▶ 0:16:09Chair Grassley: Obviously interest in this hearing. I want to thank the secretary for coming. Before I give my opening statement and senator durbin gives his opening statement, I think we can expect in a hearing this important that we should have the utmost of decorum
▶ 0:16:46Chair Grassley: During this hearing. We need to treat each other with respect. I hope the people in this audience will likewise treat this very important oversight hearing with the respect that it deserves. Secretary noem, if you get cut off before you are able to answer, I will give you time to finish your answer after the member's time has run out.
▶ 0:17:19Chair Grassley: If any time you need a break, please let me know. I think we had a request from your office that we can take a five minute break halfway through the meeting but if you want other breaks, just let us know. For all the members, there is a 10 minute round of questioning and I am pretty liberal if you've got five seconds left in your 10 minutes and you start
▶ 0:17:51Chair Grassley: Your question before the five seconds run out, I will let you finish your question but do not extend it into a five minute speech because we have to keep pretty much on time here. Once again, I welcome everybody to the judiciary committee's oversight hearing for the department of homeland security.
▶ 0:18:17Chair Grassley: This hearing comes amid a democrat led funding shut down for the secret service, fema, tsa and the coast guard. These agencies are vital to keeping our country safe.
▶ 0:18:35Chair Grassley: They hearing also comes as our military engages with iran and I offer my prayers and thoughts to our brave servicemen and those families who have lost loved ones. Now more than ever I hope the democrats will decide to end the shut down. The trump administration has worked to deport those who do not have a legal basis in our country.
▶ 0:19:06Chair Grassley: Unfortunately six in the process, some dhs officers migrants and protesters have felt threatened, were injured and in very rare instances even killed. Mistakes have been made. Let's make it clear, one death is too many but officers should never be threatened or harmed while enforcing our laws.
▶ 0:19:38Chair Grassley: And there is a clear difference between content protected by the first amendment and unlawful obstruction. From my perspective I believe immigration enforcement and dignity are not mutually inclusive. Secretary noem, I look forward to hearing how you address these important issues while continue the department's mission.
▶ 0:20:09Chair Grassley: Your department's mission is one of the most challenging in government. The responsibilities of the department of homeland security are immense. Your department operates in a dynamic environment with increased threats against officers. According to dhs, I.c.e. Officers have faced an 8000% increase of threats. I.c.e.
▶ 0:20:36Chair Grassley: Officers have faced a more than 1300% increase in assaults. Federal law enforcement officers risk their lives finding and arresting criminals. Those criminals have committed murder, sexual assault on women and children and many have been part of criminal gangs. According to dhs, I.c.e. Has arrested tens of thousands of potential national security risks.
▶ 0:21:08Chair Grassley: I.c.e. Has arrested over 1500 known or suspected terrorists and made over 7000 gang arrests. Criminals like this destroy the lives of innocent people and have no business being in our country. And many of them are here because the biden administration's shameful open border policy.
▶ 0:21:36Chair Grassley: Under your leadership the department has renewed focus on removing criminals from our neighborhoods. You have also accomplished what many of my democratic colleagues have said could only be done through new laws. But you did it by securing the border and president trump did as well. In 2025 border crossings increased 93%.
▶ 0:22:05Chair Grassley: According to dhs and customs and border patrol, zero illegal immigrants were released into the country for 10 consecutive months. Customs and border protection has seized over 16,000 pounds of drugs. For more than a decade I have done oversight of unaccompanied migrant children.
▶ 0:22:33Chair Grassley: The biden administration lost track of thousands of children. The biden administration disgracefully released children improperly fitted -- improperly vented including gas stations, movie theaters and even disney world. That should shock the conscience of every american and we all love children.
▶ 0:23:02Chair Grassley: The trump administration has located over 145 thousand of these children lost by biden's open-door policy. Thank god for finding those children. The department has taken important steps to ensure these children are located and removed from harm.
▶ 0:23:29Chair Grassley: The examples I just shared our communities safe. The example of secretary noem, you have also been more responsible than your predecessors. I say how you have been responsive but to be intellectually honest, from the previous administration, that is a low bar to overcome.
▶ 0:24:03Chair Grassley: In august of last year you provided updates regarding my long-standing afghanistan evacuee oversight. Since 2021 I have investigated the biden administration's failure to vet afghan evacuees. The biden administration had vetting failures from the public and moreover inspectors general have since confirmed these vetting failures.
▶ 0:24:29Chair Grassley: As one example, the biden administration failed to vet evacuees against all available defense department tactical data prior to being paroled. On september 9 last year, dhs told my office that as of august 12, 2025 thousands of operation out welcomed -- thousands of operation allies welcomed
▶ 0:24:59Chair Grassley: Parolees. The biden state department will convey special immigration visa to afghan nationals charged with shooting two national guardsmen here in washington, D.C.
▶ 0:25:15Chair Grassley: According to the biden state department at that time, the terrorist, "poses no threat to international security." the biden administration's failure to put this country at risk. Yet, my democratic colleagues keep trying to ignore that historical fact. We all know I am a strong supporter of inspector generals and oversight.
▶ 0:25:55Chair Grassley: Inspector general cuffari says he has been restricted from speaking about that classified report. That report is about covid testing of the transferred theory -- transportation security administration security screening.
▶ 0:26:17Chair Grassley: I hosted last year a bicameral bipartisan classified meeting with senior dhs officials on that matter to do what I can to bring about transparency. I asked the inspector general cuffari to attend but he declined, asserting that there was a memo in the department preventing him from doing so.
▶ 0:26:43Chair Grassley: I have also commissioned the government accountability office to review the matter relating to that classified report. Government accountability office has said they have been unable to obtain possession of the report and access to relevant cafeteria security administration personnel. Inspector general and the government accountability office helped bring about transparency and we all know transparency brings accountability to government.
▶ 0:27:15Chair Grassley: Secretary noem, if what my office has been told is accurate, these matters should have been ironed out a long time ago. If that is not accurate, you can tell me. Lastly, after your confirmation, you worked with me to restore three whistleblowers to their jobs. Thank you for helping me but more importantly, thank you for bringing justice to those people.
▶ 0:27:43Chair Grassley: Because those whistleblowers faced tremendous retaliation for just reporting what the government should have been doing. They blew the whistle on the failure to comply with dna fingerprint act of 2025. -- 2005. By executive order president trump has required compliance with that wall. Now those whistleblowers have been elevated to supervisory roles. They will receive back pay to cover years of financial losses.
▶ 0:28:15Chair Grassley: For two of them who needed it, their law enforcement credentials, badges and firearms were reauthorized. Often I say whistleblowers are treated like skunks at a picnic. And these were treated by and these were treated like skunks by the previous administration. That administration failed to do right by these whistleblowers.
▶ 0:28:43Chair Grassley: I appreciate your leadership in righting the wrongs against those patriotic whistleblowers. Senator durbin.
▶ 0:28:48Chair Durbin: Thank you. Thank you for holding this oversight hearing. After months of excuses and delays from secretary noem, we finally gather together. When I was the chair I restored this committee's long-standing tradition of regular oversight hearings with the secretary of homeland security. Today's hearing is long overdue. We are joined today by friends and family members of individuals currently in I.c.e. Detention or who have been deported.
▶ 0:29:19Chair Durbin: I thank them for traveling here today. This is a reminder that the policies implanted by dhs under your leadership have a devastating impact on the lives of real people. Let me also say a word to the families who have been the victim of violence by immigrants. Although violence has occurred, there is no excuse for violence and what you have gone through is just a terrible situation that I willingly acknowledge.
▶ 0:29:51Chair Durbin: From my point of view we need a process at the border to start with. Secondly we should never allow a dangerous person into this country and if someone is in this country seeking citizenship and commits a crime, they should be asked to leave or incarcerated. Bottom line. There is a way to deal with immigration that is sensible and humane on both sides.
▶ 0:30:17Chair Durbin: More than a dozen years ago two members of this committee worked with the bipartisan group under senator john mccain to write a comprehensive immigration law which dealt with many of the issues we have been working on since. It passed in the U.S. senate with over 60 votes, bipartisan, supported by business and labor and religious leaders.
▶ 0:30:43Chair Durbin: Unfortunately the republican leadership refused to take it up and it could have made it through law and avoided some of the terrible things that have occurred. Madam secretary, under your leadership, the homeland security department has been devoid of any moral compass or any respect for the rule of law. Without hesitation dhs agents have wreaked havoc in our cities.
▶ 0:31:07Chair Durbin: I have seen it in chicago and they have acted with unspeakable cruelty against children, immigrant families and american citizens. This administration cast or reckless immigration enforcement campaign is creating fear in communities and eroding the foundational tenants of our democracy. Democrats believe that congress must do its job in rein in I.c.e. Abuses by requiring immigration agents to follow the same rules of local police.
▶ 0:31:37Chair Durbin: While republicans claim that dhs shut down puts us at risk, the reality is this administration has engaged in mass layoffs of career national security officials and diverted many others from protecting the homeland of the president's mass deportation campaign. This is all while secretary noem is sitting on them to unprecedented amount of appropriated funds, more than the U.S. marine corps.
▶ 0:32:05Chair Durbin: Republicans in congress gave her this virtual decision-making power in terms of the execution of policies and she is spending nearly $300 million on a fleet of luxury private jets so she can travel in style. Really? Secretary noem has repeatedly claimed that the department is arresting the worst of the worst and making american cities safe.
▶ 0:32:34Chair Durbin: In fact, less than 14% of immigrants arrested during trump's first year in office had charges or convictions for violent criminal offenses. Less than 14%. One out of seven. Immigration agent arrived in cities without consulting local law enforcement and they roamed the streets in paramilitary gear and arrest and detain people based on the color of their skin, their accent and the language they speak.
▶ 0:33:06Chair Durbin: That is not a public safety operation. That is a paramilitary occupation. Secretary noem has made excessive force the department's default position. In my home state of illinois during the so-called operation midway blades agents violently attacked and arrested immigrants and citizens. They conducted a military style raid on an apartment complex, kicking down doors and zip tying children.
▶ 0:33:34Chair Durbin: A border patrol an american citizen multiple times, five times. She miraculously survived. After the incident the agent bragged on the internet, five shots, seven holes. This administration did not just shoot her five times.
▶ 0:33:54Chair Durbin: They called her a domestic terrorist, tried to prosecute her own drum up charges that were ultimately withdrawn and fought the public release of evidence in her case. In minnesota your agents shot and killed renee good and alex pretti, two american citizens.
