WASHINGTON, D.C. — Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at this summer's FIFA World Cup in the United States are not off the table, but that the agency will not attend the tournament to round up non-citizens. Mullin made the remarks in an interview with CBS News on Tuesday, nearly two months into his tenure leading the department.

The tournament will host dozens of international soccer teams across 11 American cities and is expected to draw more than a million foreign tourists. ICE, a component of DHS, is expected to play a major role in security at the event and has long been present at major sporting events, including the Super Bowl.

Mullin said ICE agents at the tournament would focus on criminal activity that often accompanies large sporting events, as well as individuals flagged by Interpol or wanted for murder, drug trafficking or other serious crimes. He said Democrats have portrayed ICE as "some type of villain."

"So what do you find at a tremendous amount of sporting events? Counterfeit products, counterfeit tickets. You have counterfeit clothing being sold on the streets," he said. "It's Immigration and Customs Enforcement."

"When they're at these sporting events, we're not out there doing immigration enforcement," Mullin said. "But we are looking for, maybe we have people that shouldn't be in this country because they're on terrorist watchlists."

He also said the Transportation Security Administration is responsible for security over pipelines, infrastructure systems and World Cup venues. The upcoming period for the department also includes the hurricane season and a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. "These have huge national security implications. We have 22 components, all of them deal with national security," he said.