Trump open to talking to Democrats on immigration after midterms, but Mullin stresses no amnesty

FOREST HEIGHTS, Md. (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Monday that he and President Donald Trump haven’t yet discussed any concrete immigration policy changes in the aftermath of the midterm elections as the president shifts his tone on deportations and says he's open to working with Democrats on the issue .

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference near Washington, D.C., Mullin also said he is strongly opposed to any amnesty for people living in the U.S. illegally — long a red line for Republicans that has contributed to the intractableness of the immigration issue.

The midterms highlighted voters' disaffection toward the administration's hard-line immigration enforcement activities and Trump has since said not only that he could work with Democrats on immigration but also, during an interview with “60 Minutes” Sunday, said that his deportation policy was too aggressive for voters.

Mullin on Monday reiterated Trump's willingness to work with Democrats on the issue.

Mullin, who was a senator and house representative before becoming Trump’s Homeland Security secretary earlier this year, said after the election he’s been fielding calls from Democrats that he worked with in Congress on bipartisan issues.

“I’ve let the president know that those calls are coming in. And the president has said, you know, let’s start working with them and then let’s meet at some point. So that’s the extent of the conversation,” Mullin said in a briefing with reporters. “We haven’t had any conversation just on policy.”

Trump since the election has elevated Stephen Miller , the key architect of his immigration crackdown, to be his chief of staff, raising questions about how cooperation with Democrats might look so long as enforcement remains strict. Mullin called him in a post on social media last week an “excellent choice.”

Mullin, who said he worked with Democrats while he was in Congress including on immigration reform, said he thought a bipartisan approach was the only way to get anything done. But the secretary also pushed back decisively against any type of agreement that would include amnesty for people living illegally in the U.S.

“I was working on immigration reform when I was in the House and when I was in the Senate. I think the only way you can actually get it is by a bipartisan approach. But amnesty's never going to be a solution. We’re never gonna allow amnesty to happen. So that’s a full stop,” said Mullin.

The Homeland Security secretary raised the issue of DACA — a form of protection from deportation for children brought to the country illegally by their parents. He said figuring out a way to legalize their status would be up to Congress.

“Now, if we wanna have an immigration reform to where we can look at DACA and figure out a way that these individuals can become maybe legal permanent citizens or something like this, that’ll be up to Congress to do that,” Mullin said.

Mullin spoke on the sidelines of a conference about drones and counter-drone technologies in the Washington, D.C., suburbs.