WASHINGTON (CN) - Top officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol sparred with House lawmakers Tuesday as Democrats demanded they answer for the Trump administration's aggressive and deadly crackdown on Minneapolis and other cities across the country.
But the immigration enforcement leaders, which included acting ICE director Todd Lyons and Border Patrol commissioner Rodney Scott, defended their agents' response to what they referred to as "unprecedented" interference from protesters and claimed immigration officers had been victimized by rhetoric on Capitol Hill.
The Trump administration's pugilistic approach to immigration enforcement has come under fire from both sides of the aisle in recent weeks after two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed by federal agents in Minnesota. Outrage over the killings has led to a protracted battle in Washington over funding for the Department of Homeland Security which threatens to shut the agency down as early as this week.
Amid the political fallout, Lyons and Scott appeared before the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday morning and were eager to frame President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown as a necessary step to stop crime.
"The men and women of ICE have been empowered to do exactly what they're trying to do - arrest and remove illegal aliens and criminals from our communities," said Lyons. "We are enhancing public safety, securing our national security and finally restoring integrity to the immigration system that has been allowed to collapse."
Scott, whose agency traditionally operates along the U.S. border and at points of entry into the country, cited Border Patrol's "support" of ICE operations in the interior which he said helped remove "dangerous criminals" and people here illegally.
The ICE and Border Patrol crackdowns in places such as Minneapolis, Chicago and Portland have resulted in major protest activity, as residents took to the streets to push back on what some lawmakers and advocates have called a federal takeover of U.S. cities. Federal agents have in many cases responded to those demonstrations with tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray - and have shot several people including Pretti and Good.
Still, both Lyons and Scott pinned the blame for escalating tensions on the protesters, as well as members of Congress who they said are putting federal agents in danger by comparing them to secret police.
"Our officers and agents are increasingly facing an unprecedented level of aggressive interference and intimidation when executing the laws that you have asked them to enforce," said Scott, claiming demonstrations against immigration enforcement were "coordinated and well-funded."
Lyons pointed to comments from elected officials comparing ICE agents to the Gestapo, Nazi Germany's infamous secret police division, and said such characterizations contributed to rising assaults on federal agents and threats against them and their families.
But the officials' testimony was met with incredulity by Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee, who contended the Trump administration invited comparisons to the Nazis or the Soviet Union with its conduct.
In one particularly heated exchange with Lyons, New York Representative Dan Goldman pointed to reports that Americans have repeatedly been stopped in the street by federal agents demanding to see proof of U.S. citizenship.
The ICE director denied his agents had engaged in such behavior, telling the Democratic congressman that ICE conducts "targeted, intelligence-driven operations."
"We don't walk around the streets asking people about their American citizenship," Lyons said.
But Goldman was unconvinced. "You said in your opening statement that references to ICE as the Gestapo or secret police encourages threats against ICE agents," he said. "The problem is, you have it backwards. People are simply making valid observations about your tactics, which are un-American and outright fascist."
The ICE director was visibly frustrated by the New York Democrat's suggestion, telling the lawmaker at one point that he was asking "the wrong type of question."
Though both Lyons and Scott were keen to defend their agents against what they said were unfair attacks by lawmakers and opponents of the Trump administration, they were tight-lipped about the recent killings of Pretti and Good in Minneapolis.
Under questioning from Michigan Representative Shri Thanedar, the Border Patrol commissioner largely declined to answer questions about Pretti's shooting and would not weigh in on statements from his agency's former operation lead Greg Bovino that the 37-year-old nurse had set out to murder federal agents.
Scott also refused to comment on statements from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Vice President JD Vance immediately following Pretti's death that characterized him as a "domestic terrorist."
Instead, the Border Patrol chief repeatedly said that he would not comment on an ongoing investigation - the Homeland Security Department is currently reviewing the circumstances surrounding Pretti's death at the hands of his agents.
Asked by Thanedar whether Pretti was exercising his Second Amendment rights by legally carrying a handgun at the time of his killing, Scott said he believes every U.S. citizen "has a right to their constitutional rights."
Lyons similarly told California Representative Eric Swalwell that he would not comment on the investigation into Good, who was killed in her car last month by ICE agents. He also declined to apologize to the victim's family for Trump officials' framing of the incident but said he would "welcome the opportunity" to speak to the victim's family "in private."
Asked by Swalwell whether any ICE agents had been fired for their conduct since the agency's immigration enforcement began, Lyons demurred further. "I'm not going to talk about personnel actions," the ICE chief said.
On the Republican side of the dais, some lawmakers took a more measured approach to the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
Homeland Security Committee chairman and New York Representative Andrew Garbarino called the killings of Pretti and Good "unacceptable and preventable," and like many of his colleagues called for a "complete and impartial investigation" into both shootings. But he also called attention to increased threats to law enforcement officers and accused state and local governments of refusing to protect federal agents.
"A rules-based order is not one-sided," said Garbarino. "Enforcing immigration law and defending all Americans' constitutional rights, including the rights to peacefully protest, bear arms and privacy are not mutually exclusive."
Still, other GOP lawmakers on the panel joined Lyons and Scott in their criticism of anti-immigration enforcement protests, suggesting that some groups organizing demonstrations were domestic terrorists.
Texas Representative August Pfluger pointed to reports about Defend the 612, a community organizing group based in Minneapolis, which he said used encrypted messaging platforms such as Signal to provide information to "encourage protesters to impede law enforcement" and put people in "legally and physically risky" confrontations.
According to Defend the 612's website, the group provides resources for people to organize "rapid response" demonstrations against immigration enforcement activity and to monitor federal agents. A disclaimer on the site says that Defend the 612 "does not promote, endorse or condone behavior that involves violence or threats to human safety or well-being."
Pfluger, though, urged Democrats on the committee to look into the organization and decide whether it was "domestic terrorism."
"I hope that if this is domestic terrorism, or if we have a group that's on Signal that is calling out agents and doing things to interrupt, intercede and prevent law enforcement from carrying out the laws that this body passed, that you'll have the courage to call it domestic terrorism, if it is that way," said the Texas Republican.
As House lawmakers clashed with ICE and Border Patrol officials Tuesday, Democrats and Republicans remained in a deadlock over a bill to fund the Homeland Security Department for the rest of the year. Democrats have demanded a raft of reforms in exchange for their support in the Senate, but GOP leadership has so far rejected their requests.
A stopgap budget that's kept DHS funded for the past two weeks is set to expire Thursday night.
Source: Courthouse News Service
