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U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is standing by her remarks calling the acts of two American citizens shot dead by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis “domestic terrorism.”
Noem, who is overseeing U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, was pressed about her statements by Democrats and some Republicans during a Senate judiciary committee hearing on Tuesday.
In what was initially billed as an effort to root out fraud in Minnesota, the Department of Homeland Security sent hundreds of officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection to the state. They were met by protesters who organized marches, patrolled neighbourhoods for ICE activity with whistles and ferried food to immigrants too afraid to leave their homes.
Renee Good, 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, Alex Pretti, 37, who had been filming enforcement operations.
Those deaths led to cries for accountability and transparency. Noem, whose initial comments portrayed both Good and Pretti as the aggressors, has come under withering criticism by Democrats and even some Republicans, who have called for her to resign.
U.S. government officials say ICE agents fatally shot Alex Pretti at a protest in Minneapolis because he had a gun on his person and, according to U.S. President Donald Trump’s homeland security adviser Stephen Miller, was a ‘would-be assassin.’ Andrew Chang breaks down several video angles of the shooting, moment by moment, to understand how accurate the government’s initial account is.
Images provided by The Canadian Press, Reuters and Getty Images
Noem aims to provide ‘factual information’
Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the committee, repeatedly asked Noem if she would retract her statements concerning Good and Pretti, as well as her similar remarks about another U.S. citizen who survived after being shot five times in a confrontation with federal agents in Chicago.
“I was getting reports from the ground, from agents at the scene,” Noem testified, calling the situations chaotic but declining to retract or apologize for her statements. “I absolutely strive to provide factual information.”
Noem, appointed by Trump last year, faced tough questions from senators about the president’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics during the hearing, her first congressional appearance since Good and Pretti were killed. The outrage caused by their deaths prompted the Trump administration to shift its strategy, moving away from large-scale, city-focused surges and toward a more targeted approach.
Under Noem, thousands of masked federal agents have been deployed to U.S. cities, where they have swept through neighbourhoods in search of possible immigration offenders and clashed with residents and protesters.
During congressional testimony on Tuesday, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem declined to retract or apologize for her remarks in January calling two U.S. citizens shot dead by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis domestic terrorists. Accounts from local officials and bystander video contradicted her comments. Noem’s hearing was interrupted at times by shouting protesters.
Congressional Democrats have refused to agree to new funding for her department without changes to immigration enforcement practices. Funding for the 260,000-employee department lapsed last month, but most of its immigration enforcement and national security operations are deemed essential and so continue.
Noem said on Tuesday that 650 federal agents remain in Minnesota, down from about 3,000 in January.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, the committee’s Republican chairman, acknowledged in opening remarks that “mistakes have been made” by the administration but defended immigration officers, saying they “should never be threatened or harmed while enforcing our laws.”
Trump has said mass deportations are needed after high levels of illegal immigration under his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, and has defended Noem’s job performance.
House Democrats launched an effort in January to impeach Noem, saying immigration agents under her leadership have violated the civil rights of U.S. citizens, that she had blocked congressional oversight of detention centres for migrants and that she gave government contracts to Republican-affiliated firms and people connected to her close associates.
The impeachment effort is likely to fail, with the House of Representatives controlled by Republicans.
As duelling narratives continue over the fatal shooting of Minneapolis woman Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent, a new video shows the encounter from the officer’s perspective — including footage of Good appearing to turn the steering wheel and driving forward before the officer opened fire.
War in Iran raised during hearing
Grassley asked Noem about steps to protect against potential sleeper cells and terrorism amid the U.S.-Israel war against Iran. Noem did not cite specifics but said her department was taking a closer look at social media activity and interviews of immigrants who previously entered the United States.
“We are working every single day to find them and to make sure that we’re preventing the next attack,” said Noem, a former governor of South Dakota.
Trump’s immigration policies, once an area of strength, could now be a liability for Republicans trying to retain control of Congress in November midterm elections. A Reuters/Ipsos poll in February found that while a majority of Americans support deporting immigrants without legal status, about 60 per cent think immigration agents have gone too far.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican who is not seeking re-election in November, sharply criticized Noem’s handling of immigration arrests, saying her swift condemnation of Good and Pretti had eroded faith in law enforcement.
“We’re beginning to get the American people to think that deporting people is wrong. It’s the exact opposite,” Tillis said. “The way you’re going about deporting them is wrong.”
Noem is scheduled to appear before the House judiciary committee on Wednesday.
