‘We’re Not Slowing Down’: Markwayne Mullin Defends $18K Deportation Cost Under Donald Trump

Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin revealed the cost of deportations that is shelled out by the Donald Trump administration to deport the illegal immigrants out of the U.S.

Mullin, who appeared on Fox News, shared the figure when host Laura Ingraham spoke about a terrifying killing spree in Georgia, where the accused is allegedly a UK-born individual who became a naturalized American citizen in 2022. One of his victims was said to be a Department of Homeland Security staff member.

Talking about the deportation amount spent by the Trump government, the DHS Secretary revealed it to be $18,225 to prosecute undocumented immigrants and remove them from the country.

Doubling down on why he remains unfazed despite the high cost, Mullin said, “Because of the way the laws are written and the way they can claim asylum, we have to provide the attorney for the individuals, the way that they clog up our judicial system. And then we have to pay to deport the individual.”

The host seemed to agree with him and called the amount “a drop in the bucket” as compared to the “damage” that the immigrants bring to the nation. Elaborating on her statement, Ingraham said, “They cost us lives, jobs, opportunities, seats in schools, our healthcare industry, our hospitals, et cetera” to which Mullin agreed with her.

He also hinted that the Department of Homeland Security would continue to aggressively remove immigrants from the nation. The former U.S. Senator from Oklahoma said, “We’re not slowing down. We’re going after the illegals. We would love for them to leave on their own, and we have programs to help assist you go back. Because if we have to go through the prosecution process, you’ll never come back to this country legally, ever.”

Mullin also said that the Donald Trump-backed administration has reportedly deported more than 675,000 people in the president’s first year back in office, and a whopping 2.2 million people deported themselves.

Reports state that some deportations of the individuals have been in countries other than their countries of origin. A February report by the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, the MAGA administration has spent over $40 million to carry out the immigrant operations, even though most deportees were sent to the proper country.

According to January 2026 reports, the Trump administration has paid more than 32 million to five countries to accept around 300 nationals. These countries include El Salvador, Rwanda, Palau, Equatorial Guinea and Eswatini.

However, around 80% of the deportees had already returned to their home country or were in the process of doing so. To further amplify the deportation process, the President also included the punishment for burning the American flag as a means to get an individual deported.

An executive order signed by the president allows the Attorney General and the DHS Secretary to revoke the visas of the non-citizens “wherever there has been an appropriate determination that flag desecration by foreign nationals permits the exercise of those remedies under applicable law.”