Kristi Noem defends Trump’s immigration policies before departing early from hearing

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem’s appearance before the House Homeland Security Committee on Thursday morning was billed as a discussion about global threats the United States faces, but her role in the Trump administration’s immigration policies is in the spotlight.

She defended her oversight of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, including signing off on sending more than 130 Venezuelan men to a Salvadoran megaprison this year under the Alien Enemies Act. Noem took lawmakers’ questions for about two hours before departing mid-hearing, saying she had to attend a meeting for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s review council.

Republican lawmakers largely praised Noem and the administration’s actions, while Democrats leveled accusations that her agency has resisted oversight and been untruthful.

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (Mississippi), the top Democrat on the committee, ended a blistering critique of Noem’s tenure by calling on her to resign rather than “wasting your time and ours with more corruption, lies and lawlessness.”

Democratic members of the House Homeland Security Committee listed several questions they had for DHS Secretary Kristi L. Noem had she not left the hearing before it ended.

Pablo José Hernández (D), the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico and a nonvoting member of Congress, said he wanted to ask Noem about “the atrocities” that DHS enforcement is causing in Puerto Rico, noting that an individual living in the United States legally was detained without proper justification.

“I wanted to ask Mrs. Noem if DHS policies allow CBP agents to detain persons who are legally in the United States,” he said. “Unfortunately, I predict that she would not have given us adequate answers based on the answers that she has provided to my colleagues here today.”

Noem was interrupted by protesters at the start of her opening remarks at Thursday’s hearing on Capitol Hill.

“Get ICE off our streets. Stop terrorizing our communities,” one protester shouted as he was escorted out of the hearing room by law enforcement.

In her opening remarks, Noem praised the administration’s operation to seize an oil tanker near the Venezuelan coast Wednesday, saying the move was part of an ongoing campaign to pressure drug traffickers and their funders as tensions rise with President Nicolás Maduro’s regime.

Noem confirmed that the operation was led by the U.S. Coast Guard, in conjunction with the Defense and Justice departments.

The effort was conducted to “ensure we are pushing back on a regime that is systematically covering and flooding our country with deadly drugs and killing the next generation of Americans,” Noem told Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who had praised the administration’s efforts on immigration enforcement and asked her to talk more about the seizure of the tanker.

The Trump administration, as part of a pressure campaign on Maduro, has accused the country of sending large amounts of drugs into the United States. The Pentagon has conducted several strikes targeting purported drug-smuggling boats, killing the people aboard without providing public evidence that they were conducting illegal operations.

Homeland Security Committee Chairman Andrew R. Garbarino (R-N.Y.) heaped praise on Noem and the Trump administration’s handling of the border and immigration policy in his opening statements. However, Thompson, the top Democrat on the panel, delivered a scathing rebuke of Noem’s work. Thompson also heavily criticized FBI Director Kash Patel for choosing not to appear before the committee.

Thompson also listed other actions Noem has taken as Homeland Security secretary, including the deportation of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, the deportation of migrants to South Sudan, and blocking members of Congress from conducting oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities.

“At your direction, DHS has torn out, beaten and detained hundreds, if not thousands, of American citizens,” he said.

Additionally, Thompson accused Noem of hiding from congressional oversight and ignoring requests for information from lawmakers. Noem, he noted, has appeared before Congress fewer times than her Democratic predecessor, Alejandro Mayorkas.

“You are making America less safe,” Thompson said.

Noem’s testimony comes amid media reports that her time at DHS could be tenuous. Trump and White House officials, however, have denied that the president is unhappy.

During her testimony, Noem noted the National Guard shooting in D.C. in late November that killed one young Guard member and left another in serious condition.

“The terrorist who shot them was an Afghan national who entered the United States under Operation Allies Welcome,” Noem said. “The same week, we arrested another Afghan national who came in under the same program. He was planning to carry out a bombing in Fort Worth, Texas.”

The shooting suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is an Afghan national who came to the United States in 2021 after the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan and who has been charged with murder, assault and firearms offenses.

Noem also said that DHS is “securing our borders” and emphasized the administration’s tough immigration policy.

“We’re ending illegal immigration, returning sanity back to our immigration system,” she said. “We have sent a strong message to criminal illegal aliens that we will find you, we will arrest you, and we will deport you.”

FBI official Michael Glasheen also came under questioning by Thompson when Glasheen told the committee that the agency agrees with Trump that antifa is the nation’s top violent domestic security threat. But Glasheen could not offer details about where antifa is headquartered or how many members it has.

Representatives questioning Noem alternated between soft and sharp questions.

Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) accused Noem of “lying to the American people” and asked her to resign, Noem replied: “I will consider you asking me to resign as an endorsement of my work.” Some in the hearing room laughed.

Noem told lawmakers that DHS and the Trump administration will comply “with all federal court orders.”

“We always have,” she said.

Thanedar responded: “Not true.”

In March, the administration deported migrants to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act, despite a judge’s order for flights carrying the migrants to turn around.