Live updates: Kristi Noem testifies before Senate committee on DHS oversight

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) pressed Noem to “deconflict” ICE operations with local authorities, which she agreed to do.

Whitehouse urged Noem to send the message down ICE ranks to make sheriffs and other local officials aware when they are planning on carrying out an operation “in another law enforcement agency’s jurisdiction,” arguing it would help de-escalate tensions and avoid “dangerous and unprofessional nonsense.”

Noem replied “Yes, sir,” but added that she has faced issues in sanctuary jurisdictions, with ICE officers having their private information leaked to the public if operation details are provided beforehand.

“At times, we’ve run into situations in sanctuary cities or in sanctuary states we’re notifying that local law enforcement on some of these operations has doxxed them and their families and leaked a law enforcement operation which puts people’s lives in jeopardy,” she said. “So they absolutely want to work with Cooperative local law enforcement….but I will tell you that our law enforcement are being doxxed at unprecedented levels.”

Noem said the threat of an attack by Islamic terrorists against the United States was up in the days since the Trump administration launched attacks on Iran.

“Now we’re, we’re engaged in military action against the mothership of terrorism, Iran, which I hope will sink pretty soon,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said. “Do you think the threat level against the United States is up or down when it comes to radical Islamic terrorists?”

“It’s up,” Noem said.

“It’s up? So you mean they actually may want to come here and hit us because we hit them in Iran,” Graham said.

Graham lambasted Democrats for not allowing DHS funding to move forward amid the partial government shutdown, adding that it was putting U.S. security at risk.

“America’s under siege now, likely to be attacked because radical Islam is under siege, and they’re going to hit back. We’re sitting here looking at each other and not funding,” Graham said.

Graham referenced a Texas resident who carried out a mass shooting in Austin over the weekend. The FBI is investigating the shooting as possible terrorism.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) accused Democrats of hypocrisy in opposing the Trump administration’s sweeping deportation agenda.

“How many people did Barack Obama deport when he was president?” he asked Noem, referring to the former Democratic president.

“More than us,” Noem replied.

“So when a Democrat deports somebody who’s here illegally, that’s good government. When a Republican does it, we’re … fascist,” Graham responded. “I just want the country to know these men and women who are trying to solve this problem that was created by our Democratic colleagues. You have no idea of the mess they inherited. This country was overrun by illegal immigrants, murderers, rapists, and just average, everyday people.”

Noem and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) engaged in a tense back-and-forth during a line of questioning related to how the DHS secretary swiftly branded Renee Good and Alex Pretti as “domestic terrorists” following their deaths during ICE-related operations.

Noem declined to retract her characterization of the two Minneapolis protesters, despite being pressed by Durbin to apologize for doing so. She conceded that “we always know that there’s room for improvement,” but argued that at the time of her controversial statements, she was relying on information from a “chaotic scene.”

“I was getting reports from the ground, from agents at the scene, and I would say that it was a chaotic scene,” Noem said. “I absolutely strive to provide factual information.”

She was interrupted by a second protester during her answer.

Durbin condemned Noem‘s oversight of DHS, accusing her of operating as if the agency is “above the law.”

“Secretary Noem and her rogue immigration agents seem to believe they are above the law and accountable only to the President and Stephen Miller’s evil vision of a hateful America,” Durbin said, referring to Trump’s senior immigration advisor.

The ranking member has been among a host of Democrats, and some Republicans, who have expressed concern about the tactics Noem has authorized ICE officers to use, particularly after the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis in January.

A protester interrupted a Senate hearing on Capitol Hill and began yelling moments before Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was slated to address the panel.

The protester screamed that Noem should “be ashamed” of herself and criticized funding being moved away from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. As the protester was swiftly escorted outside of the seated area, the protester shouted, “Abolish ICE.”

Noem immediately began her opening statement.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the top Democrat on the committee, said there is “no excuse” for violence committed by illegal immigrants, and said such individuals should be “asked to leave.”

Durbin also condemned the Trump administration for how it is going about detaining and deporting illegal immigrants, and expressed concern about the “unprecedented” deaths of migrants in ICE custody.

“If someone is in this country seeking citizenship and commits a crime, serious crime, they should be asked to leave or incarcerated. Bottom line, there’s a way to deal with immigration that is sensible and humane on both sides,” he said. “And if someone is in this country seeking citizenship and commits a crime, serious crime, they should be asked to leave or incarcerated.”

“Although immigrants as a group, commit less crime than native born Americans, there is no excuse for violence,” Durbin added. From my point of view, we need an orderly process at the border to start with.”

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said “mistakes have been made” as federal immigration authorities have sought to carry out the nation’s “largest-ever” deportation operation, a reference to the two U.S. citizens killed by federal police in Minneapolis earlier this year.

“The Trump administration has worked to deport those who don’t have a legal basis in our country. Unfortunately, in the process, some DHS officers, migrants, and protesters have felt threatened. or injured, and in very rare instances, even killed. Mistakes have been made,” Grassley said in his opening remarks.

“Let’s make it clear, one death is too many, but officers should never be threatened or harmed while enforcing our laws. And there is a clear difference between conduct protected by the First Amendment and unlawful obstruction, from my perspective,” Grassley said.

Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti were fatally shot in separate incidents when law enforcement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection took lethal action.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee as her agency remains shut down and the administration’s crackdown on immigration continues to be heavily criticized.  

The hearing is set to begin at 9 a.m.

Noem is speaking in front of the Senate Judiciary panel today at 9 a.m., but will face lawmakers once again tomorrow, this time from the House side.

The DHS secretary is scheduled to face the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday at 10 a.m.

After Noem’s testimony, House Rules Republicans have scheduled another funding vote for 4 p.m., but Democrats haven’t shown any indication they’ve changed their tune on reopening DHS.

The threat of Iran or its terrorist proxies retaliating inside the United States is driving new pressure on Democrats to reopen the Department of Homeland Security after President Donald Trump’s overnight strikes.

House Homeland Security Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) joined other Republicans on Saturday in urging Democrats to end a two-week shutdown at DHS, an agency tasked with safeguarding America against terrorist attacks.

He cited the “heightened threat landscape” after the U.S. launched strikes on Iran and past attempts by Iran to target dissidents and Trump on American soil.

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