▶ 0:34:18Chair Durbin: As their families struggle with these horrible tragedies, they had to fight baseless accusations of domestic terrorism from the head of the agency responsible for their loved one's death. The department has also translated the president's racist attacks into immigration policy.
▶ 0:34:39Chair Durbin: President trump has repeatedly called somali immigrants "garbage" and said that he does not want immigrants from what he calls s-hole countries. I heard him say that in the oval office repeatedly. Secretary noem responded with what she called a full travel ban on every country that has been flooding our nation with killers, leeches and entitled junkies.
▶ 0:35:06Chair Durbin: It just so happens that every country covered by the ban has a majority nonwhite population. Earlier this month the trump administration deployed border czar tom homan to minneapolis supposedly to end operation metro surge. The president is seeking poll numbers and finally recognized the american people are sick and tired of this heavily armed mass secret police agents causing chaos in our cities.
▶ 0:35:36Chair Durbin: The reality is the administration has not backed down from stephen miller's 3000 person per day arrest quota. Meeting this quota is impossible without continuing indiscriminate enforcement. There are simply not enough so-called worst of the worst to do it. I.c.e. Agents or even arresting traffic survivors -- trafficking survivors who were abused for years.
▶ 0:35:59Chair Durbin: In february 2025 dhs found an application for a trafficking visa. Today luna is still in detention. Dhs wants to cruel scheme to purchase massive warehouses for detaining immigrants. Some are designed to hold 8000 people. Our largest federal prison holds 4000 people. Listen to what the U.S. conference of catholic bishops said about this.
▶ 0:36:29Chair Durbin: The thought of holding thousands of families in massive warehouses should challenge the conscious of every american, whatever their immigration status, these are human beings created in the image and likeness of god and this is a moral inflection point for our country.
▶ 0:36:45Chair Durbin: Even with tens of billions at your disposal, the administration cannot meet the basic needs of the 65,000 people currently in immigration detention, detained individuals including children and infants subject to abusive conditions and inadequate medical care.
▶ 0:37:03Chair Durbin: This includes liam ramose, a five-year-old arrested with his father in minnesota who became ill in detention and an 18 month baby who became so sick with a respiratory illness, she was hospitalized for 10 days only to be returned to detention and denied medication. We have also seen an unprecedented number of deaths in I.c.e. Custody. Seven people died last december alone. Nine have died this year.
▶ 0:37:34Chair Durbin: This includes heraldo campos who was choked to death by guards. This avoidable tragedy was classified as a homicide. The department of homeland security's response, trying to quiet the witnesses as soon as possible. Secretary noem believes she is above the law will be accountable only to the president and stephen miller's vision of a hateful america.
▶ 0:38:05Chair Durbin: Chief judge patrick schulz of minnesota, a republican appointee, found that I.c.e. Violated at least 96 core articles in the month of january alone which he said was likely more than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence. Hundreds of federal judges have ruled more than 4440 times that I.c.e. Is detaining magnets illegally. It has not stopped there.
▶ 0:38:37Chair Durbin: This department has trampled on the fourth amendment, forcibly entering private homes and businesses without judicial warrant. The trump administration has also punished individuals for exercising their rights to free speech and peaceful under the first amendment. They revoked a student visa for writing an op-ed in america. In america. They have subpoenaed social media companies for information on americans who have criticized I.c.e.
▶ 0:39:03Chair Durbin: Agents have found the addresses of peaceful protesters and showed up to their homes to intimidate them. Now the administration is even threatening to interfere with our elections. President trump has suggested that the federal government should nationalized elections. Steve bannon recently said we will have I.c.e. Around the polls. We will never again allow an election to be stolen.
▶ 0:39:27Chair Durbin: Secretary noem went further and this is what you said, "make sure that we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to head this country and the demonstration has threads immigration enforcement if states do not turn over their voter rolls." we must ask what is president trump's endgame for this rain of state-sponsored violence against
▶ 0:39:58Chair Durbin: America's own citizens. History teaches us that immigrants are the first target with an authoritarian regime seeks to take civil rights but immigrants are never the last target. We know that donald trump does not respect the constitutional rights of many americans regardless of party. Secretary noem, this is the first time we have met. I have been on this committee more than two decades. I worked with every one of your predecessors of both political parties. I tried to meet with you before and after your confirmation.
▶ 0:40:28Chair Durbin: But you refused every request. I want to be clear, and you should know this, no official on the side of the roster or the other is above the law. You have no right to deploy immigrant agents in a paramilitary force in american cities. You swore to uphold the constitution. You have an obligation to answer questions by this committee so that accountability can begin for the terror we are witnessing in america every day.
▶ 0:40:58Chair Grassley: Would you please stand to be sworn? Do you affirm the testimony you are about to give before the committee will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god? Thank you for that positive response. Please go ahead and give your opening statement. >> [shouting]
▶ 0:41:28Chair Grassley: Ok. >> [shouting] >> you should be ashamed of yourself. >> abolish I.c.e.
▶ 0:41:48Chair Grassley: You may proceed.
▶ 0:41:50Sec. Noem: Thank you, Mr. chairman and thank you to the ranking member, senator durbin and distinguished members of this committee. I appreciate the opportunity to be with you today to talk about the important matters and work that the department of homeland security -- >> is your microphone on?
▶ 0:42:09Chair Grassley: Maybe pull the microphone closer to you, please and the red light on. Proceed.
▶ 0:42:17Sec. Noem: The department of homeland security was established in the aftermath of 9/11, one of the darkest days in our nation's history that resulted in the deaths of nearly 3000 americans. The mission that the department of homeland security had at that time was just as critical as it is today. Protect american people, prevent terrorism and defend the homeland. Every action the department of home insecurity takes is guided by that mission and that responsibility.
▶ 0:42:44Sec. Noem: Thanks to president trump's leadership and the hard work of the men and women of dhs, our department has delivered historic results and has made our communities safer. Since the start of president trump second term daily encounters along the southwest border declined by 96% compared to the biden administration's daily average. We have reached the lowest levels ever recorded in U.S. customs and border protection's history.
▶ 0:43:11Sec. Noem: In president trump's first year total border patrol apprehensions along the southwest border were less than the average of a single month under the biden administration. For 10 straight months the border patrol has released zero illegal aliens into the interior of the united states. In president trump's historic first year back in office, nearly 3 million illegal aliens have left the united states. As a result of the administration enforcement efforts from following the law.
▶ 0:43:36Sec. Noem: That includes 2.2 million who have voluntarily left and came back to their home countries and more than 675,000 attainments and deportations. A majority of the aliens arrested by immigrations and customs enforcement have a criminal record and have been charged with or convicted of secondary crimes in addition to their initial crime of being in the united states illegally. During this period I.c.e.
▶ 0:44:01Sec. Noem: Has arrested over 1500 known and suspected terrorists, more than 7700 known gang members, many of them that were allowed into this country under the biden administration. We have also reached the lowest murder rate in the last 125 years since the data was trapped.
▶ 0:44:23Sec. Noem: Under biden administration, more than 450,000 unaccompanied alien children were lost due to the dangerous open border policies that were embraced. Under president trump the department of homeland security and the department of health and human services have already located over 145,000 of these children and brought them back to their families and back to the people who care about them and we will not stop until every single one of those children is found.
▶ 0:44:52Sec. Noem: Fentanyl trafficking at the southern border is down. It has been cut by over 56% because of that secure border and the enforcement actions taken. That is compared to the same period of time in 2024. The coast guard has taken enough cocaine this past year to prevent quantities capable of killing more than 193 million americans and has kept them off of our streets.
▶ 0:45:20Sec. Noem: Total interdiction efforts under the trump administration have prevented 1.7 billion lethal doses of drugs from killing our next generation of americans. These results reflect the fact that we are enforcing the laws that congress has passed. I want to address the dangerous environment that our I.c.e. Officers face on the streets today. 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.
▶ 0:45:48Sec. Noem: Dhs has documented an 8000% increase in death threats against I.c.e. Officers and their families as well as more than 1300% increase of assaults while carrying out the lawful enforcement operations they do every single day.
▶ 0:46:07Sec. Noem: I recognize that members of this committee may hold different views about immigration policy but it is important that we distinguish between disagreements over policy and the department's operational responsibility to enforce existing law that has been passed by congress. It is our duty as a department to defend our homeland. The latest democrat lead shutdown of dhs is reckless, unnecessary and undermines the american national security and it harms the men women work at dhs and their families.
▶ 0:46:40Sec. Noem: Despite the house passing a bipartisan funding bill, it is senate democrats who have chosen not to fund the department and have held this department hostage. As a result critical national security measures including border security, immigration enforcement, aviation security, disaster response, cybersecurity and the protection of critical infrastructure are all being strained. Our ability to provide for a safe and successful world cup is being handed as well.
▶ 0:47:07Sec. Noem: More than 100,000 dedicated dhs employees are once again being asked to work without pay for the first time -- third time in five months. At a time when we have produced the most secure border in history, I removed more than 3 million illegal aliens from our country, disrupting the department responsible for those gains as indefensible.
▶ 0:47:29Sec. Noem: I want to thank the men and women of the department of homeland security for their professionalism, their dedication, their commitment to keeping america safe and continuing to show up and work even though they are not being compensated. They have kept us safe and they have patients and our success is only possible because of their sacrifice. I want to thank our families behind us to tell their testimonies and my husband for being here supporting as well.
▶ 0:47:56Sec. Noem: Thank you for the opportunity to testify and to all of the distinguished members, I look forward to your questions today. I yield back.
▶ 0:48:02Chair Grassley: I have spoken about the 10 minute times that we have. 10 minutes for me. It is on five minutes. Thank you for your testimony. The previous administration's open border policy brought millions of people to this country.
▶ 0:48:27Chair Grassley: We don't know everyone's background or intent for entering but we know that many of them had ill intent. Given the iran conflict, have what -- what steps has the department of homeland security taken to protect against sleeper cells and related terrorism?
▶ 0:48:51Sec. Noem: We work everyday with our intelligence agencies and law enforcement to make sure that we are investigating and finding any threats to the homeland here within our borders . We work with the fbi and homeland security investigation specializes in this kind of work every single day.
▶ 0:49:09Sec. Noem: Not only that we go back and we are reinventing some of the individuals in some of the programs that we have concerns about looking at social media, also going through those interviews that are necessary for some of our programs that the biden administration abused and perverted under their time there as well. We look at the fact that over the last administration when millions of people streamed across our border, we don't know who all came into our country.
▶ 0:49:36Sec. Noem: We know we have many dangerous individuals that came in unvented and we are working every single day to find them and to make sure we are preventing the next crime they will perpetuate against the american people.
