Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem did not apologize for or retract administration statements falsely calling two U.S. citizens domestic terrorists shortly after they were killed by immigration agents in Minnesota earlier this year.
In her first appearance before Congress since the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24, Noem repeatedly defended the Trump administration's immigration policies and tactics during a tense, almost four-hour Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the committee's ranking member, pressed Noem about why Good and Pretti were falsely labeled as domestic terrorists following their killings.
Noem expressed her condolences to their families, saying that "these are tragic situations, and I can't imagine what these families go through and losing a loved one."
But Noem did not take back the statements about Pretti and Good, and said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers face a "dangerous environment" and threats. When asked what information she got to deem them as domestic terrorists, Noem said her agency relied on information provided by agents on the ground. "And I would say that it was a chaotic scene," she added.
In response to questions from Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., about the fatal shootings, the DHS secretary said the FBI was leading an investigation into both killings, adding that Homeland Security Investigations was also involved.
Pressed again on the issue by Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Noem began to answer that she works "every day to get factual information to the American people," but Schiff cut her off, saying she did not put out factual information to the country on the days that Good and Pretti were shot.
Noem defended her agency's policies as she faced a number of questions about the agency's immigration enforcement priorities, including the arrests of immigrants with no criminal records and no criminal convictions, which have increased after President Donald Trump took office.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., questioned Noem about U.S. citizens who have been detained or injured by federal immigration officers, including Marimar Martinez, a Chicago teacher who was shot five times last year by a Border Patrol agent who accused her of using her car to assault federal officers. Federal prosecutors later dropped the charges filed against her with prejudice. Noem claimed not to know details about the case.
Noem did not condemn the mistaken detention of ChongLy Thao, a naturalized U.S. citizen arrested by immigration agents inside his Minnesota home. He was later released after authorities determined they had the wrong person. Noem didn't directly answer when Klobuchar asked if the arrest had been wrong, instead saying that officers were working to identify the man.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he was "disappointed" at Noem for the focus on the "numbers" of people deported. Tillis, who is not running for re-election, has repeatedly criticized the administration over its immigration enforcement actions.
"What we've seen is innocent people getting detained that turn out are American citizens," Tillis said, adding that Noem's leadership "is a disaster."
In response to a question by Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., Noem denied the existence of deportation quotas at the Department of Homeland Security to advance the president's immigration agenda.
"We do targeted law enforcement operations going after those worst of the worst criminals that are here illegally," Noem said.
Noem claimed that nearly 3 million people who entered the United States illegally are no longer in the country as a result of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts. Of those, 2.2 million left voluntarily to their home countries and more than 675,000 were detained and deported, she said.
Noem insisted that the majority of those arrested by ICE "have a criminal record and have been charged or convicted of secondary crimes in addition to their initial crime of being in the United States illegally." She added that ICE has arrested 1,500 known and suspected terrorists, and more than 7,700 known gang members.
Noem testified before Congress as lawmakers continue to clash over a funding bill to finance DHS and its operations.
"I recognize that members of this committee may have different views on immigration policy," Noem said. "But it's important that we distinguish between disagreement over policy and the department's operational responsibility to enforce existing laws," she said.
Durbin defended the Democrats' decision not to continue funding DHS without changing Immigration and Customs Enforcement policies. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R- Iowa, the committee chairman, urged Democrats to move to fund the department, which entered a shutdown last month.
As Noem got ready to deliver her opening remarks, a protester calling to "abolish ICE" disrupted the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. "You should be ashamed of yourself!" the woman shouted as she was escorted out.
The scene mirrored tensions across the nation over different immigration views at a time when support of the Trump administration's immigration tactics and deportation goals has dwindled and more Americans support overhauling ICE, the main DHS branch powering the president's deportation agenda.
Toward the end of her opening remarks, Noem noted the presence of "angel families" at the hearing. The Trump administration came up with the term earlier this year to describe people whose loved ones were victims of crimes committed by immigrants.
A second protester who interrupted the hearing as Durbin questioned Noem was escorted out as she yelled about "Americans killed by ICE" and accused Noem of not giving their families justice.