Trump’s Immigration Rebrand Is Facing Long Odds

When Markwayne Mullin became secretary of the deeply troubled Department of Homeland Security two months ago, he told his former Senate colleagues his goal was to ensure “We’re not the lead story every single day.” So far, he has mostly succeeded.

Videos of federal immigration agents violently yanking people from their vehicles and homes are no longer going viral. The indiscriminate “mass deportations” that President Donald Trump promised upon his return to the White House have been scaled back in favor of more targeted, less performative operations. And, though fear and anger continue to permeate immigrant communities, the daily protests that blanketed Minneapolis and many other cities have largely subsided.