▶ 0:49:50Chair Grassley: You heard in my opening statement about the inspector general's report on airport security screening after congress had been told of the report, you announced $1 million in airport security upgrades. Press reports have sources attacking you for changing the shoe removal policy. Does the $1 billion investment relate to the issue in the inspector's report?
▶ 0:50:21Chair Grassley: I have a follow-up to that.
▶ 0:50:22Sec. Noem: I cannot speak directly to that report because it is classified. I will tell you that all of the recommendations that the inspector general had in that report have already been implemented and that there was flawed data included. The $1 billion investment is necessary. At our tsa security checkpoints because it has been over a decade since a significant upgrade has happened.
▶ 0:50:47Sec. Noem: Have new technology that has been used and x-ray scanners ability to use information and new technologies to scan individuals and be more efficient allowing people to get through the security checkpoint and get to their planes on time and ensure their safety. The number one priority of tsa's security and we make sure that we are continuing to use all of the options and tools available to make sure that they are safe as they travel through our airports and airways.
▶ 0:51:12Chair Grassley: Thank you for that report. The follow-up is, I was going to ask for those details but you have given me those details. Have these details being communicated to the inspector general?
▶ 0:51:24Sec. Noem: Yes, they have. Also in regard to your comments in your opening statement, there is nothing preventing the ig from briefing members of congress. He is free to do that. We need to remember to classify the documents and use those protocols to ensure that remains classified.
▶ 0:51:40Chair Grassley: Regarding afghan evacuee oversight, you informed my office that thousands of afghan parolees were potential national security risks. Nearly 1000 were reported to be nearly 1000 were reported to bme in august of last year.
▶ 0:52:05Chair Grassley: What steps have you taken to investigate these parolees and what if any national security concerns still exist because of the previous administration's failures to vet?
▶ 0:52:20Sec. Noem: Some of the things we have implemented under president trump's to look at those individuals who came in under operation allies welcome and make sure we are reinventing those especially those who came in under the biden administration, recognizing that they were not dragging biometrics and their social media communication, how they were doing since they have come to the united states and there is a requirement under that program to come back every single year and do an interview
▶ 0:52:51Sec. Noem: To discuss with them and have conversations on what they are doing in the united states, how they are transitioning to the united states under that program and that was not being done. So we are going back and reinventing all of those individuals to know that those people want to be in our country, they want to be part of our way of life and they don't want to do us harm.
▶ 0:53:17Chair Grassley: I want you to provide an update on afghan evacuee data. As I said in the opening, the trump administration has located over 145,000 children that the previous administration lost. Your department is also performing welfare checks on his children.
▶ 0:53:44Chair Grassley: Describe the ongoing efforts that your department is taking to find children who have yet to be located and how recent welfare checks exposed previous vetting failures.
▶ 0:53:55Sec. Noem: I would say those 450,000 children who came into this country who were unaccompanied alien children were lost by the biden administration, not tracked. We have located about 145,000 of them and we have done that through the investigative work of our homeland security investigations team.
▶ 0:54:19Sec. Noem: They are phenomenal at the work they do and they specialize in child trafficking, sex trafficking and finding individuals who would perpetuate harm against our children. The one thing that has been challenging is under the biden administration the government paid sponsors in hhs to host these children and those sponsors many times we found instances where they had trafficked these children themselves.
▶ 0:54:44Sec. Noem: Under that administration we not only had children that were in this country as part of a program the government was paying individuals who were knowingly trafficking them and abusing them. That has stopped. We have gone through and found these children. We put them back with their families when we have the opportunity to do so and with loved ones who will care for them.
▶ 0:55:06Sec. Noem: Even in one case we have other countries where we have been working with them to get their children back home, where we have been prevented returning these children and helping them to be reunified. By activist judges. But we will work to ensure these individuals and these children that were abused by the trafficking over the border have the opportunity to be brought back to their families and their loved ones going forward.
▶ 0:55:30Chair Grassley: I want to bring up administrative warrants. There have been questions raised about your department's use of them and immigration laws that include complex and specialized legal processes. For the record please briefly discuss how the administration administrative warrant works and how often they are used.
▶ 0:55:54Sec. Noem: An adminstrative warrant is utilized on a regular basis because it is the process that congress has given us. It is the process you have given us to be sure that someone is given back to their home country. I would say that most of the time when it gets talked about is inaccurate. In the 400 thousand cases that I.c.e. Has used these administrative warrants, ■on the 28 times have they been used to enter a home.
▶ 0:56:24Sec. Noem: It is the legal process that we have, that we follow as given to us by congress and it has been affirmed by the supreme court is the correct way to follow the law. We will continue using this tool as it is important in the duties that the department of homeland security is responsible for.
▶ 0:56:40Chair Grassley: Under both democrat and republican presidents I have conducted oversight of employees called special government employees. By law, these employees have won 30 days per year of government work and it has been understood that a partial day is one day of work. Have you ensured the sge personnel follow all of the laws and regulations as intended?
▶ 0:57:10Sec. Noem: Yes, sir. Career officials at the department of homeland security track the data and they follow the laws and rules regarding special government employees.
▶ 0:57:21Chair Grassley: You stated that the department of government efficiency found software on your government devices that was used improperly to surveil you and other political officials. What is the status of the investigation into that matter and has any disciplinary action been taken?
▶ 0:57:42Sec. Noem: Yes, there was software that was doing surveillance on political appointees at the department of homeland security. And there was measures put in place where some people were removed from their positions and accountability measures put in place.
▶ 0:58:00Sec. Noem: We continue to monitor our systems as the agency that has trusted with cybersecurity and ensuring that our critical infrastructure is protected from hacking attempts from foreign nationals who wish to harm or individuals within this country. We take seriously the amount of software, surveillance and work that we do within the department as well.
▶ 0:58:21Chair Grassley: My 10 minutes are up. Senator durbin.
▶ 0:58:24Chair Durbin: Thank you Mr. secretary. Secretary noem, has watched horrified as immigration agents killed renee good and alex pretti. In chicago one of your border patrol agents shot miramar martinez five times after ramming her car.
▶ 0:58:46Chair Durbin: You and your agency rushed to brand these victims as "domestic terrorists." we have ample video evidence and eyewitness testimony proving you wrong. Your statements caused immeasurable pain to these families. Let me give you an opportunity to do the right thing. Do you retract these statements identifying these individuals as domestic terrorists?
▶ 0:59:08Sec. Noem: No, senator durbin. When we have these situations happen, we always offer condolences to those families and I offer mine as well. These are tragic situations and I cannot imagine what these families go through in losing a loved one.
▶ 0:59:26Sec. Noem: What I will say is we always work to provide the american people with as much information as possible, that we are relying on reports from the ground and from agents that are there and working to be transparent and will continue to do all that we can to provide the accurate information and the facts to people as we can.
▶ 0:59:44Chair Durbin: Where did you get that information? In the recent hearing before this committee cbp and I.c.e. Agents testified on old that their agencies did not inform you that alex pretti was a domestic terrorists during that hearing.
▶ 0:59:59Sec. Noem: I was getting reports from the ground from agents at the scene and I would say that it was a chaotic scene as you have seen in minneapolis and st. Paul as immigration enforcement has gone forward and we have worked at targeting the worst of the worst that many times our agents have been facing violent protesters.
▶ 1:00:21Chair Durbin: Do you believe that calling a victim a domestic terrorist is a way to calm the scene?
▶ 1:00:26Sec. Noem: They have put themselves in a situation, it is unprecedented what these agents have faced. That situation on the ground that day was chaotic.
▶ 1:00:38Chair Durbin: Can you explain why you decided to brand these victims that we all saw on video protesting the activities of your agency and they were killed as a result of it, how did you think that calling them domestic terrorists at that scene was somehow going to calm the situation?
▶ 1:00:59Sec. Noem: Senator, we are working in those situations where there is a tragic loss of life and that there is something that our agents that are involved in that we continue to --
▶ 1:01:09Chair Durbin: Is it so hard to say you were wrong?
▶ 1:01:12Sec. Noem: As these investigations continue, I absolutely strive to provide factual information --
▶ 1:01:19Chair Durbin: When you fail, do you admit it publicly?
▶ 1:01:23Sec. Noem: Absolutely. >> [shouting]
▶ 1:01:53Chair Durbin: Thank you, Mr. chairman. I want to turn to another incident where dhs is concealing the facts from the public. Geraldo campos died in dhs and claimed he killed himself. But an independent medical examiner found his death a homicide. Witnesses stated that he was strangled by the guards and in detention facilities.
▶ 1:02:18Chair Durbin: Instead of investigating this that your department tried to deport the witnesses for the crime and it took a judge intervening to ensure the fact that these witnesses remain in the country for investigation. Who ordered those witnesses be deported?
▶ 1:02:33Sec. Noem: I cannot speak to the details of that case is it continues to be investigated. I do know that within our detention facilities we have the highest federal standards of any detention facilities compared to state or other local facilities --
▶ 1:02:50Chair Durbin: There was an effort to deport the witnesses?
▶ 1:02:53Sec. Noem: I am not aware of that and I will continue to look at that. Whenever there is an incident where we have someone who works for dhs who has done something wrong, there is always an evaluation and investigation and consequences for that. We will continue to do that investigation and make sure that the right thing is done --
▶ 1:03:12Chair Durbin: Who is doing the investigation?
▶ 1:03:15Sec. Noem: Internal investigations.
▶ 1:03:17Chair Durbin: There was an investigation, is that what you are saying? An outside independent agency was part of that investigation?
▶ 1:03:25Sec. Noem: Not that I'm aware of but I may not be able to speak to the details of this case because I am not fully sure.
▶ 1:03:30Chair Durbin: And he lost his life. Last week of republican judge identified over 200 court orders that I.c.e. Agents had violated in the last two months. He wrote, "the court is not aware of another occasion in the history of the united states in which a federal court has had to threaten contempt again and again and again to force the U.S. government to comply with court orders.
▶ 1:03:59Chair Durbin: The justice department itself acknowledged that your agency has violated a court orders more than 50 times in recent weeks in one state, new jersey." sec. Noem, is dhs required to follow federal orders?
▶ 1:04:13Sec. Noem: We do comply with federal court orders.
▶ 1:04:16Chair Durbin: How do you explain that your agency has repeatedly violated court orders as your own administration has admitted?
▶ 1:04:22Sec. Noem: We follow court orders and when it is applicable to a federal agency like ours.
▶ 1:04:30Chair Durbin: Can you clarify?
