DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin accused California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer of failing to understand Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as the new Democratic front-runner pledges to abolish the agency if elected.

During an appearance on “The Ingraham Angle” Wednesday, Mullin pushed back on Steyer’s comments that ICE has “criminal” tendencies.

“I’m very straightforward about this; ICE should be abolished,” Steyer said at a February debate. “You really can’t reform an organization which is absolutely wrong and criminal from top to bottom.”

Mullin, who took the reins of the Department of Homeland Security roughly three weeks ago, said the Democratic gubernatorial hopeful does not have the power to abolish the federal immigration agency.

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“He doesn’t have the authority to do it, and he’s talking on the left side of his mouth,” he told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. “He doesn’t understand ICE’s role.”

Recent polling places Steyer as the front-runner in the race to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom. He leads with 21% of likely voters, while Republican candidate Steve Hilton trails at 18%.

Steyer has emerged as a sudden Democratic front-runner after various sexual misconduct allegations forced Eric Swalwell to drop his gubernatorial campaign and resign from Congress.

Mullin criticized Steyer’s stance on immigration enforcement, arguing that ICE is required to abide by federal law.

“ICE simply enforces the nation’s immigration policies and deports individuals and goes after the criminals that should never be in this country to begin with,” the DHS chief told Fox News.

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“We’re not doing anything outside the law, we’re working well within the law, and they’re doing a job every single day protecting, even people like himself, that want to decriminalize criminals. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Mullin also said Steyer’s fellow California Democrats, who largely hold anti-ICE stances, have the power to reform ICE through congressional legislation.

“[Steyer] says they’re criminal from top to bottom? ICE is enforcing the laws that Congress passed. That means that the Democrats that represent California in the federal government, if they wanted to change ICE’s authority, they could do it,” he added.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Steyer said President Donald Trump is responsible for turning ICE “criminal.”

“I understand perfectly well the role ICE has played under this president,” Steyer wrote in the statement. “Donald Trump has turned ICE into a criminal enterprise, so we will treat them like one. If they break the law in California, they will be prosecuted — just like anyone else.”

In addition to defending ICE, the new DHS secretary pledged to maintain the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation campaign and communicated a willingness to accept the “right” kind of immigrants.

“We’re not slowing down,” Mullin said. “We’re going after the illegals, and we would love for them to leave on their own, and we’ll assist them. We have programs to help assist you to go back to your country, because if we have to go through the prosecution process, you’ll never come back in this country legally ever.”

“We want legal immigration, people that want to make the country stronger. We’re a nation of immigrants. We understand that. But the right kinds of immigrants.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani claimed on Wednesday that threats of the city’s wealthiest residents leaving the city over high taxes were “imagined.” 

Mamdani held a Tax Day public forum with economists Gabriel Zucman and Joseph Stiglitz to discuss his plans to further tax the rich, starting with a new tax on luxury properties valued at $5 million or more.

“For all of the discussion of the imagined exodus that would take place were we to tax the wealthiest New Yorkers by the appropriate amount—I say imagined because before I was a mayor I was a state legislator and I was part of an effort to increase taxes on millionaires at that time—we were told the same thing then—and what we find now is that we have more millionaires today than we did at that time even after having passed that tax,” Mamdani said.

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Mamdani acknowledged New York City losing many of its residents in recent years, pointing out that the city lost 200,000 Black residents between 2000 and 2020. However, he claimed that this was an “exodus” of working-class people who can no longer afford to live there.

“And so for all of that conversation about this imagined exodus, we have to reckon with the very real exodus that we are seeing in the city, an exodus of working-class people, an exodus of those who cannot afford to live here and for many who work here who now find their residence in Jersey City or in Connecticut or in Pennsylvania, anywhere else where their dollar can go a little bit further,” Mamdani said.

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During the forum, Mamdani also highlighted his past campaign goals for free busing, universal childcare and five city-run grocery stores.

Though Mamdani was able to launch a universal childcare program within his first 100 days in office, he has yet to deliver on his plans for free busing or a city-run grocery store. The first of the proposed grocery stores is currently slated to open in late 2027.

Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.

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Mamdani’s comments came in stark contrast to previous ones made by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who encouraged wealthy former state residents to move back and support social programs.

“There are some patriotic millionaires who stepped up. OK, cut me the checks. If you want to be supportive — but maybe the first step should be [to] go down to Palm Beach and see who you can bring back home, because our tax has been eroded,” Hochul said last month.

LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil sent a memo to his staff Wednesday in response to reports the Public Investment Fund will no longer use its resources for the league.

Sources told Fox News Digital the Saudis will stop funding LIV after the 2026 season.

“Team, (f)ollowing up on my previous message, which I realize may have led to some confusion on where we stand as a business,” O’Neil wrote in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital. 

“I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle.

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“While the media landscape is often filled with speculation, our reality is defined by the work we do on the grass. We are heading into the heart of our 2026 schedule with the full energy of an organization that is bigger, louder, and more influential than ever before.

“The life of a startup movement is often defined by these moments of pressure. We signed up for this because we believe in disrupting the status quo. We have faced headwinds since the jump, and we’ve answered every time with resilience and grace. Now, we answer by doing what we do best: putting on the most compelling show in sports.”

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O’Neil then praised LIV golfers for contending at the Masters, noting Tyrell Hatton finished tied for third, and hyping up Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm as the faces of the league.

“To the teams in New York, London, and those on the ground here with me in Mexico: lean into this moment,” O’Neil continued. 

“The noise you hear is simply the sound of a movement that is working. Embrace it. We are pioneers, and while the road isn’t always smooth, the destination is worth every mile. Let’s go out and show the world why LIV Golf is the future of the game. It matters. You mattered. Now, let’s go win.

“Long LIV Golf.”

LIV began in 2022 and has produced two major winners in Brooks Koepka, who has since rejoined the PGA Tour, at the 2023 PGA Championship, and DeChambeau at the 2024 U.S. Open. They are currently playing in Mexico City.

LIV Golf shifted from its 54-hole format, a draw for golfers defecting from the PGA Tour, to 72 beginning this season. Patrick Reed is also set to rejoin the tour.

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