The following is a transcript of an interview with Representative Michael McCaul, R-Texas, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on February 1, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re joined by the Texas Republican congressman, Michael McCaul. It’s good you’re here.

REPRESENTATIVE MICHAEL MCCAUL: Thank you for having me.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re in a partial government shutdown right now, but Speaker Johnson said this morning on another network that he expects it to end by Tuesday. Some of your Republican colleagues, however, have said they have entry requirements. Republicans currently have a one-seat majority. Is he-is he overconfident? Does it have your voice?

TAIL. MCCAUL: Well, he has my vote. I mean, we voted for this last time. Democrats, most of them voted for this. That Democrats would turn around and vote against it on Tuesday, just to shut down the federal government, makes no sense to me at all. I think the speaker – the trick is to get it through the Standing Orders, and I believe the speaker would not have done that if there were no votes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, you know why we’re in this situation and why these Democrats are opposed now?

TAIL. MCCAUL: Right.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Because of what happened a week ago…

TAIL. MCCAUL: –Right…

MARGARET BRENNAN: –out in Minneapolis, when Alex Pretti is this–

(LISTENING)

TAIL. MCCAUL: –But the DHS allocation is exempt from this. The DH allocation is exempt from that allocation–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –Yes, right now with the two-week resolution–

TAIL. MCCAUL: –Implement reforms at DHS

MARAGRET BRENNAN: — Have reforms. So let’s talk about it. Because the Trump administration has changed personnel. Now they kicked out Tom Homan in Minneapolis. Borders emperor. Greg Bovin, who led the border patrol, was removed from that position. The Justice Department also said it had launched a civil rights investigation into why federal agents shot Pretti. Secretary Noem now says the FBI is taking over the investigation of what happened. Are your concerns about what happened in Minneapolis satisfied?

TAIL. MCCAUL: I called for a full investigation. The DOJ opened that investigation. The Civil Rights Division would have jurisdiction over this. Look, I mean, Bovino went there with those roving patrols. He escalated the situation. He escalated the tension between the public and law enforcement. He put his agents in a position they should never have been put in. They have no crowd control training. Their job is to go in and remove criminal aliens, violent felons from the United States, and get them out of here. And so, you know, Tom Homan is a consummate professional. He’s been doing it for a long time. I’ve known him for a long time. It will return to ICE’s core mission, which is targeted law enforcement operations, not roaming the streets causing chaos.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But we haven’t heard that he’s said, or that the administration has said, that they’re actually going to change tactics to do what you just said.

TAIL. MCCAUL: Well, I believe at his press conference he talked about de-escalation.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

TAIL. MCCAUL: He was talking about the return of targeted, you know, law enforcement operations.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Does that mean an end to warrantless arrests? That’s how you take it?

TAIL. MCCAUL: Administrative orders have been around for a long time–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –Yes–

TAIL. MCCAUL: –sign an immigration judge’s order of removal. To enter, tap around the prisoner under the ICE holder. That will continue. The idea of ​​using an administrative warrant to break into a home, which was not ICE’s practice. And I don’t think Mr. Homan is going to go ahead with that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we actually heard – you’re right. Entering houses without a warrant is unconstitutional. The Fourth Amendment protects all people, regardless of citizenship, from unreasonable searches and seizures. But, and we’ve seen documentation from the Trump administration, their policy allows for these so-called collateral arrests, where ICE officers make warrantless arrests of undocumented immigrants who are not targets, but people they encounter during an operation who may be trying to leave the scene. Should the premise be changed there? Is that too broad?

TAIL. MCCAUL: Look, a target is a target. The target is a violent offender. You know, there are many that we can spend all our time and resources on. When they arrest a target, if there are illegal aliens with the target, they are caught in the net, and since they are in the country illegally, they are removed. And I don’t think that practice will change, but the roving patrols–

MARGARET BRENNAN: — Well, they changed them because the previous administrations interpreted the risk of flight as failure to appear at a court meeting. The Trump administration interpreted that as if the guy could leave the scene, and that’s how they justified some of those warrantless arrests and encounters. Is that too broad? Because it’s part of this roving group you’re talking about.

TAIL. MCCAUL: Right and due process applies to all persons under the Constitution. It would also apply to them. However, if they get caught in the net, they need to be dealt with. Look, this is going to court now…

MARGARET BRENNAN: –And the Democrats want to debate this. They want change.

TAIL. MCCAUL: Yeah, and the courts actually throw out a lot of these cases, and you have violations with American citizens who are illegally arrested. So, the American people support the deportation of criminal aliens, violent felons. What they do not support is excessive use of force, and I believe Bovino crossed the line. I think the president was right to tell him to get out of there. I would advise…

MARGARET BRENNAN: –Does he still have a job?

TAIL. MCCAUL: Well, he’s going back to his previous station.

MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s right.

TAIL. MCCAUL: But I would advise the secretary and the president to include Tom Homan, and he should have been there from day one–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –Why wasn’t he?

TAIL. MCCAUL: –and use your expertise and your talent.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Why did Secretary Noem kick him out?

TAIL. MCCAUL: I don’t know all the inner workings within DHS on that. I can tell you that he is the ultimate professional when it comes to ICE removal operations.

MARGARET BRENNAN: A federal judge in Texas has ordered that this five-year-old boy, Liam Ramos, be released from ICE custody along with his father. He was arrested by federal agents in Minneapolis. His picture went viral. The judge who ordered the release specifically cited concerns about traumatizing children. He’s not the only kid being detained under the current policy, and in this particular case the administration claimed something that wasn’t backed up in court, right? They claimed that the father was trying to escape and that he was here illegally. He was here under the policy respected by the previous government. They used an application on their phone to apply for asylum. It was a legal process. So now they are out of this detention facility. But doesn’t that worry you that there are children who are caught in the crosshairs? That it is necessary, perhaps from Congress, to put up some fences for homeland security and what are they doing?

TAIL. MCCAUL: I think that’s part of the reform process that we’re going to be watching. I think there are…

MARGARET BRENNAN: –But do you have to force it or do you trust DHS to do it?

TAIL. MCCAUL: I- we can, we can legislate. I think the problem is that situations like this create an eyesore – law enforcement officers are really just trying to do their jobs. And, look, the mission is, I think, to get violent criminals out of the country. Most people support it. It’s the president – the number one issue the president won the election on. What I worry about is turning a winning question into a liability. I still believe that the American people want us to get dangerous, violent criminals off the streets, but they don’t want to see these images of children and people being pulled from cars and American citizens. These cases of excessive use of force must stop. And I think Tom Homan will de-escalate the situation, as I’ve been urging for weeks.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Congressman McCaul, thank you for your time today.

TAIL. MCCAUL: Thanks for having me.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We’ll be right back with a lot more Face the Nation.