▶ 1:04:32Sec. Noem: We follow court orders when they are given.
▶ 1:04:35Chair Durbin: So these judges are wrong?
▶ 1:04:37Sec. Noem: I am not saying they are wrong and I cannot speak specifically to that statement that was given.
▶ 1:04:43Chair Durbin: Let me ask you about daca. Are you familiar with the program?
▶ 1:04:49Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 1:04:50Chair Durbin: Do you understand that those people protected have to go through a background check which includes a criminal check, yes or no?
▶ 1:04:59Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 1:05:01Chair Durbin: Last year I.c.e. Arrested 261 daca holders. One was arrested by I.c.e. And a green card holder. In tears as she hugged her daughter goodbye. She was deported to mexico within 24 hours. Madam secretary, why have you deported dozens of daca holders who had to comply with a criminal background check to be eligible for daca?
▶ 1:05:28Sec. Noem: We follow all roles -- laws as applicable to the department of homeland security.
▶ 1:05:35Chair Durbin: Why did you deport them?
▶ 1:05:37Sec. Noem: I don't know the details of that specific case you just read but I will look into it. But we ensure that we follow the law that applies to our department and who we detain and who we deport back to their home countries.
▶ 1:05:49Chair Durbin: You clearly violated the law if that is the case. Let me ask you about the fact that 85% of the 400 thousand immigrants that I.c.e. Arrested during president trump's first term in office had no violent criminal record. The president said over and over in his rallies, we are going after the worst of the worst. Terrorists, murderers, rapists.
▶ 1:06:17Chair Durbin: Then it turns out that 85% of the people you have gone after have no criminal history whatsoever. How do you explain that?
▶ 1:06:22Sec. Noem: When you talk about violent crimes, what you are saying to crimes that don't matter that are affecting american lives every single day. If you are not counting dui, embezzlement, theft and you are not counting the other crimes against people and drug trafficking and proliferating that. If you don't count those as crimes, that these individuals and impacting families in this country --
▶ 1:06:50Chair Durbin: 14% of those --
▶ 1:06:53Sec. Noem: Those are not counted in your 14%. If you were counting crimes that these illegal aliens in this country committed, it would be well over 70% of the individuals detained today have those crimes on their record besides the crime of being in this country illegally.
▶ 1:07:08Chair Durbin: Can you back that up with information for me?
▶ 1:07:11Sec. Noem: Absolutely.
▶ 1:07:14Chair Durbin: I hope you will. How does taking a child from a father dying of cancer qualified?
▶ 1:07:19Sec. Noem: I don't know what you are referencing.
▶ 1:07:22Chair Durbin: Ruben torres buried his daughter when he was arrested at the home depot in illinois he said to those, your agents, please let me go home. My daughter is dying of cancer. I would like to be with her in her last days of life. They said no. They arrested him and deported him for two weeks. Finally he had a court hearing.
▶ 1:07:48Chair Durbin: 's daughter lived to see that hearing. She died two days later. I was at her memorial service. Was that really necessary? Was he a violent criminal?
▶ 1:07:59Sec. Noem: We enforce the laws for individuals in this country illegally who have final removal orders given an immigration law. We continue to follow that. If you don't like the law, I would suggest you change the law. That is what we do every single day.
▶ 1:08:17Chair Durbin: Trying to change with comprehensive immigration reform and it was stopped by the republican house of representatives.
▶ 1:08:24Sec. Noem: Our job is to follow the law and make sure we are a nation of laws. A nation that does not follow the law is no nation at all.
▶ 1:08:32Chair Durbin: I yield, Mr. chairman.
▶ 1:08:35Chair Grassley: Senator graham.
▶ 1:08:38Sen. Graham: Thank you very much for coming. Can you hear me? Let's talk about the scope of the problem you have inherited. Democrats say sensible immigration is what they have been pursuing, talking about a lot of the things I have worked on with. Would you say that the four years of biden was sensible immigration?
▶ 1:08:59Sec. Noem: No.
▶ 1:09:00Sen. Graham: I would not either. I would say it is obliteration of the border. 11 million people came in during president biden's term. He obliterated all controls. We sent them all over the country in planes, trains and automobiles. What is the scope of the problem you inherited? How would you describe the mess that biden gave you?
▶ 1:09:21Sec. Noem: Our country was in a chaotic time and invaded over our southern border. Millions came into this country.
▶ 1:09:29Sen. Graham: 11,000 murderers, right?
▶ 1:09:32Sec. Noem: That is correct.
▶ 1:09:34Sen. Graham: 27% increase of people on the terrorism watch list, right?
▶ 1:09:39Sec. Noem: That's correct.
▶ 1:09:40Sen. Graham: President biden allowed 27% increase of people on the terrorist watch list to come into this country. In 2023, 172. Do you know where those people are?
▶ 1:09:55Sec. Noem: No.
▶ 1:09:57Sen. Graham: So they are here but we don't know where they are. They have not really looked very hard. Sensible immigration died on biden's watch. It was replaced by open border, just absolute chaos. And to all the people on the front row who have lost loved ones, I am sorry.
▶ 1:10:21Sen. Graham: Your family members are a victim of an out-of-control democratic led effort to obliterate the border and every senator on this side of the aisle, that side of the aisle, did nothing about it. I want to talk to you about problems we've had. Are these shootings being investigated the minnesota?
▶ 1:10:37Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 1:10:38Sen. Graham: They should be investigated in minnesota. We want to have orderly processes. How would you say being a I.c.e. Agents is right now, the stress they are under?
▶ 1:10:48Sec. Noem: It is unprecedented for them every day.
▶ 1:10:51Sen. Graham: I think it is measurable. I think it is a tough job right now. If they go too far, we will hold them accountable. I just want the country to know these men and women who are trying to solve this problem created by our democratic colleagues, you have no idea the mess they inherited. This country was overrun by illegal immigrants, murderers, rapists and average everyday people. How many people did obama deport when he was president?
▶ 1:11:21Sec. Noem: The total was more than nuts. .
▶ 1:11:24Sen. Graham: 3 million. How many were violent criminals? When a democrat deport someone, it is good government. When a republican does it, we are nazis and fascist. If you are here illegally, are you entitled to stay? They would allow you to stay. I want you to understand that these people have no interest in cleaning up this mess.
▶ 1:11:50Sen. Graham: In 2026 we will have an election about this and they are openly saying unless you are a violent criminal, you should be allowed to stay here. Is embezzlement a violent crime? Is it a crime without a victim?
▶ 1:12:03Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 1:12:05Sen. Graham: If somebody steals your stuff and they do not do it through force, is that a crime of the victim -- with a victim?
▶ 1:12:16Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 1:12:17Sen. Graham: Laken riley was murdered by a man who was actually in custody. Are you familiar with that case?
▶ 1:12:24Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 1:12:26Sen. Graham: A young lady about 60 miles from where I live. The man who murdered her was in custody, detained by dhs but was released because they had no bed space in texas. He went to new york and committed a bunch of crimes. He winds up in georgia and murdered his family. He was in our control. He was released not because he wasn't dangerous, but because we had no place to put him. Are those days over?
▶ 1:12:53Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 1:12:54Sen. Graham: Do you agree the most secure border in history has been achieved by you and those under your control?
▶ 1:12:59Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 1:13:00Sen. Graham: Are you proud of that?
▶ 1:13:02Sec. Noem: I am.
▶ 1:13:06Sen. Graham: So we are down to nobody coming across. We went from an invasion to almost nobody. I hope the american people appreciate. That is a good thing for you. We are engaged in military action against the mothership of terrorism iran. Do you think the threat level against the united states is up or down when it comes to islamic terrorism?
▶ 1:13:27Sec. Noem: Up.
▶ 1:13:28Sen. Graham: Up? So you mean they might will want to come here and hit us because we had them in iran? You don't have to be a general to figure that out. It is the coast guard without funding?
▶ 1:13:40Sec. Noem: Portions of it.
▶ 1:13:42Sen. Graham: There are no funds in the appropriation bill for the coast guard?
▶ 1:13:46Sec. Noem: That is correct.
▶ 1:13:47Sen. Graham: Because your agency is not being funded. It is the one part of the appropriations bill where we have not agreed on funding.
▶ 1:13:55Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 1:13:57Sen. Graham: Fema, no money, right? Coast guard, no money. Really? I.c.e., they have money because of the bill we did before. The secret service, people are being paid.
▶ 1:14:13Sec. Noem: Yes, they are. Our law enforcement is paid.
▶ 1:14:17Sen. Graham: They are not being paid out appropriate funds this year, right?
▶ 1:14:22Sec. Noem: That's correct.
▶ 1:14:23Sen. Graham: In the appropriations process we have no new money for secret service. Does that make any sense to anybody in america? Can we not understand that america is under siege now, likely to be attacked because radical islam is under siege and they will head back and we are sitting here looking at each other and not funding dhs? If you want to reform I.c.e., great. Count me in. If you want to make dhs more professional, count me in.
▶ 1:14:52Sen. Graham: If you want to investigate shootings, count me in. If you don't want to deal counte if you don't want to deal count. What is a sanctuary city?
▶ 1:14:58Sec. Noem: A city that protects itself from our federal immigration efforts in their city. There are 200 plus sanctuary counties, 12 sanctuary states, 8 million illegal immigrants reside in sanctuary jurisdictions. A sanctuary city refuses to turn over to the federal government people who are subject to deportation, is that correct?
▶ 1:15:27Sec. Noem: Correct.
▶ 1:15:29Sec. Graham: They make a choice, sanctuary states, counties, cities to not cooperate with federal officials and the laws have been on the books long before donald trump?
▶ 1:15:39Sec. Noem: Correct.
▶ 1:15:41Sec. Graham: Would it be good for countries to abolish sanctuary cities and states? Do you believe as long as it exists he will be a magnet for future illegal immigration?
▶ 1:15:51Sec. Noem: Yes, I do.
▶ 1:15:53Sec. Graham: If you are an illegal immigrant you get one of the sanctuary cities, states, tells you believe you will never leave. Until you fix this you will have an illegal immigrant magnet? Would you urge congress to abolish sanctuary cities? And sanctuary states?
▶ 1:16:09Sec. Noem: Yes, I would, sir.
▶ 1:16:12Sec. Graham: The threat level against our homeland, how would you characterize it right now?
▶ 1:16:17Sec. Noem: I would say, sir, we should have every effort within the department of homeland security out protecting people 24/7 because we face not just enemies from overseas that threaten our way of life and american values, the biden administration let them in, our hometowns, they are unvented. Thousands and thousands of people who are dangerous criminals, gang members, known or suspected terrorists.
