The Gospel According to Markwayne
ICE agents can do all things through Christ who strengthens them. At least that’s what Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin believes. And according to Mullin’s DHS, they are also the light that the darkness cannot overcome.
Mullin, who assumed the job in March after the ouster of Kristi Noem, wasted little time in picking up the Christian Nationalist bully pulpit of his predecessor. Under Noem’s leadership, DHS created numerous videos that kidnapped Bible verses out of context in order to justify kidnapping people, even twisting the words of Jesus to make “up” mean “down” and “wrong” mean “right.” Noem’s Department of Herod Security also misunderstood the reason for the Christmas season, casting themselves as the holy ones even while using state power to track down refugees who, like the Holy Family, flee state violence. And she justified the executions of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in the streets of Minneapolis despite saying for years that her Christian faith and biblical principles guide her public policy decisions.
Noem deserved to be sent packing, but Mullin didn’t represent a policy shift as much as a PR rebranding. He’s also continued Noem’s Christian Nationalist rhetoric and misuse of the Bible to justify DHS violence.
Like Noem, Mullin comes from the Pentecostal tradition. Although he grew up in church, he underwent a conversion at an Assemblies of God congregation in Oklahoma when he was 20.
“When I’m trying to serve the Lord, I have a lot less screw-ups. Not that I’m perfect, but my life has changed in ways that I never thought was possible,” he told Fox News in March after being nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as DHS secretary.
Prior to his DHS tenure, Mullin had also participated in events by a far-right Christian Nationalist group in Tulsa called City Elders. The group, which is led by a Pentecostal evangelist, seeks to implement “Christian” rule locally and wants to encourage those in other cities to follow this model. While speaking at a City Elders event in 2022, Mullin bragged about hitting his kids with a belt and threatening violence against his daughter’s boyfriend.
Since taking the DHS post, he helped promote the “Rededicate 250” worship rally, invoked Bible verses to sanctify ICE, and has overseen DHS as it ramps up its social media posts that co-opt Bible verses. So this issue of A Public Witness considers how the DHS under Mullin continues to do violence to Scripture.
DHS Ramps Up Misuse of the Bible
Under Noem’s leadership, DHS last summer started creating videos that juxtapose DHS agents hunting for immigrants and firing guns with Bible verses (and often unauthorized use of popular songs or movie audio). These videos and a few other social media posts with Bible verses primarily drew from Old Testament passages, especially Proverbs and Isaiah (though they did venture once into the Sermon on the Mount as well as the Book of Psalms). Since Mullin took over, the number of Bible verses from DHS accounts has increased, and those used online and in Mullin’s speeches borrow from more New Testament passages.
