WATCH: Homeland Security head Markwayne Mullin makes opening statement in budget hearing

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin pushed back against criticism during his opening statement Wednesday in a budget hearing before the House Committee on Homeland Security.

“I sometimes wish that the members had to get sworn in, too, so what they said would be true and factual as well,” he said, taking issue with some of the concerns raised in remarks by ranking member Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.

Mullin said U.S. immigration enforcement officers are facing death threats for carrying out the law.

“They're not going outside the law, they're enforcing a law that Congress passed,” he said. “We don't pick and choose which law we decide to enforce. We enforce the law.”

Funding for immigration enforcement under Mullin’s department has been lately held up by Republican senators who opposed a Trump administration “anti-weaponization fund.” On Tuesday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the fund was being abandoned.

Mullin faced senators on Tuesday in his first congressional hearing since his confirmation to Trump’s Cabinet. The former Oklahoma lawmaker was questioned on his fledgling leadership of the agency, including his threats to remove Customs and Border Protection officers from airports in locations considered "sanctuary cities" by the Trump administration.

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