▶ 1:16:44Sec. Graham: Who is this guy?
▶ 1:16:46Sec. Noem: The man who conducted the horrific acts in austin.
▶ 1:16:52Sec. Graham: What country did he come from?
▶ 1:16:55Sec. Noem: Senegal. He was killed in austin, texas. His shirt said what?
▶ 1:17:02Sec. Noem: Property of all.
▶ 1:17:04Sec. Graham: When you went to his house he found what kind of flag?
▶ 1:17:10Sec. Noem: Iranian.
▶ 1:17:13Sec. Graham: This is insane. There are more people like this, we obliterated our borders. 1.7 million people came into this country from countries that were designated to be a problem. Special interest aliens. Are you familiar with that? 1.7 million came from countries that would make you a special interest alien because of the nature of the country.
▶ 1:17:45Sec. Graham: Libya, nigeria, north korea, afghanistan, china, cuba. You know where there you know where th -- do you know where those 1.7 million people are?
▶ 1:17:53Sec. Graham: I don't know where they are either. We don't know where they are. They came from countries that are so dicey we made you a special interest alien if you came from those countries. We are having a hearing here. I would like to make I.c.e. More professional.
▶ 1:18:13Sec. Graham: I would like to make sure if there is a bad shooting it is documented as such and people pay a price, but I will not apologize to anybody in this room who will try to clean up the mess that biden started and even -- and you empowered. We have been invaded. God knows how many people are hearing what they are up to and we will not stop. We will learn but we are not going to stop because america is under siege and the idea, we are not defunding dhs.
▶ 1:18:43Sec. Graham: It is insane, criminally insane.
▶ 1:18:46Chair Grassley: Thanks very much, chairman. Let me start by noting we have repeatedly said our ranking member on the senate appropriations committee senator murray has said that we are more than willing to fund tsa, more than willing to fund the coast guard, more than willing to fund fema and it is the administration holding those
▶ 1:19:17Chair Grassley: Administrations hostage to extract additional funding for I.c.e. And cbp. That is our quite clearly stated position and I wanted to recognize that now. Ms. noem I would walk you through an incident that took place in rhode island. We have a courthouse in rhode island, our superior court. The court had an agreement with your organization not to conduct operations in that courthouse.
▶ 1:19:46Chair Grassley: Despite that agreement your officers went in to conduct operations in that courthouse. They went in plainclothes and mask so maybe they were aware of the agreement, maybe they weren't. Either way, it was unprofessional not to honor the agreement with the court. There is also a court rule against photographing people in the courthouse.
▶ 1:20:19Chair Grassley: They were photographing people in the courthouse. They either didn't know or didn't care about that court rule. Either way it was unprofessional. They were pursuing an intern and taking photos of this young intern who was not the person supposedly sought. The intern was in high school. The person sought was in his 30's. It shouldn't be too hard to tell the difference.
▶ 1:20:50Chair Grassley: They couldn't. It was unprofessional. A state judge escorted the intern out to his car to take him back to high school. The agents didn't recognize the judge. They operate against the agreement in a courtroom and don't bother to know who the judges are. Again, unprofessional.
▶ 1:21:20Chair Grassley: They followed the judge out to his parked car, which was parked in a spot reserved for judges. Whether or not they already knew he was a judge, it doesn't take much in terms of powers of deduction to understand that the person getting into a car in a parking spot reserved for judges is probably a judge. Again, unprofessional.
▶ 1:21:48Chair Grassley: Then they threatened to smash his windows and dragged him from the car. A judge. With a high school intern in the car. Who is not the guy they are looking for. That kind of escalation seems unprofessional and irresponsible.
▶ 1:22:15Chair Grassley: And then they held the kid for half an hour in another vehicle while they figured out that, in fact, the high school kid was not the 30 plus-year-old person they were supposedly looking for . Nobody was hurt, but there was nothing professional about that entire exchange.
▶ 1:22:37Chair Grassley: I would ask you to send a signal down to your folks to stop that kind of dangerous and let me ask you, why don't you de -conflict with local enforcement when you operate?
▶ 1:22:57Sec. Noem: Our officers welcome cooperation from local law enforcement and one of them at the state level and local level to cooperate with us and we can continue to conduct our federal operations with the safety, the cooperation that comes from those types of agreements.
▶ 1:23:11Chair Durbin: Conflicting and cooperating are two different things. They can overlap but they are two different things. You de-conflict when you plan an operation in another law enforcement agency's jurisdiction and let them know what you are going to do. This could have been headed off if your people had spoken to the sheriff's first and said we are concerned about this guy. No, he is an intern in high school. None of this is necessary if they bother to de-conflict.
▶ 1:23:43Chair Durbin: Please, send the message down to your people that there is a reason that de-conflicting's standard law enforcement practice for, among other things, officer safety. Will you do that?
▶ 1:23:54Sec. Noem: Yes, sir. But I will tell you our law enforcement has been do xxed at unprecedented levels. Notifying local law enforcement on some of these operations has doxxed them and their families and put lives in jeopardy. They want to work with local law enforcement, in that -- chair
▶ 1:24:23Durbin: Actual interference with your operations, but I will reserve that for question to the record so you can substantiate that. Can you explain this?
▶ 1:24:41Sec. Noem: I'm looking at an interior, it looks like an airplane. These photos are not accurate if you are referring to the airplanes that the department of homeland security has purchased and are purchasing. We are using them for long range command and control aircraft. That is dictated in statute by congress for the department of homeland security to have a plane --
▶ 1:25:05Chair Durbin: A luxury jet with a bedroom in it?
▶ 1:25:09Sec. Noem: A 737. I've been on it once. It is used for command-and-control flights for the department. The department has found that in purchasing our aircraft that we will save the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
▶ 1:25:24Chair Durbin: Does it have a bedroom?
▶ 1:25:27Sec. Noem: We spent billions of dollars on I.c.e. Deportations. I believe it is being refurbished and not have a bedroom in it. It is being refurbished.
▶ 1:25:39Chair Durbin: What kind of deportee justifies being flown out of the country in a luxury jet with a bedroom and accommodations like this?
▶ 1:25:50Sec. Noem: They are aircraft are being purchased that are utilized for executive air travel and deportations. If you remember in the past, we have used jets of this size and configuration for deportations in the past.
▶ 1:26:05Chair Durbin: This configuration? Accommodations like this for deportations? Is that true?
▶ 1:26:12Sec. Noem: We have 737s being purchased by the department to replace contracts that we have on I.c.e. Deportations. That is what they are going to be used for. In fact, the coast guard is the only entity within the department of homeland security that has jets at this point in time. They had two g5's that were 20 to 25 years old that are being replaced so they can continue to serve our coast guard and military for years to come.
▶ 1:26:42Chair Durbin: About these aircraft, they have been deported. They don't want to say publicly, but individuals describe -- describe these airplane purchases as the world's worst deal and an abuse of federal funds.
▶ 1:26:59Chair Durbin: Can you tell me what the republicans on this committee who voted for what I call the billionaires bill, gave you the money to buy these jets knew about your plans to acquire luxury jets when they voted for that money?
▶ 1:27:16Sec. Noem: The dollars for these airplanes was appropriated by congress. It is mandated from congress and rules you've given us that we need to have a long-range command and control aircraft that will seat up to 17 people in the department of homeland security for national security purposes. We are complying with the law. Those plans are being refurbished and will be utilized for that --
▶ 1:27:40Sec. Whitehouse: Two questions in my last minute if you don't mind.
▶ 1:27:44Sec. Noem: They will cut our costs by almost 40%. We are saving the taxpayer 40% by purchasing our own aircraft and operating them rather than being susceptible to the contracts that they have.
▶ 1:27:57Sen. Whitehouse: Can I have an extra two minutes?
▶ 1:28:00Chair Grassley: I will give you 30 seconds beyond.
▶ 1:28:06Sen. Whitehouse: Will you truthfully answer a question for the record about your role in stopping the civil rights investigation into the minnesota shootings?
▶ 1:28:18Sec. Noem: Sorry, I don't know what you are talking about. I did not stop any investigations whatsoever.
▶ 1:28:25Sen. Whitehouse: Will you testify truthfully?
▶ 1:28:27Sec. Noem: Yes, I did not stop --
▶ 1:28:30Sen. Whitehouse: Will you testify in the district federal court contempt proceeding?
▶ 1:28:37Sec. Noem: I would hope for some context.
▶ 1:28:40Sen. Whitehouse: Contempt proceeding related to the deportation contrary to a court order of venezuela?
▶ 1:28:48Sec. Noem: I think you are referencing something I have a gag order too, but I can certainly follow up with you.
▶ 1:28:55Chair Grassley: Your time is up.
▶ 1:28:57Sen. Whitehouse: Thank you.
▶ 1:29:02Chair Grassley: Senator kennedy, you are next.
▶ 1:29:07Sen. Kennedy: Thank you, Mr. chairman. Thank you, madam secretary, for being here. President trump, ably assisted by Mr. stephen miller, quickly, and the president's second administration, developed policies to secure our southern border.
▶ 1:29:35Sen. Kennedy: Policies that you in the department of homeland security implemented. And I congratulate all of you on your success. Properly vetting people at the southern border is not racist, is it?
▶ 1:29:59Sec. Noem: No.
▶ 1:30:00Sen. Kennedy: Can you answer for the record?
▶ 1:30:02Sec. Noem: No, it is not racist.
▶ 1:30:05Sen. Kennedy: Properly vetting people at the southern border is prudent, isn't it?
▶ 1:30:11Sec. Noem: Yes, it is.
▶ 1:30:16Sen. Kennedy: To do that, we need the border patrol, do we not?
▶ 1:30:22Sec. Noem: We do.
▶ 1:30:23Sen. Kennedy: And we also need I.c.e., do we not?
▶ 1:30:26Sec. Noem: We do.
▶ 1:30:29Sen. Kennedy: I just wanted to get my congratulations on the record. I believe you have a policy, madam secretary, that you have to approve all contracts at your department over 100 million dollars?
▶ 1:30:49Sec. Noem: No, sir. I have a policy in place that I review contracts, my deputy chiefs have the ability to review anything below $5 million. Above that, I'd evaluate and look at.
▶ 1:31:01Sen. Kennedy: You do that, I understand, to curb waste and abuse of taxpayer money, is that right?
▶ 1:31:09Sec. Noem: Yes, sir. It has been extremely effective. We have saved the taxpayers over 13.2 billion dollars just by evaluating contracts, negotiating lower ones, and canceling ones that are not necessary to do our duties.
