October 1, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended her department's immigration enforcement tactics in front of a Senate committee on Tuesday and pushed back against criticism from Democrats who say she wrongly disparaged two activists killed by federal officers in Minneapolis earlier this year.
It was Noem’s first congressional appearance since the shooting deaths of the two activists galvanized widespread opposition to how the Trump administration is executing its mass deportation agenda, a centerpiece policy of President Donald Trump's second term.
In the hearing, Noem defended her agency’s treatment of immigrants caught up in enforcement activities and blamed activists and others for attacks against officers.
“I want to address the dangerous environment that our ICE officers face on the streets today," Noem said. “They are facing a serious and escalating threat as a result of deliberate mischaracterizations of their heroic work and rhetoric that demonizes our law enforcement.”
Since the deaths in Minneapolis, the administration has taken steps meant to tone down tensions, including drawing down the operation there. Noem said about 650 investigators remain in Minnesota as part of a broader fraud probe.
The immigration tactics of Noem's department have triggered a clash in Congress over its routine funding, which remains unresolved, although a spending bill passed last year granted it a significant infusion of cash for the Republican administration’s mass deportation policy. Noem called the partial shutdown “reckless” and blamed Democrats for putting national security at risk.
In what was initially billed as an effort to root out fraud in Minnesota, Homeland Security sent hundreds of officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to the state. They were met by activists who organized marches, patrolled neighborhoods for ICE activity with whistles, and ferried food to immigrants too afraid to leave their homes.
Renee Good 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, who had been filming enforcement operations.
Those deaths led to cries for accountability and transparency. Noem's initial comments portrayed both Good and Pretti as the aggressors.
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee, repeatedly questioned Noem about her initial comments and called on her to apologize.
Noem said she was relying on information from people on the scene and blamed “violent protesters” for contributing to the chaos officers encountered.
After public outrage over the deaths, Trump sent border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to take control of operations on the ground there. Homan has since announced a drawdown of the ICE and CBP officers who had been sent to Minnesota to carry out what had been dubbed Operation Metro Surge, although he’s been adamant that the president’s mass deportation agenda will continue.
Republicans largely kept the focus on the large numbers of migrants who came into the country under former President Joe Biden, portraying Noem as cleaning up the former administration’s mess.
Noem did face sharp criticism from one Republican, Sen. John Kennedy from Louisiana, who pushed her to explain why her department paid more than $200 million for an ad campaign she appeared in last year encouraging migrants to leave the country voluntarily, and questioned whether Trump knew about the price tag ahead of time.
Noem defended those ads, saying they were effective and went through the regular department bidding process.
Homeland Security officials have often blamed conflicts in places where they’re carrying out immigration enforcement activities, like Minneapolis and Chicago, as the fault of Democratic politicians who, they say, encourage people to oppose officers as they try to make arrests.
Share with others
