Documents
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Letter to Markwayne Mullen on DHS Recruiting Materials – June 10 2026
June 12
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE
RHODE ISLAND
COMMITTEES:
BUDGET
ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
FINANCE
tinitrd �rates �rnatr
JUDICIARY WASHINGTON, DC 20510-3905
The Honorable Markwayne Mullin
Secretary of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
2707 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE
Washington, D.C. 20528
June 10, 2026
http://Whitehouse.senate.gov
(202) 224-2921
TTY 1202) 224-7746
170 WESTMINSTER STREET, SUITE 200
PROVIDENCE. Al 02903
1401) 453-5294
I wri e to follow up on my unanswered February 23, 2026, letter about recent Department of
Homeland Security recruitment tactics.
OHS and fCE have deployed recruitment ads featuring white nationalist slogans, songs, and
imagery while lowering recruitment standards-facilitating the hiring of agents with histories of
violent extremism. I renew my request about what OHS has done to ensure it has not been
infiltrated by violent extremists, and who is responsible for this dangerous recruitment campaign.
In March, the Colorado Information Analysis Center (CIAC)-a fusion center dedicated to
conducting tlu·eat assessments to prevent acts of tenorism-issued to law enforcement partners a
bulletin on dangers related to DHS's recent recruitment tactics. 1 That bulletin documented some
of the same similarities between ICE recruitment tactics and white supremacist messaging as my
February 23 letter, including DHS's promotion of song lyrics "popular within and adopted by
white nationalist organizations," lyrics which "opened the manifesto of a white supremacist who
killed three people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida in 2023."2
The CIAC warned that, "white supremacist violent extremist groups have been simultaneously
advocating for their followers to join ICE and/or musing about the potential for ICE to tum into a
white supremacist militia."3 According to CIAC, these extremists could "misinterpret OHS
messaging as a permissive environment to engage in vigilante action and/or violence."4 The
bulletin even noted that ICE's messaging could "increase the likelihood that" violent extremists
would "justify or advocate the use of violence" against your own people at OHS.
I cannot believe that you support the messages associated with these recruitment campaigns, or
want anyone under your supervision to use the imprimatur of the United States Government to
1 CIAC Mission, COLO. INFO. ANALYSIS CTR.,
https://ciac.colorado.gov/default.aspx?MenultemID=5&MenuGroup=Public+Home (last visited June I, 2026);
COLO. INFO. ANALYSIS CTR., DEP'T OF PUB. SAFETY, SITUATIONAL AWARENESS BULLETIN I (2026),
https:/ /www.documentcloud.org/documents/28 13253 8-colorado-in formation-analysis-center-2026-0000860/.
2 Id. at 2.
3 Id. at 5.
4 Id. at 2.
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE
RHODE ISLAND
COMMITTEES:
BUDGET
ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
FINANCE
tinitrd �rates �rnatr
JUDICIARY WASHINGTON, DC 20510-3905
The Honorable Markwayne Mullin
Secretary of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
2707 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE
Washington, D.C. 20528
June 10, 2026
http://Whitehouse.senate.gov
(202) 224-2921
TTY 1202) 224-7746
170 WESTMINSTER STREET, SUITE 200
PROVIDENCE. Al 02903
1401) 453-5294
I wri e to follow up on my unanswered February 23, 2026, letter about recent Department of
Homeland Security recruitment tactics.
OHS and fCE have deployed recruitment ads featuring white nationalist slogans, songs, and
imagery while lowering recruitment standards-facilitating the hiring of agents with histories of
violent extremism. I renew my request about what OHS has done to ensure it has not been
infiltrated by violent extremists, and who is responsible for this dangerous recruitment campaign.
In March, the Colorado Information Analysis Center (CIAC)-a fusion center dedicated to
conducting tlu·eat assessments to prevent acts of tenorism-issued to law enforcement partners a
bulletin on dangers related to DHS's recent recruitment tactics. 1 That bulletin documented some
of the same similarities between ICE recruitment tactics and white supremacist messaging as my
February 23 letter, including DHS's promotion of song lyrics "popular within and adopted by
white nationalist organizations," lyrics which "opened the manifesto of a white supremacist who
killed three people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida in 2023."2
The CIAC warned that, "white supremacist violent extremist groups have been simultaneously
advocating for their followers to join ICE and/or musing about the potential for ICE to tum into a
white supremacist militia."3 According to CIAC, these extremists could "misinterpret OHS
messaging as a permissive environment to engage in vigilante action and/or violence."4 The
bulletin even noted that ICE's messaging could "increase the likelihood that" violent extremists
would "justify or advocate the use of violence" against your own people at OHS.
I cannot believe that you support the messages associated with these recruitment campaigns, or
want anyone under your supervision to use the imprimatur of the United States Government to
1 CIAC Mission, COLO. INFO. ANALYSIS CTR.,
https://ciac.colorado.gov/default.aspx?MenultemID=5&MenuGroup=Public+Home (last visited June I, 2026);
COLO. INFO. ANALYSIS CTR., DEP'T OF PUB. SAFETY, SITUATIONAL AWARENESS BULLETIN I (2026),
https:/ /www.documentcloud.org/documents/28 13253 8-colorado-in formation-analysis-center-2026-0000860/.
2 Id. at 2.
3 Id. at 5.
4 Id. at 2.
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
promote those messages. Accordingly, I ask that you respond to the questions in my February 23
letter and assure that OHS has taken all necessary steps to rectify these problems.
Thank you for your prompt attention to my request.
Sincerely,
Sheldon Whitehouse
Ranking Member,
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on
Federal Courts, Oversight,
Agency Action, and
Federal Rights
2
promote those messages. Accordingly, I ask that you respond to the questions in my February 23
letter and assure that OHS has taken all necessary steps to rectify these problems.
Thank you for your prompt attention to my request.
Sincerely,
Sheldon Whitehouse
Ranking Member,
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on
Federal Courts, Oversight,
Agency Action, and
Federal Rights
2