▶ 1:31:24Sen. Kennedy: How do you square that concern for waste, which I share? With the fact that you have spent $220 million running television advertisements that feature you prominently?
▶ 1:31:48Sec. Noem: Sir, the president tasked me with getting the message out to the country and other countries where we were seeing the invasion coming from. Putting commercials out that told them if they were in this country illegally that they needed to leave or we would detain them and remove them and they would not get the chance to come back to america the right way. That has been extremely effective.
▶ 1:32:10Sen. Kennedy: Ask you to run these advertisements? Is that right?
▶ 1:32:15Sec. Noem: Yes, we had that conversation before I was put in this position, sworn in, and confirmed, and since then as well.
▶ 1:32:22Sen. Kennedy: Did you bid out those service contracts?
▶ 1:32:28Sec. Noem: Yes, they went to a competitive bid and career officials at the department chose who would do those advertising commercials.
▶ 1:32:37Sen. Kennedy: And the people that you ended up picking were people who had formally done your political work in south dakota?
▶ 1:32:47Sec. Noem: That is not correct.
▶ 1:32:51Sen. Kennedy: It is.
▶ 1:32:53Sec. Noem: No, the individuals, the careers they chose, they were two different media firms. There has been conversation about their subcontractors, but we have no legal authority to look into subcontractors on work like that.
▶ 1:33:07Sen. Kennedy: And you are saying that you are testifying president trump approved this ahead of time? Is that my understanding?
▶ 1:33:16Sec. Noem: We had conversations about making sure we were telling people --
▶ 1:33:22Sen. Kennedy: Sorry to interrupt, no, ma'am. The president approved ahead of time you spending $220 million running tv ads across the country in which you are featured prominently?
▶ 1:33:34Sec. Noem: Yes, sir. We went through the legal processes and did them correctly. Yes. One thing, senator, I think would be helpful to know is how effective that communications has been. Overwhelmingly --
▶ 1:33:51Sen. Kennedy: Hoping your name recognition. I personally -- to me, it puts the president in a terribly awkward spot. I am not saying you are not telling the truth, it is just hard for me to believe. You said, Mr.
▶ 1:34:15Sen. Kennedy: President, here are ads that I cut and I will spend $220 million running them, that he would have agreed to that. I don't think russ vought at omb would have agreed to that. It is something we have to defend. I am on the appropriations committee. I mean, my research shows that you did not bid them out.
▶ 1:34:40Sen. Kennedy: In fact, the people you picked, safe america media was formed 11 days before you picked them. Strategy group got most of the money. The head of that is married to your former spokesperson. We all have friends who are qualified. I'm just -- it troubles me.
▶ 1:35:17Sen. Kennedy: 1/5 to one quarter of a billion dollars of taxpayer money when we are scratching for every penny and scrambling over revision packages, I just can't agree with that, madam secretary. Are you still running those ads?
▶ 1:35:31Sec. Noem: I did not have anything to do with picking those contractors. I had no politicals at -- follow the competitive bid process. I think the ads are due to end in march, within a week. The one that is running is focusing on angel families. Have you seen that? The one talking about this is our why, this is why we work every day, it is for the angel families and their victims?
▶ 1:36:02Sen. Kennedy: After the two killings in minneapolis -- and I think -- there is a lot of video on them, madam secretary. I think people can see the video and draw their own conclusions. Are you, you and your department, conducting an investigation of those?
▶ 1:36:29Sec. Noem: The investigation is being led by the fbi. Hsi was involved. Our hsi agents on the ground --
▶ 1:36:39Sen. Kennedy: I believe at the time you said these were acts of domestic terrorism. Is that right?
▶ 1:36:51Sec. Noem: Answering questions at the press conference that afternoon, it appeared to be.
▶ 1:37:00Sen. Kennedy: You said these appeared to be acts of domestic terrorists?
▶ 1:37:04Sec. Noem: As I said previously in this hearing -- getting information on a chaotic scene on the ground relating information to the american people.
▶ 1:37:18Sen. Kennedy: Again, those videos are public. People can draw their own conclusions. I think it would be safe to say that you got some pushback on that. Would that be fair?
▶ 1:37:29Sec. Noem: Yes, sir.
▶ 1:37:31Sen. Kennedy: And you got some criticism. I'm not saying that the criticism was accurate or inaccurate. Just you did. What got my attention was that you blamed those statements on Mr. stephen miller at the white house, did you not?
▶ 1:37:51Sec. Noem: No, sir. I did not. You're seeing that in a news article of anonymous sources and anonymous sources say a lot of things. I've never said that at all.
▶ 1:38:03Sen. Kennedy: Here is what you said on the record. I will read you your words. "everything I've done, I've done at the direction of the president and stephen."
▶ 1:38:15Sec. Noem: Where did you see me say that at, a news article with note --
▶ 1:38:20Sen. Kennedy: On the record, january 27, 2026. Did I read your words accurate?
▶ 1:38:30Sec. Noem: I enjoy working with the president and stephen miller. That day we were working to get as much information to the american people as possible. That is what we will continue to do. As that happens we will go forward --
▶ 1:38:43Sen. Kennedy: Do you think it was fair to blame Mr. miller?
▶ 1:38:47Sec. Noem: I did not do that. You are reading from a newspaper article of anonymous sources.
▶ 1:38:53Sen. Kennedy: Are you denying you said that?
▶ 1:38:55Sec. Noem: Sir, I'm not going to speak to that situation that is related on anonymous sources --
▶ 1:39:04Sen. Kennedy: It was you. You said it. They are quoting you on the record saying it was stephen's fault. Thank you, Mr. chairman. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. Secretary noem, as secretary of homeland security, you oversaw operation metro search, is that correct?
▶ 1:39:26Sec. Noem: Yes, I oversee I.c.e., cbp, and hsi officers.
▶ 1:39:34Sen. Klobuchar: I agents outnumbering our 10 metro police departments, outnumbering by 3:1 the number of sworn police officers in minneapolis and st. Paul, correct?
▶ 1:39:50Sec. Noem: Working to do targeted operations against criminal, illegal aliens and we needed to do that in a safe manner to ensure the safety of our law enforcement officers.
▶ 1:39:58Sen. Klobuchar: Two of my constituents, renée good and alex pretti, were killed. They should be alive today. In one month in the city of minneapolis, when you look at the three fatalities that were results of shooting, two of three were committed by federal agents. Are you aware of that?
▶ 1:40:19Sec. Noem: Yes, ma'am.
▶ 1:40:21Sen. Klobuchar: Your agents not only their actions resulted in the deaths of two american citizens, but they repeatedly violated my constituents' first amendment rights to assemble. You say you believe in the second amendment right to bear arms, but alex pretti was criticized repeatedly by officials in the administration for having a lawful permit to carry and having a gun.
▶ 1:40:48Sen. Klobuchar: Your agent violated the fourth amendment rights of my constituents by ramming through doors of innocent people's homes, innocent citizens' homes without any kind of warrant, and violated the fifth amendment right to due process. I've shared with my colleagues, if you believe in federalism, freedom, and liberty you should be horrified by what the department of homeland security did in minnesota. So, my first question is, having spoken to Mr.
▶ 1:41:17Sen. Klobuchar: Homan, what is the exact number of dhs agents still in minnesota?
▶ 1:41:24Sec. Noem: I believe that there is still close to 650, accounting the investigators who are they are working to get to the bottom of the unprecedented fraud that has been found in the medicaid --
▶ 1:41:37Sen. Klobuchar: In prosecuting fraud I put in place the U.S. attorney who expose the fraud under the biden administration and brought the bulk of the prosecutions and also recommended to Mr. blanchard that joe thompson be the acting U.S. attorney who led those prosecutions, and now has left the office because the department of justice asked him and many others to investigate renée good's wife instead of doing their jobs.
▶ 1:42:07Sen. Klobuchar: I want to know when are you going to get down to the original footprint as promised to us?
▶ 1:42:14Sec. Noem: We are continuing to work with that of -- work on that, but the agents will stay there to investigate those fronts to make sure they get the federal dollars. That it is not stolen by criminals and used by individuals to enrich themselves.
▶ 1:42:32Sen. Klobuchar: One example, are you aware that agents bashed in the door of a U.S. citizen with no criminal record?
▶ 1:42:41Sec. Noem: I cannot speak to the specifics of that.
▶ 1:42:43Sen. Klobuchar: Did you see photos of a man being dragged out of his house and crocs and underwear? Do you believe he was involved in fraud?
▶ 1:42:51Sec. Noem: I do not know where the status of that investigation is.
▶ 1:42:55Sen. Klobuchar: Are you aware that he is the son of a beloved nurse that treated soldiers in vietnam?
▶ 1:43:02Sec. Noem: I believe we have laws in this country that need to be enforced.
▶ 1:43:07Sen. Klobuchar: Following the laws, did they have a judicial warrant when they rammed through an american citizen's door?
▶ 1:43:14Sec. Noem: Our law enforcement officers follow the same protocols and procedures that all law enforcement --
▶ 1:43:18Sen. Klobuchar: Are you aware he tried to show his identification that he was an american citizen and they didn't want to see it?
▶ 1:43:26Sec. Noem: These officers conduct themselves in processes. If something was done in accurately, certainly will make sure that we correct it and rectify it in the future.
▶ 1:43:35Sen. Klobuchar: Are you aware the person that they were looking for was in prison and had been in prison for years?
▶ 1:43:40Sec. Noem: Yes, we do targeted operations going after --
▶ 1:43:57Sen. Klobuchar: You agree it is unacceptable for your agents to ram in someone's door and drag someone out in their underwear and below zero temperatures when they have the wrong guy?
▶ 1:44:01Sec. Noem: Our officers conduct targeted operations and utilize the law processes given to them and the tools --
▶ 1:44:04Sen. Klobuchar: Do you believe that is wrong?
▶ 1:44:08Sec. Noem: They needed to identify that individual --
▶ 1:44:12Sen. Klobuchar: They could identify him by looking at his identification, they had to throw him in a car and drive him around for an hour? How about off-duty police officers? Every single one of whom made clear who they were. They were people of color. Off-duty police officers. In brooklyn park, minnesota the chief describe how one off-duty officers, someone of color, a U.S.
▶ 1:44:40Sen. Klobuchar: Citizen, was stopped and confronted by eisai's with their guns drawn -- by I.c.e. Agents with their guns drawn demanding her proof of citizenship. She said, I wish that I could tell you this was an isolated incident but the other chief said it had happened to their own officers. Why were these officers stopped?
▶ 1:45:01Sec. Noem: We have thousands of law enforcement operations we do every single day.
