WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Homeland Security Secretary defended her department’s immigration enforcement tactics in front of a Senate committee on Tuesday and pushed back against criticism from Democrats who say she wrongly disparaged by federal officers in Minneapolis earlier this year.
It was Noem鈥檚 first congressional appearance since the shooting deaths of the two protesters galvanized widespread opposition to how the Trump administration is executing its mass deportation agenda, a centerpiece policy of President Donald Trump’s second term. At the time, , two U.S. citizens, as agitators, although accounts from local officials and bystander video contradicted assertions from her and other administration officials.
In one exchange, retiring Republican of North Carolina called her leadership a 鈥渄isaster鈥� and skewered her handling of the immigration crackdown and her management of emergency response.
In the hearing, which stretched nearly five hours, Noem defended her agency鈥檚 treatment of immigrants caught up in enforcement activities, and blamed activists and others for attacks against officers.
鈥淚 want to address the dangerous environment that our ICE officers face on the streets today,” Noem said. 鈥淭hey are facing a serious and escalating threat as a result of deliberate mischaracterizations of their heroic work and rhetoric that demonizes our law enforcement.鈥�
Since the deaths in Minneapolis, the administration has taken steps meant to tone down tensions, including drawing down the operation there. But the administration has continued pressing restrictions against both legal and illegal immigration, has been buying up warehouses for immigration detention and persisting in federal enforcement in areas around the country. Noem in Minnesota as part of a broader fraud probe.
The immigration tactics of Noem’s department have triggered a clash in , which remains unresolved, although a spending bill passed last year granted it a significant infusion of cash for the Republican administration鈥檚 mass deportation policy. Noem called the partial shutdown 鈥渞eckless鈥� and blamed Democrats for a move she said put national security at risk.
Her appearance in front of the Judiciary Committee also comes after at a bar in Texas that is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism, leading to concerns that the escalating conflict in Iran could have repercussions for security in the U.S.
Noem blames chaotic situation for her characterization of killed protesters
In what was initially billed as an effort to root out fraud in Minnesota, Homeland Security sent hundreds of officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to the state. They were met by protesters who organized marches, patrolled neighborhoods for ICE activity with whistles and ferried food to immigrants too afraid to leave their homes.
, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot and killed by an ICE officer on Jan. 7, setting off intense protests demanding an end to the operation. Then on Jan. 24, Customs and Border Protection officers opened fire on another Minnesota resident, , who had been filming enforcement operations.
Those deaths led to cries for accountability and transparency. Noem, whose portrayed both Good and Pretti as the aggressors, has come under withering criticism by Democrats and some Republicans, who have .
Democrats repeatedly questioned Noem about her initial comments and called on her to apologize.
鈥淵ou and your agency rushed to brand these victims as, quote, domestic terrorists,鈥� said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee. 鈥淲e have ample video evidence and eyewitness testimony proving you are wrong. Your statements caused immeasurable pain to these families.鈥�
Noem said she was relying on information from people on the scene and blamed 鈥渧iolent protesters鈥� for contributing to the chaos officers encountered.
鈥淚 was getting reports from the ground from agents at the scene, and I would say that it was a chaotic scene,鈥� she said.
After public outrage over the deaths, Trump sent border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to take control of operations. Homan has since announced of the ICE and CBP officers who had been sent to Minnesota to carry out what had been dubbed Operation Metro Surge, although he鈥檚 been adamant that the president鈥檚 mass deportation agenda will continue.
Noem also faced some Republican criticism
Republicans largely kept the focus on the large numbers of migrants who came into the country under former President Joe Biden, portraying Noem as the leader of a cleanup effort of the former administration鈥檚 mess.
But she did come under some harsh questioning by members of her own party. Tillis, who called on Noem to resign following the shootings in Minneapolis, criticized her for erroneously arresting American citizens, for failures in her disaster recovery agency and for how she .
鈥淲hat we鈥檝e seen is a disaster under your leadership, Miss Noem, a disaster,” Tillis said. 鈥淲hat we鈥檝e seen is innocent people getting detained that turn out are American citizens.鈥�
Tillis, who has already announced that , added: 鈥淲e鈥檙e beginning to get the American people to think that deporting people is wrong. It鈥檚 the exact opposite. The way you鈥檙e going about deporting them is wrong.”
Another Republican, Sen. John Kennedy from Louisiana, also pushed her to explain why her department paid more than $200 million for an ad campaign she appeared in last year encouraging migrants to leave the country voluntarily and questioned whether Trump knew about the price tag ahead of time.
Noem, who is set to appear Wednesday in front of a House committee, defended those ads, saying they were effective and went through the regular department bidding process.
鈥淲ell, they were effective in your name recognition,鈥� Kennedy said.
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