Markwayne Mullin became Homeland Security secretary after Kristi Noem was fired.

He promised to keep the department out of the news.

But within months, three people died in encounters with ICE officers in less than a week.

This is Mullin’s first big test.

Mullin must balance pressure from the White House to carry out mass deportations.

He also faces demands from Congress for answers.

He needs to ease tensions in American cities over the deaths.

Democratic Rep. Seth Magaziner said Mullin is “back on the goddamn front page now.”

Mullin has taken a quieter approach than Noem.

He has not joined immigration raids.

ICE has also moved away from high-profile operations.

It has stopped a plan to use warehouses for detainees.

But arrests continue: ICE arrested 10,000 people in five days in late June.

ICE officers shot and killed individuals in cars in Houston and Maine.

A man fleeing officers died in a car crash in Florida.

Mullin has not spoken publicly about the deaths.

After the second shooting in Maine, ICE suspended most vehicle stops.

Trump then said the agency must keep using traffic stops.

Mullin later said he and the president are “on the same page.”