Voto Latino and 50 other civil rights advocacy groups called to impeach Department of Homeland Security’s Secretary Markwayne Mullin in a letter to congressional leadership last week.
Their demands were prompted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers’ ongoing and violent detention practices – most notably two murders in the last two weeks. The letter also decried mass family separations, the overall emotional toll on children, and the aggressive expansion of ICE detention centers across the country.
“We write to demand the immediate introduction of articles of impeachment and a full congressional investigation into Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s handling of deaths in detention, shootings by [Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] and [Customs and Border Protection (CBP)] agents and other violence perpetuated by DHS,” the coalition of advocacy groups wrote.
The letter was addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.).
The coalition described themselves as “interfaith, human rights, business, immigration, veteran and civil rights leaders.” Other organizations that signed the letter and called for Mullin’s impeachment include The Workers Circle, People Power United, National Action Network, and the Center for Law and Social Policy.
The letter’s authors specifically pointed to the recent fatal shootings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine as reasons for Mullin’s impeachment. The murders sparked national outrage and multiple days of protests against the use of deadly force during detainment operations.
“Under his stewardship, DHS has fundamentally eroded public trust in federal law enforcement, violating its core statutory mandate to protect the homeland while preserving civil rights, “ the letter stated. “Under Secretary Mullin, the department has continued to engage in unchecked enforcement operating completely outside the bounds of human dignity, statutory oversight, and due process. Rather than upholding constitutional protections, his leadership has actively incentivized a reckless and violent approach that subverts the rule of law.”
