The government’s top immigration enforcers came to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to deliver their first defense after the slaying of two American citizens in Minnesota, facing vicious attacks from Democrats who compared them to Nazis and slave patrols and suggested the head of ICE faced eternal damnation.
“How do you think Judgment Day will work for you with so much blood on your hands?” Rep. LaMonica McIver challenged acting Director Todd Lyons. “Do you think you’re going to hell?”
Mr. Lyons and the heads of the Department of Homeland Security’s other two immigration agencies were on Capitol Hill for the first time since last month’s slayings of two U.S. citizens during immigration operations in Minnesota.
They defended their agencies’ actions as carrying out the laws passed by Congress and a needed antidote to the massive border incursions of the Biden years.
But they largely refused to answer questions about the shootings, citing ongoing investigations. That deprived lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee of new substance, leaving just the theatrics.
Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, the top Democrat on the panel, called U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement a “scourge on this country” and labeled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — who did not testify — a “liar with no concern for the lives of Americans killed by the department she runs.”
Rep. Delia Ramirez, Illinois Democrat, said the agency chiefs had “used your power to perpetrate great evil.”
Rep. Dan Goldman, New York Democrat, criticized the use of masks by ICE. He said none of the law enforcement officers he worked with during his time as a prosecutor on major criminal cases needed masks.
“If you don’t want to be called a fascist regime or secret police, then stop acting like one,” he said.
Ms. McIver, who had a run-in with ICE last year that led to her facing charges of assault on federal law enforcement officers, took things the furthest, suggesting eternal damnation for Mr. Lyons.
When committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino scolded her, she was unrepentant.
“I’m just asking a question,” the congresswoman replied. “You’re always talking about religion here.”
Mr. Lyons declined to answer Ms. McIver’s challenge.
The hearing comes as Congress is barreling toward a government shutdown for Homeland Security. Democrats have said they won’t pass a new bill to fund the department without a list of reforms to the way immigration operations are carried out.
ICE has enough money to keep operating, thanks to last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill budget law, but a shutdown would affect other DHS agencies such as the Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration and Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Republicans on Tuesday largely defended DHS and accused Democrats of backing sanctuary jurisdictions, which protect illegal immigrants with criminal entanglements from being turned over to ICE.
But there were some dissonant notes.
One Republican worried about ICE’s new policy allowing entry into homes to arrest a deportation target based solely on an administrative warrant. And Mr. Garbarino seemed to jab at senior DHS officials who, in the wake of last month’s shootings, claimed Good and Pretti were domestic terrorists.
“Officials and elected leaders should not rush to judgment,” Mr. Garbarino said. “Public trust and public safety go hand in hand.”
The hearing reflected the deep divide in the country as a whole.
Rep. Lou Correa, California Democrat, said more than 70% of people arrested by ICE don’t even have a traffic ticket.
Mr. Lyons countered with statistics indicating that about 60% of detainees arrested by ICE have convictions or pending criminal charges.
Mr. Lyons also said his officers have seen a 1,400% increase in assaults over the last year, compared to a year earlier, under the Biden administration.
Rep. Dan Goldman, New York Democrat, challenged that, saying media reviews of court records last year show a 25% increase in actual assault cases filed by federal prosecutors.
Democrats repeatedly cited the case of Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old who went viral after his father’s arrest in Minnesota left him stranded and in the care of ICE officers. The agency’s critics said ICE officers were detaining the boy and tried to use him as bait to arrest his mother, too.
But Mr. Lyons said the father ran off, leaving Liam stranded, and it was ICE officers who watched over the frightened boy, took him to their vehicle and played videos to occupy him, and even took him to McDonald’s for a snack.
“Law enforcement took care of the child after the father abandoned him,” Mr. Lyons said.
He flatly rejected accusations that ICE is targeting U.S. citizens — “We don’t walk around on the streets asking people about their American citizenship” — and rebuffed claims that the agency is building a database to track protesters.
“There is no database of protesters, sir,” Mr. Lyons told Mr. Correa, later adding, “I can assure you there is no database that’s tracking United States citizens.”
Democrats countered with video and images of tense encounters.
In one, a Border Patrol agent appeared to blast pepper spray in the face of a man being wrestled to the ground by several other agents.
Rep. Seth Magaziner, Rhode Island Democrat, said that was excessive force.
“He was already pinned to the ground by three other agents,” the congressman said.
“The subject was clearly not compliant,” countered Rodney Scott, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.
While the officials declined to talk about the slayings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, they did say the situation escalated in Minnesota because local authorities refused to assist in controlling unruly protesters.
Without that assistance, Homeland Security had to pour extra manpower into the region to provide its own protection for officers attempting to make arrests.
Mr. Scott said DHS has made similar enforcement surges in other places without the same kind of high-profile resistance or backlash. He blamed “paid agitators” for stirring things up in Minneapolis.
“Without that, you wouldn’t even have an idea most of these arrests are taking place,” Mr. Scott said.
Mr. Lyons said the situation has calmed in recent days in Minneapolis because local authorities are now responding to help control crowds.
“We’ve seen a de-escalation,” he said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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