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Kristi Noem set to face senators over DHS shutdown, immigration enforcement

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− By Ximena Bustillo , Meg Anderson Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is sworn in as she testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 3.
+ By Ximena Bustillo , Meg Anderson Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
− The Department of Homeland Security has faced criticism over it's handling of immigration enforcement leaving the department unfunded.
+ The Department of Homeland Security has faced criticism over its handling of immigration enforcement leaving the department unfunded.
− Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is testifying before members of the Senate amid a pause in funding to her agency and increased bipartisan scrutiny of her leadership.
+ Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified before members of the Senate on Tuesday amid a pause in funding to her agency and increased bipartisan scrutiny of her leadership.
The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down for nearly a month after lawmakers failed to negotiate a budget deal to fund the agency and agree on changes to how immigration officers operate.
− Noem, in addition to highlighting the Trump administration's accomplishments under this administration, told lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee how the shutdown is affecting regular Americans, including making air travel more difficult.
+ Politics 5 things to know about the shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security Noem told lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee how the DHS shutdown is affecting regular Americans, including making air travel more difficult.
"Senate Democrats who have chosen not to fund the department and have held this department hostage," she said in her opening remarks. "As a result, critical national security missions, including border security, immigration enforcement, aviation security, disaster response, cyber security and the protection of critical infrastructure are all being strained," she said, adding that the agency is also struggling to prepare for World Cup security.
− Watch Noem testify at 9 a.m.
+ The hearing was broader than the partial shutdown, though.
− ET Tuesday: But the focus is on how Noem has been pursuing President Trump's mass deportation efforts in his second term.
+ Its focus was on how Noem has been pursuing President Trump's mass deportation efforts in his second term.
DHS is the agency that oversees both Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
− Republicans called for the hearing just days after CBP officers shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January.
+ Here were some key moments: Republicans called for the hearing just days after CBP officers shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January.
Pretti was the second U.S. citizen killed by federal immigration officers in the city after Renee Macklin Good's death at the hands of an ICE officer earlier in the month.
− Noem drew bipartisan scrutiny for labeling Good and Pretti domestic terrorists shortly after their deaths.
+ Noem drew bipartisan scrutiny for labeling Good and Pretti "domestic terrorists" shortly after their deaths.
− Last month, leadership of ICE and CBP said neither they nor anyone under their command had provided information to Noem to lead to that conclusion.
+ Minneapolis shootings and protests The ICE surge is fueling fear and anxiety among Twin Cities children Other Republicans also denounced Noem's labeling of Pretti as a domestic terrorist in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
When asked by Sen.
− Dick Durbin about what information lead to those statements, Noem said had reports from agents on the ground.
+ Dick Durbin, the panel's top Democrat, about what information led to those statements, Noem said it came from reports from agents on the ground during a chaotic moment.
− Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said ahead of Noem's testimony that he looked forward to hearing how she would address that violence.
+ "And you believe calling victims of that violence domestic terrorists as a way to calm the scene?" Durbin asked her.
− "Let me be clear, one death is too many.
+ "These violent terrorists have put them in a situation where – it's unprecedented what these agents have faced," Noem responded, before admitting there's always "room for improvement" in how to address a situation. An initial report in late January from the oversight arm of CBP contradicted the narrative of Pretti's death.
− But officers should never be threatened or harmed while enforcing our laws.
+ And last month, the heads of ICE, CBP and U.S.
− And there is a clear difference between the conduct protected by the First Amendment and unlawful obstruction," Grassley said. "From my perspective, I believe immigration enforcement and dignity aren't mutually exclusive." Legal experts have told NPR that much of the activity the government says amounts to obstruction — like observing and filming immigration officers — is constitutionally protected.
+ Citizenship and Immigration Services, another agency within DHS, also testified before the House and Senate and declined to back Noem's narrative about Pretti's death.
− Politics Senate Democrats and Republicans call for investigation into killing of Alex Pretti Some Democratic senators lamented the five-week gap between Pretti's death and the hearing.
+ Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, also called the deaths lamentable but said officers should not have been threatened.
− "With all of the violence and deaths involving DHS, the Secretary is apparently in no hurry to account for her mismanagement of this national crisis.
+ Immigration Internal review contradicts White House narrative of Pretti's death "Let me be clear, one death is too many.
− And she expects us to rubber stamp her record-breaking budget in the meantime," Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement in late January. Noem faced bipartisan criticism over how her agency handled the immigration surge in Minnesota, where about 3,000 federal officers were deployed before a recent drawdown.
+ But officers should never be threatened or harmed while enforcing our laws.
− The immigration operation has created an atmosphere of intense fear and chaos in the state.
+ And there is a clear difference between the conduct protected by the First Amendment and unlawful obstruction," Grassley said at the start of the hearing.
− During the hearing, Noem said 650 DHS agents remain in the state and they are focusing on fraud-related investigations.
+ "From my perspective, I believe immigration enforcement and dignity aren't mutually exclusive." Legal experts have told NPR that much of the activity the government is claiming amounts to obstruction – like observing and filming immigration officers – is constitutionally protected.
− Although there has been some bipartisan scrutiny of Noem's leadership at the hearing, lawmakers largely stuck to party lines.
+ Beyond the deaths of U.S.
− Democrats were critical of Noem's spending, arrest tactics and deportation targets.
+ citizens, Noem faced bipartisan criticism over how her agency handled the immigration surge in Minnesota, where about 3,000 federal officers were deployed before a recent drawdown.
− Republicans broadly defended the administration's goal of mass deportations.
+ The immigration operation has created an atmosphere of intense fear and chaos in the state.
− Minneapolis shootings and protests The ICE surge is fueling fear and anxiety among Twin Cities children Earlier this year, immigration officers for weeks also deployed aggressive tactics against Minnesotans protesting and observing their actions.
