Mullin Questions DSA Candidates' Impact on DHS Deportation Efforts
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Why this grade: Verified core claim on Chevalier's deportation stance and recent DSA primary wins, but Mullin's fentanyl-Vietnam comparison and claim that Sanders 'openly claims to be a Socialist Communist' lack precision or full context.
Why this lean: Frames DSA views as extreme and ties them to Democratic Party shift away from 'JFK' era; emphasizes law-and-order and criminal removals while omitting counterarguments on due process or policy distinctions.
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Summary
Forbes Breaking News clip shows a reporter asking DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin about New York congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, who opposes all deportations, and similar views among recent DSA primary winners. Mullin responds by labeling them communists, stressing law and order, citing gang members and fentanyl deaths exceeding Vietnam War totals, and criticizing the modern Democratic Party as moving toward Bernie Sanders-style socialism. The exchange occurred during a press event on immigration enforcement. Sourcing relies on Mullin's direct statements with no additional experts or data graphics referenced.
Editorial Assessment
The segment accurately captures Chevalier's explicit opposition to deportations, drawn from her June 2026 interviews, and notes DSA electoral gains in New York primaries. Mullin's comparison of annual fentanyl-related deaths to total U.S. Vietnam fatalities holds directionally for recent years but conflates overdose totals with fentanyl-specific figures. His characterization of Sanders overlooks Sanders' consistent self-identification as a democratic socialist rather than communist. Viewers miss context on the scale of criminal versus non-criminal removals, legal challenges to mass deportation policies, and DSA candidates' focus on abolishing ICE alongside other progressive priorities. The framing presents opposition to deportations as inherently anti-law-and-order without engaging distinctions between categories of immigrants.
Key Moments
Dalia Avila Chevalier said she is not okay with any deportation
Direct quote from her June 2026 interview with The New York Editorial Board and corroborated in Wikipedia and news coverage of her NY-13 primary win.
Other recent DSA primary winners share similar anti-deportation views
Multiple DSA-endorsed candidates won NY primaries in June 2026, with platforms including abolishing ICE and opposing deportations, per Guardian and Ballotpedia reporting.
More deaths per year from fentanyl than in entire Vietnam War
Annual U.S. drug overdose deaths have exceeded 58,000 U.S. Vietnam fatalities in recent years; fentanyl is the leading driver but exact annual fentanyl-only totals vary and are lower.
Bernie Sanders openly claims to be a Socialist Communist
Sanders consistently identifies as a democratic socialist; no evidence he has claimed to be a communist.
Notable Concerns
- Overgeneralization of DSA positions as uniformly 'communist' without distinguishing policy specifics
Sources Consulted
- Darializa Avila Chevalier on Housing, Immigration, & Her Run
- Darializa Avila Chevalier: pro-Palestinian doctoral student wins NYC primary
- Democratic socialists ride wave of momentum in primaries
- Yearly overdose deaths equal an 'entire Vietnam war'
- Did fentanyl and drug overdoses claim more American lives in 2024 than the Vietnam War
- Markwayne Mullin - DHS.gov