Senators from both parties are hoping that the Department of Homeland Security’s approach to acquiring and converting warehouses into large-scale detention centers will change under new leadership.
As Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma begins this week the nomination process to replace Kristi Noem as DHS secretary, he’ll face questions about how he would approach enacting President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. And the proliferation of warehouses-turned-detention centers across the country has caused concern among officials from both parties, at times prompting them to step in.
“I’m looking for a more deliberative process that works with state and local governments to look at opportunities,” Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi said of DHS’s purchase of warehouses for use as detention centers.