conscious decision to release 13,000 criminals that ICE had detainers on, released them back onto the streets in New York.”
Asserts that the governor released 13,000 criminals with ICE detainers in New York.21:55-22:08
“They refused to work with us with the 287 program.”
Asserts that New York refused to cooperate with the 287(g) program.22:22-22:26
“This is an 80% issue across the country that want to restore law and order.”
Asserts that 80% of the country wants to restore law and order.23:51-23:58
“If the country won't receive the individuals back, we have third party agreements with these countries that are willing to receive these individuals and we're sending them there.”
Asserts that the U.S. has third-party agreements to send deportees to countries willing to accept them.26:42-26:51
“Biometrics. That's the way we for sure know. You can't change your eyes, you can't change your fingerprints.”
Asserts that biometric data is a reliable method for identity verification.27:36-35:23
“Underneath the Biden administration, they didn't do any of these checks [to verify identities of individuals entering the country].”
Asserts that the Biden administration did not verify identities of individuals entering the country.28:09-28:13
“President Trump made it very clear we are ending TPS [Temporary Protected Status] to temporary protective status.”
Asserts that President Trump is ending Temporary Protected Status.29:21-29:27
“The previous administrations refused to actually focus on [ending TPS].”
Asserts that previous administrations did not focus on ending Temporary Protected Status.29:29-29:32
“We're ending TPS temporary protective status for a lot of these countries and wanting them to go home.”
Asserts that TPS is ending for many countries, and individuals are being encouraged to return home.29:49-29:58
“I don't think we should be sending one federal penny to sanctuary states and sanctuary cities.”
Asserts that federal funds should not be sent to sanctuary states and cities.30:26-30:32
“13,000 individuals released from the prisons here in New York City that had detainers on them.”
Asserts that 13,000 individuals with detainers were released from New York City prisons.33:13-33:19
“We found three packages with fake IDs from Indiana that, by the way, passed the Real ID test.”
Asserts that fake IDs from Indiana passed the Real ID test.34:47-34:54
“Counterfeits are out there, and these counterfeits are good.”
Asserts that there are high-quality counterfeit IDs in circulation.35:08-35:11