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- House Dems press Noem on immigration enforcement efforts (abcnews.com)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Faces Grilling from House Democrats Over Immigration Enforcement
Washington D.C. – Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem faced sharp questioning from House Democrats on Wednesday during her testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. Democrats scrutinized the agency’s immigration enforcement operations under her leadership, with the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, asserting that Noem has “turned our government against our people.”
Rep. Raskin launched the hearing by directly challenging Secretary Noem’s handling of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minneapolis, specifically citing the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal law enforcement earlier this year. Raskin accused Noem of initiating a “smear campaign” against Good and Pretti in the aftermath of their deaths in January, making public comments that labeled their conduct as “domestic terrorism.”
“You’ve provided no evidence to back up your defamatory lie against either of these American citizens,” Raskin stated emphatically.
During the hearing, Raskin pressed Noem on whether she regretted her characterization of Good and Pretti. Noem responded by offering “condolences to those families,” while simultaneously dismissing Raskin’s comments as “falsehoods” and “lies.” She asserted that the agency should instead focus on collaborating to support families who have lost loved ones due to individuals illegally present in the U.S.
This line of questioning mirrored the pressure Noem encountered during her appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. In that hearing, Noem notably refused to retract or apologize for her earlier statements, where she described Pretti’s actions as “the definition of domestic terrorism” without presenting supporting evidence.
Following Pretti’s January shooting, Noem drew significant criticism for insinuating he intended to “massacre” law enforcement, even before the completion of the investigation. Reports indicate Pretti was licensed to carry a handgun, and video footage from multiple angles showed he did not attempt to draw his weapon during his altercation with federal agents.
Similarly, Noem stated that Good “weaponized her vehicle,” deeming it an “act of domestic terrorism” without evidence. While DHS claims agents acted in self-defense in Good’s shooting, local and state officials have disputed these federal assertions.
Rep. Raskin further implied that Secretary Noem’s leadership has diminished national security.
“You’ve turned our government against our people, and you’ve turned our people against our government,” Raskin declared. “But the people are winning today, although we know we must continue to wake up every day like the people of Minneapolis, and go out and fight for constitutional freedom.”
Several Democratic representatives presented videos of U.S. citizens being detained during immigration enforcement operations, using these instances to criticize Noem and the agency’s practices. Rep. Pramila Jayapal highlighted a letter from Noem outlining 18 instances of unlawful detention of American citizens, suggesting the actual number could be higher.
Noem countered these claims, emphasizing that “context is critical in each of these situations to know the full range of what happened in each of these situations before and after the incident and their arrests.”
Jayapal maintained that Noem has had “multiple chances to take accountability” but has “failed to do it.” She concluded by stating, “DHS is supposed to be protecting our residents and upholding constitutional protections.
But you’ve turned that on the head. You have actually turned the United States government against its own residents.”
Interestingly, House Republicans were less critical of Secretary Noem compared to some of the interactions she had with GOP senators during Tuesday’s Senate hearing. Notably, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis launched a nearly ten-minute tirade against Noem on Tuesday, branding DHS a “disaster” and “failure” under her leadership.
Secretary Noem’s testimony comes amid a partial shutdown of much of DHS, encompassing agencies from FEMA to the TSA and the Coast Guard. This shutdown is a result of an ongoing standoff between Democrats and Republicans regarding reforms to ICE. Democrats have indicated they will only approve funding for the department if significant changes are implemented within ICE following the deaths of Good and Pretti.
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