▶ 1:45:05Sen. Klobuchar: You think they were stopped because they were people of color? Were they racially profiled?
▶ 1:45:11Sec. Noem: When I look at american families victimized by criminals who we have removed from cities and communities, I'm grateful for the work that our I.c.e. Officers do.
▶ 1:45:21Sen. Klobuchar: -- stopping off-duty police officers of color and dragging an elder out of his home?
▶ 1:45:28Sec. Noem: When you only talk about situations like this and you don't talk about the good work they do to protect people from being victimized by people who are in this country who want to conduct violent crimes against them or take advantage of them, the laws need to apply to everyone. And we are out there enforcing the law. Context is incredibly important. In every situation.
▶ 1:45:50Sen. Klobuchar: These I.c.e. Agents were not following police procedures. After the killings of renée good and alex pretti, when I spoke to alex's parents, they told me that you calling him a domestic terrorist, directly from them, the day after he was killed, a nurse in our v.a., alex, one of the most hurtful things that they could imagine was said by you about their son.
▶ 1:46:21Sen. Klobuchar: Do you have anything you want to say to alex pretti's parents?
▶ 1:46:25Sec. Noem: We were relying on the hours after that incident that was so horrific on information we were getting from --
▶ 1:46:31Sen. Klobuchar: Anything you wanted to say to the parents or the family of renée good after you called them domestic terrorists?
▶ 1:46:39Sec. Noem: I can't imagine what they have gone through in the loss of their son and family members, absolutely tragic.
▶ 1:46:45Sen. Klobuchar: Calling them domestic terrorists without any evidence of that?
▶ 1:46:50Sec. Noem: Ma'am, I did not call him a domestic terrorist. I said it appeared to be an incident of.
▶ 1:46:56Sen. Klobuchar: I think the parents saw it for what it was. After the killings, the federal government refused to cooperate with state law enforcement. Agents blocked minnesota investigators from accessing the scene. I know, because I directly got calls from the mayor. I tried to call the doj. I tried to do everything I could because they were very worried about what was going to happen immediately, especially after alex pretti's death.
▶ 1:47:24Sen. Klobuchar: Do you think blocking local law enforcement from the scene of a shooting makes people safer, yes or no?
▶ 1:47:30Sec. Noem: Our hsi law enforcement officers risked their lives on that same preserving evidence and keeping the violent rioters away from the evidence. So we could be preserved for the investigation.
▶ 1:47:41Sen. Klobuchar: It was alex pretti's life that was lost. I believe it is in the interest of justice to have a full and transparent investigation.
▶ 1:47:50Sec. Noem: The investigations being led by fbi and internal investigations as well into this incident.
▶ 1:47:57Sen. Klobuchar: Will you commit to reversing the decision to cooperate with the minnesota bureau of apprehension, agency of seasoned professionals , the fbi agents worked directly to investigate after the shooting/assassination of speaker hortman, after the killing of those two little kids in that church with the bullets going through the stained glass windows?
▶ 1:48:23Sen. Klobuchar: In both incidents federal and local law enforcement worked together and are working together in those investigations, but they have been blocked, the locals, from being part of that. Why is that, Ms. noem?
▶ 1:48:40Sec. Noem: The fbi is leading the investigation and I would leave the question for them to answer.
▶ 1:48:42Sen. Klobuchar: Thank you.
▶ 1:48:43Chair Grassley: Before senator blackburn, without objection, I will introduce into the record unaccompanied children case study that health and human services provided to my office. These records describe horrible cases in which children were forced to work to pay smuggling fees, physically assaulted by sponsors, and denied a chance to attend schools.
▶ 1:49:13Chair Grassley: The unaccompanied children case study, further evidence of the previous administration's policies to put children in harm's way. I appreciate the cooperation of the trump administration. Is there any objection? >> Mr. chairman, I do not object but I would like to have unanimous consent to enter into the record the details of the three instances where the secretary referred to the victims we discussed as engaged in acts of domestic terrorism.
▶ 1:49:44Chair Grassley: We have the exact statement, the exact date and time you made those statements. I would ask unanimous consent to put those in the record.
▶ 1:49:51Chair Grassley: On both requests, any objection? No objection heard. Senator blackburn.
▶ 1:49:59Sen. Blackburn: . Thank you for being here today. I want to thank you so much for the work that dhs and fema have done with the recent ice storm. Previously with hurricane helene and the responsiveness from fema and the previous administration and your administration has been noted by people in tennessee.
▶ 1:50:30Sen. Blackburn: I want to express my gratitude to those employees that are working so hard. So, we truly are grateful for that. I want to go back to something senator durbin said in his opening statement. He referred to the biden policy, immigration policy, as sensible and humane.
▶ 1:50:59Sen. Blackburn: In his comments he said that there was a sensible and humane way to deal with immigration, but he felt like biden's policy was sensible and humane. And what you all are doing is not sensible and humane.
▶ 1:51:18Sen. Blackburn: This struck me because the biden administration allowed hundreds of thousands of those illegally entering the country. We have seen hundreds of thousands of migrant children that have been lost. There is nothing sensible and humane about that.
▶ 1:51:42Sen. Blackburn: There is nothing sensible and humane about having terrorists walk across our border and come into our country. There is nothing sensible and humane about grieving the loss of loved ones because someone illegally came in the country and took the life of their loved ones.
▶ 1:52:15Sen. Blackburn: Those comments really struck me. I want to provide you the opportunity to respond to what senator durbin supported, the biden administration policy. We had hours of hearings dealing with such. He supported the biden dhs.
▶ 1:52:35Sen. Blackburn: To me, there is nothing sensible and humane about allowing millions of people to violate the rule of law in the united states, and I yield to you for a response.
▶ 1:52:54Sec. Noem: Thank you, senator. When you look at the biden immigration policies, I think senator durbin is ignoring the consequences of illegal immigration. 30% of young girls who crossed the border were raped and brutally harmed by people along the way. There is no one who crossed the border came in from mexico that did not have to pay a cartel member to get into the country.
▶ 1:53:19Sec. Noem: The cartels have been enriched and made sophisticated and professionalized by the money joe biden facilitated putting into their pockets by allowing that invasion to happen and funneling people into the cartel's hands. I would say 4000 people died during that invasion. When people were coming into this country. They died because of the inhumane circumstances that were going on. From the heat that they were having to deal with, from drowning in the river, it was not humane. What we saw being facilitated by the biden administration.
▶ 1:53:49Sec. Noem: Every day, the people of the department get up to defend this country, the border, and the citizens who live here. I know, senator durbin, you appear to be very concerned about illegal immigrants that are in this country. I will tell you as the secretary of homeland security, I'm very concerned in doing my job and protecting american citizens. That is my number one priority and I will continue to enforce the law and make sure it applies equally to everyone in this country.
▶ 1:54:17Sen. Blackburn: Joe kent, the director of national counterterrorism center, last year told the house homeland security committee that there are at least 18,000 known terrorists that are here in this country. I've heard from tennesseans all weekend long about their concerns.
▶ 1:54:42Sen. Blackburn: The attack in austin was unsettling. The awareness that there are these terrorists that are among the citizens in our country. Would you lay out not only for this committee but for the american people what steps are you and your team taking right now to make certain that we apprehend, detain, and prosecute
▶ 1:55:15Sen. Blackburn: These terrorists before they have the ability to conduct any act of evil?
▶ 1:55:19Sec. Noem: When you let millions of people in unvented you don't know how many dangerous and known and suspected terrorists there may be in this country. We continue to do our investigative work. We continue to look at individuals who are here that may be committing crimes and working with local and state law enforcement where possible. Anybody -- we know the biden administration has given green cards to or naturalized, we are re-vetting those individuals.
▶ 1:55:50Sec. Noem: Those who came in under refugee programs, we are interviewing them and talking to them to make sure they are someone who is here appropriately and did not come in under a program that was abused by the bite and administration. We continue to use our intelligence -- by the biden administration. We continue to use our intelligence together intelligence and cooperate with other intelligence agencies and with the fbi to go after and prosecute those who would wish to do us harm.
▶ 1:56:17Sec. Noem: We are grateful for the american citizens who work with us, and we understand that people who are in this country illegally and have final removal orders should be detained. Our priority is going to be to continue to go after those worst of the worst and make sure we are getting them out of our country as soon as possible and brought to justice if they have committed crimes here.
▶ 1:56:38Sen. Klobuchar: There are a couple of bills -- Sen.
▶ 1:56:44Blackburn: There are a couple bills we were able to fund in the working families big beautiful bill back in the summer and we are grateful for president trump and the attention that he put on some of these issues, protecting the american people and making that the priority. You know, that is the part of upholding our oath.
▶ 1:57:06Blackburn: I think many of us were struck last week when the president asked, do you think it's the first order of business to protect the american people? Many of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle sat there. That was stunning. So, we are grateful for this focus on protecting our people. There were two bills.
▶ 1:57:33Blackburn: These are pieces of legislation I have pushed forward. This helps with protecting these children who are being trafficked, many of them globally trafficked. We are fully aware that homeland security investigations -- and I think that they are defunded now during the shutdown -- are trying to find some of these traffickers, rescue these children, and return them to their families these two bills allow the collection of dna and
▶ 1:58:05Blackburn: Fingerprints so we can stop this repeat trafficking of children. I want you to talk for just a moment about the importance of having this legislation on the books and how you are using this to help break these global trafficking rings.
▶ 1:58:26Sec. Noem: I appreciate those bills and I'm hoping that this body will find them important and get them signed into law as soon as possible. Collecting of dna is incredibly important to making sure children are not being abused or trafficked. We saw many times during the biden administration where the same child would be used by cartels to move individuals into this country illegally.
▶ 1:58:49Sec. Noem: One of the policies we put back in place as soon as president trump came into the white house is dna testing of those individuals coming into our country. When we interdicted them that we would ensure that they were the family they said they should be and that those children were not being moved with strangers or abused and trafficked by them.
▶ 1:59:08Sen. Blackburn: One of the things that has come up regularly when I am out and about around tennessee is we have some of these mayors and governors that have recently demanded millions of dollars in taxpayer reparations for having I.c.e. In their communities.
▶ 1:59:34Sen. Blackburn: In the case of minnesota, they are looking at as much as $18 billion in fraud. $18 billion. What they have uncovered, what they allowed to happen, whether they want to say they knew about it or they didn't know about it, but it appears they knew about it and will let the investigation bear that out.
