DHS head admits Noem-led agency rushed to buy $1B worth of warehouses without ‘due diligence’

DHS head admits Noem-led agency rushed to buy $1B worth of warehouses without ‘due diligence’ The secretary of Homeland Security admitted that some warehouses, purchased by his predecessor, would likely never be turned into detention centers because of their locations or other issues - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markywayne Mullin admitted to lawmakers that his predecessor “maybe” didn’t complete “due diligence” when purchasing 11 warehouses to convert into detention centers around the country. Mullin, who took over DHS in March after President Donald Trump fired former Secretary Kristi Noem, told lawmakers on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security Thursday that he was “evaluating” the purchases totaling roughly $1 billion. “There was some due diligence that maybe wasn’t actually checked off. And so, what you’re saying is not wrong,” Mullin told Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas after she raised concerns about the feasibility of one warehouse location. For months, reports have accused Noem of rushing to purchase and overpaying for warehouses to turn into immigration detention centers to support the president’s mass deportation agenda. Some lawmakers have questioned whether certain locations had the infrastructure to support humans. Local officials have expressed outrage at the department for buying warehouses without any warning. “There’s some that just, quite frankly, probably won’t work,” Mullin admitted. Mullin’s testimony was a rare admission from a top Trump administration official that an immigration-related policy was not thoughtfully analyzed before being rolled out. Though DHS has faced similar accusations for more than a year, officials have been reluctant to admit so. Although the department’s internal watchdog is reportedly conducting a review of the warehouse purchases as well as Noem’s contracting process. Mullin told lawmakers that the department has “issues” with detention center bed space but that they were “going through and re-evaluating every one of them to be the best possible outcome for our mission inside of DHS.” More follows… Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments