The secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. (DHS) Kristi Noem on Tuesday did not back away from her statements calling the two U.S. citizens who were killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this year “domestic terrorists,” while claiming that agents do not respect arrest quotas.
Appearing before Congress for the first time since the murders, Noem dodged a question from the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, about whether she would drop false allegations about Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
“When we have these situations we always offer our condolences to those families, and I offer mine as well,” Noem said during the oversight hearing.
Durbin noted that leaders of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), who testified before the House judiciary committee last month, said they did not provide information to Noem that Pretti was a domestic terrorist.
“I got reports from the ground, from officers on the scene, and I would say it was a chaotic scene,” Noem said.
“Is it so hard to say you were wrong?” Durbin responded.
Noem also told Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, that she believes there are about 650 federal immigration agents still stationed in Minnesota after Donald Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, announced there would be a substantial reduction of immigration forces in the state last month. Throughout Operation Metro Surge there were around 3,000 agents in Minnesota.
“What I want to know is, when are they going to get to the original footprint like they promised us?” Klobuchar asked Noem. Before the crackdown, there were about 150 federal immigration agents present in the state.
The actions of ICE and CBP during the surge in immigration enforcement in Minnesota drew bipartisan condemnation. As Noem appeared on Tuesday, a funding bill to keep Noem’s department open remains stalled on Capitol Hill.
Democrats have pushed for stricter barriers to immigration enforcement, while Republicans have called many of their demands, such as banning federal agents from wearing masks while patrolling and making arrests, useless.
During his opening remarks, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley blamed Democrats for the current DHS shutdown.
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons questioned Noem about her department’s relationship with Trump’s top adviser, Stephen Miller. Coons highlighted Miller’s public comments to reporters about a daily quota of 3,000 arrests.
“When there’s pressure on you to hit high numbers,” Coons said, “it’s easier to just arrest people here (who) don’t break any laws and contribute to our communities.”
For her part, Noem was adamant that “there are no quotas” and insisted that DHS conduct “targeted enforcement.”
Durbin issued a harsh rebuke to DHS under Noem’s leadership. He said the department is “devoid of any moral compass or respect for the rule of law” and noted that “without hesitation or remorse” federal immigration agents have “wreaked havoc in our cities.”
Before Noem delivered her opening remarks, she was interrupted by a protester in the hearing room, who identified himself as a former Fema employee, and said the Homeland Security secretary should be “ashamed” of herself. As they were escorted out of the room, they called to “abolish ICE.”