+ During the hearing, Noem said 650 DHS agents remain in the state and they are focusing on fraud-related investigations.
− Regarding the shutdown, Democrats have spelled out a list of 10 demands to change the behavior of immigration officers, but finding consensus has been tough. Some asks, such as requiring immigration officers to wear body cameras, have bipartisan support.
+ Earlier this year, immigration officers for weeks also deployed aggressive tactics against Minnesotans protesting and observing their actions.
− There is also some bipartisan interest in looking into the kinds of warrants DHS uses.
+ Although there was some bipartisan scrutiny of Noem's leadership at the hearing, lawmakers largely stuck to party lines.
− Noem told lawmakers that immigration officers have used administrative warrants, which are not signed by a judge, 400,000 times but only 28 times to enter a home.
+ Democrats were critical of Noem's spending, arrest tactics and deportation targets.
− But GOP lawmakers have pushed back on other demands, such as prohibiting agents from wearing masks to conceal their identities. Republicans say doing so would make it easier for people to dox federal officers.
+ GOP members of the committee had a range of questions including on the domestic terrorism label and advertisements encouraging immigrants to self-deport – an ad campaign worked on by a firm run by the husband of the former chief DHS spokesperson, according to reporting by ProPublica.
− And generally, Republicans oppose the ongoing shutdown of the agency. Noem said about 100,000 employees are working without pay.
+ Noem declined being involved with the contracting process and told senators that Trump knew she was doing an ad campaign.
− Politics 5 things to know about the shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security Noem's leadership questioned Although there has been some bipartisan scrutiny of Noem's leadership at the hearing, lawmakers largely stuck to party lines.
+ Law Legal experts say Kristi Noem's airport video breaks the law.
− Democrats were critical of Noem's spending, arrest tactics and deportation targets.
+ Penalties are unlikely "They were effective in your name recognition.
− Republicans broadly defended the administration's goal of mass deportations. Still, GOP members of the committee had a range of questions including on that domestic terrorism label and advertisements encouraging immigrants to self-deport – an ad campaign worked on by the . A firm run by the husband of the former chief DHS spokesperson, according to reporting by Propublica. "They were effective in your name recognition.
To me it puts the president in a terribly awkward spot," Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said.
− In the wake of the shootings in Minnesota, some Republican senators called for Noem's resignation, including Sen.
+ In the wake of the shootings in Minnesota, some Republican senators called for Noem's resignation, including Senate Judiciary Committee member Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who is not running for reelection, and Sen.
− Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who is not running for reelection but sits on the Senate Judiciary committee, and Sen.
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
− Other Republicans denounced Noem's labeling of Pretti as a "domestic terrorist" in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Since then, an initial report from the oversight arm of CBP contradicted the narrative of Pretti's death.
+ "The fact that you can't admit to a mistake, which looks like under investigation, is going to prove that Ms.
− And last month, the heads of ICE, CBP and U.S.
+ Good and Mr.
− Citizenship and Immigration Services, another agency within DHS, also testified before the House and Senate and declined to back Noem's narrative about Pretti's death. Immigration Internal review contradicts White House narrative of Pretti's death Under Noem's leadership, DHS has been at the epicenter of the Trump administration's ambitious effort to detain and deport one million people living in the U.S.
+ Pretti probably should not have been shot in the face and in the back," Tillis said.
− without legal status each year.
+ "Law enforcement needs to learn from that.
− During Trump's first year in office, the agency claims it deported more than 675,000 people.
+ You don't protect them by not looking after the facts." Tillis also threatened to block nominees and bills from advancing the committee to floor votes if he did not get answers soon regarding immigration enforcement in North Carolina.
− According to an analysis by the Deportation Data Project, a coalition of academics and lawyers who track and publish immigration enforcement data, the number of deportations from the interior of the country, away from the border, increased nearly fivefold during the first nine months of Trump's second term.
+ "And in two weeks, if I don't get a response, I'm going to deny quorum and mark up in as many committees as I can until I get a response," he fumed. Democrats have spelled out a list of 10 demands to change the behavior of immigration officers, but finding consensus has been tough.
− The administration roughly tripled the number of detention beds for people arrested within the country, the analysis also found.
+ Some asks, such as requiring immigration officers to wear body cameras, have bipartisan support.
− Noem has also overseen a hiring surge to bring on thousands of new ICE officers, which has led some immigrant advocates to question the quality of training those officers are receiving.
+ Noem agreed that the body camera program needed more congressional funding. There is also some bipartisan interest in looking into the kinds of warrants DHS uses.
− She also allowed CBP, an agency with a history of excessive force, to take on a greater role enforcing the president's immigration agenda throughout the interior of the country.
+ Noem told lawmakers that immigration officers have used administrative warrants, which are not signed by a judge, 400,000 times but only 28 times to enter a home.
− To some extent, DHS' immigration agenda has been curbed by federal courts, including the Supreme Court.
+ But GOP lawmakers have pushed back on other demands, such as prohibiting agents from wearing masks to conceal their identities.
− Federal district judges have blocked the agency from using wartime powers to expedite deportations, for instance, and ordered some deportees returned to the U.S.
+ Republicans say doing so would make it easier for people to dox federal officers.
− Law Legal experts say Kristi Noem's airport video breaks the law.
+ And generally, Republicans oppose the ongoing shutdown of the agency.
− Penalties are unlikely Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, sailed through her Senate confirmation last year as a vocal supporter of Trump's immigration agenda. But her tenure has also faced questions about how she's handled other agency responsibilities, including her management of national disaster relief and resources through FEMA.
+ Noem said about 100,000 employees are working without pay.
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