Overview
- Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, and hours later Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin posted on X that “Deportations will continue.”
- House Homeland Security Democrats have signaled they will use committee powers to demand documents and call DHS and ICE officials, including Mullin, to testify once the new Congress convenes in January.
- An immediate end to deportations is unlikely because the administration can enforce existing law, a 2025 Republican-backed funding package locked in major enforcement resources through 2029, and the president can veto bills that would curtail operations.
- The White House cites more than 605,000 deportations and about 1.9 million voluntary departures under the current administration, and Mullin has defended ICE against claims about polling-place activity.
- Watch for early oversight moves, subpoenas, and public hearings that could expose detention and enforcement practices, shape public debate, and trigger longer-term fights over funding and agency structure that would determine how deportation policy changes in practice.