Mullin says deportations will continue after U.S. elections
The homeland security secretary said operations would continue throughout the year, including holidays and election days.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said on November 4 that deportations under the Donald Trump administration would continue after the midterm congressional elections. He posted the announcement on his official X account one day after the November 3 vote. The statement said immigration operations would continue once election day had ended.
Mullin presented that continuity as applying throughout the year, not only in the days after voting. He said operations would also continue on holidays and election days. The schedule mentioned by the secretary includes ordinary periods and special dates without limiting immigration activity to a particular season.
The official summarized his announcement with the phrase “Deportations will continue.” The statement appeared on his official X account alongside another comment about the performance of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE. Mullin defended the agency in the same communication in which he described the continuation of operations.
The sequence places the announcement immediately after the midterm congressional elections. Voting took place Tuesday, November 3, and Mullin posted his message Wednesday, November 4. The secretary did not present continued deportations as limited to the post-election moment, but extended the announcement through the rest of the year and to holidays and election days.
The reference to voting days forms part of the time span Mullin attributed to immigration operations. His statement said they would continue even when they coincided with election days as well as holidays. The announcement was therefore not limited to a specific date or immediate transition after the elections, but described continuity across different points in the calendar.
Mullin thus connected three elements in his communications: continued deportations, year-round immigration operations and his defense of ICE. The announcement came after the congressional elections, but the official described a horizon broader than election day. The calendar statement and support for the agency came from the secretary himself.