▶ 2:00:00Sen. Blackburn: What do you say to the mayors and governors who are defying the law by having a sanctuary city for illegal immigration, that are allowing rampant fraud of taxpayer money? It is not their money. It is taxpayer money. They allow it to happen. And then they are so brazen and calloused and disrespectful of the taxpayer they stand up and demand reparations. What do you say to them?
▶ 2:00:31Sec. Noem: It is impossible to take them seriously. The hypocrisy of saying that you care about your economy come your citizens, when you have allow that kind of fraud to go forward that they have in these programs. These programs are there to care for individuals and give services to some of our most vulnerable in society. Individuals who have developmental disabilities.
▶ 2:00:53Sec. Noem: Individuals who need special services in order to care for them and help those families for a period of time with individuals and family members who need to be that specialized care. They have stolen that from them. Allowed individuals to abuse those programs, and have done it to the detriment of not just their families but the businesses and educational entities and even their credibility to speak. Those are the same individuals that called our I.c.e.
▶ 2:01:22Sec. Noem: Officers the gestapo and demonized them. Their rhetoric is very detrimental to the environment we face every day on their law enforcement operations. My hope is we will continue to get to the bottom of those investigations and bring those criminals to justice.
▶ 2:01:40Chair Grassley: Senator durbin.
▶ 2:01:42Sen. Durbin: The senator from tennessee spoke my name several times so I would like one moment to respond. She said it simply inaccurate. I didn't mention the biden administration at all in my opening statement. I said and still believe that if we work together in a positive, good faith, bipartisan effort we can come up with a sensible, humane immigration law for america. You have heard the witness say repeatedly, we write the laws.
▶ 2:02:13Sen. Durbin: She's correct. We need to accept the responsibility of writing a law that is sensible for this country. What I think is happening now in this administration is neither sensible nor humane. I yield.
▶ 2:02:24Sen. Coons: Thank you for appearing before us. It is your duty and mine, all of ours here, to protect our american homeland and citizens. To do so in a way that is legal, humane, and principally constitutional.
▶ 2:02:44Sen. Coons: Foundational to the administration's entire immigration agenda and everything we have seen in the streets of minneapolis and other cities across the country is your pursuit of higher and higher numbers for deportation. Mass deportations that stephen miller designed and president trump has ordered you to implement. It is why we have roving patrols racially profiling whoever they see and creating a show me your papers state.
▶ 2:03:10Sen. Coons: It is why you go into hospitals, churches, schools, while you have been arresting children, the elderly, refugees, the disabled, including a resume and my state suffering from severe developmental disabilities. When it is pressured for high numbers you don't have time to focus on finding violent criminals on the run. It is easier to round the people here breaking the laws and contributing to our communities.
▶ 2:03:37Sen. Coons: It is why you deny people to process and rush them out of the country and put poorly trained I.c.e. Recruits on our streets engaging and reckless and dangerous tactics. Does dhs operate on any quotas or numerical targets for immigration arrests every day?
▶ 2:03:55Sec. Noem: , no, we do targeted law enforcement's going after those come the worst of the worst criminals.
▶ 2:04:00Sen. Coons: I would prefer it if you do targeted operations against the worst of the worst, but last year, stephen miller, the president's homeland security adviser and deputy chief of staff, went on fox news and said we are setting a minimum of 3000 arrests for I.c.e. Every day. President trump is going to keep pushing to get that number higher and higher. He oversees immigration policy for the president.
▶ 2:04:30Sen. Coons: What is your response to his public quote?
▶ 2:04:39Sec. Noem: We do targeted enforcement getting public safety threats off of our streets and out of our communities to protect the american people.
▶ 2:04:46Sen. Coons: You believe setting quotas would put improper pressure on law enforcement to conduct themselves in ways that may not be in the best interest of their safety or the public?
▶ 2:04:56Sec. Noem: Senator, we don't have any quotas on our law enforcement.
▶ 2:04:59Sen. Coons: Have you restricted the use of numerical targets or quotas?
▶ 2:05:04Sec. Noem: I usually put out notices on things that are impacting our operations. There has been no discussion or requirement on numerical quota targets therefore there would be no need to reject them in a memo in I fear they were being implemented, which they are not.
▶ 2:05:19Sen. Coons: This is why I think there may be value in you putting out a memo saying no quotas. Not just what stephen miller said last may -- I have many press accounts for this that I could submit for the record -- he is making conference calls per rating agency officials and threatening to fire them, threatening to fire the leadership of field offices in the bottom 10% of arrest numbers.
▶ 2:05:41Sen. Coons: I would suggest it is the constant drive for higher numbers that has been behind a lot of what we have been seeing in terms of the failure to actually focus on the worst of the worst and targeted enforcement and instead do things like roving patrols and profiling. Let's move on. Steve bannon come along advisor to the president, one of his earliest public supporters, recently said that I.c.e. Should be deployed at the polls in the next election.
▶ 2:06:10Sen. Coons: Will you rule out the deployment of I.c.e. Or cbp the polling places this november?
▶ 2:06:16Sec. Noem: There are no plans to have I.c.e. Officers at polling locations.
▶ 2:06:20Sen. Coons: I'm glad to hear that, but will you rule it out and say it will not happen.
▶ 2:06:25Sec. Noem: Do you plan on illegal aliens voting in our elections? Unless you plan on --
▶ 2:06:39Sen. Coons: The heritage foundation recently concluded over 20 years, where they reviewed hundreds of billions of voting cases, they found only a small handful of actual cases of illegals voting. I'm concerned by your rebuttal which suggests you may be unfamiliar with 18 usc 592. Are you familiar with this federal statute that relates to sending armed men to polling places?
▶ 2:06:58Sec. Noem: There are no plans to send any of our law enforcement agents -- there have been illegal aliens -- there have been illegal aliens that have voted in certain cases in certain states. We provide a program to states -- I think 27 different states utilize our program now to verify individuals who are eligible to vote in their elections. As states run their election systems we encourage them to use that to maintain their election integrity.
▶ 2:07:26Sen. Coons: Can you understand when steve bannon says publicly we should have I.c.e. At the polls and you say that there are no plans that is not enough to rule out the possibility of a violation of this long-standing federal law? Will you issue a directive that I.c.e. And cbp should be nowhere near polling places this november?
▶ 2:07:46Sec. Noem: We have no plans to have I.c.e. Officers or law enforcement at polling places. States are responsible for running their elections and we are giving them tools and mitigation efforts that they can utilize to maintain the integrity of those elections and that individuals can trust their systems to ensure their vote counts.
▶ 2:08:04Sen. Coons: Let me move on to training. I was on responsible for the second largest police agency in delaware and I recognized the critical role that training plays in keeping law enforcement officers safe and making sure they perform their important duties as effectively as possible and that they understand the obligations of policing in a democracy.
▶ 2:08:24Sen. Coons: A whistleblower recently testified that I.c.e.'s training process is "deficient, defective, and broken" raising concerns about how you cut training time in half, reducing training hours by 240, and cut out key courses on the use of force and constitutional obligations. He also testified to a culture of fear that pervades I.c.e. And a constant effort to turn out more trained officers in order to achieve higher numbers.
▶ 2:08:52Sen. Coons: Your department put out a statement that the training is the same number of hours officers have always received. Is it your sworn testimony that training hours have not been reduced compared to where they were a year ago?
▶ 2:09:09Sec. Noem: Our I.c.e. Officers are trained when they come on board the department. Five hours a week. They now do six days a week 12 hour days and 20 days of on-the-job training so they can have more hands-on experience with individuals who have served a longer time in law enforcement and have that experienced officers supporting them going forward.
▶ 2:09:35Sec. Noem: Your whistleblower came to the area, the academy where we trained over one hundred 30 different federal law enforcement agencies. He came there after we changed our program and didn't experience how we trained our I.c.e. Officers previously, five days a week, eight hours a day. I don't know how he would speak to how I.c.e. Used to do that in this individual was only detailed there for a few months.
▶ 2:10:04Sen. Coons: -- a number of places around the country have faced protests for how they have been conducting their policing. You specifically train new recruits on how to handle peaceful protesters in the context of the first amendment and their rights?
▶ 2:10:22Sec. Noem: Yes, they are trained on that. They are annually trained and updated with legal guidance, constitutional provisions, de-escalation techniques, and driving techniques, medical aid, intervening, use of force. All of those are things that our individual officers are trained on.
▶ 2:10:40Sen. Coons: You put out a press release that said enforcement and removal operations was 42 days. On february 23, a month later, the same day that the whistleblower testified, you issued a new press release saying that it was 56 days. You seem to be making it up as you go along. Help me understand how you square those quite different numbers in terms of the total number of training days.
▶ 2:11:06Sec. Noem: Our training for I.c.e. Officers is 56 days with 28 days of on-the-job experience that they get as well. That continues their training. And their specialized training is above and beyond that as well. We are grateful for those individuals. Many of those individuals have joined I.c.e.. We had over 220,000 individuals applied to become I.c.e. Officers and we have hired approximately 12,000 of those. Many of those had previous law enforcement experience when they came to serve with us.
▶ 2:11:37Sen. Coons: About afghans, americans fought and served and died in afghanistan over 20 years. Many service members critically relied on translators and afghans who served alongside them. Of gotten to know a number of them who came to this country and were thoroughly vetted and frankly heroes who risk their lives alongside americans. At the moment, I believe your leadership at dhs has abandoned our commitment to the afghans who served alongside us.
▶ 2:12:06Sen. Coons: There are currently many trapped in a center in qatar and at least 150 are the family of current, active duty U.S. military forces. It is within your power to create a process for them to seek waivers of the refugee pan so they could come into the united states. Will you consider doing so?
▶ 2:12:28Sec. Noem: We will continue to do our due diligence on vetting individuals who come into this country, especially those who came in on a refugee program, and make sure that the vetting process was thorough. We found efficiencies and how the biden administration was doing that. I will look into the situation.
▶ 2:12:44Sen. Coons: -- back into the waiting arms of the taliban who will certainly torture and kill them?
▶ 2:12:50Sec. Noem: We will make sure they program for the -- they qualify for the programs as they are laid out in statute.
▶ 2:12:56Sen. Coons: Protect our homeland american citizens in a way that is legal, effective, humane, constitutional. My concern about the different incidents today, you are failing to do so, failing to deliver constitutional protection to the american people. Thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 2:13:17Chair Grassley: I have three things to do before I call on senator britt. Madam secretary, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me the answer you should have given about steve bannon is he is not even in the administration. Why would he have any influence over what you are doing? Second, we are going to take a break after britt, blumenthal, and shift.
▶ 2:13:45Chair Grassley: Without objection I would like to introduce evidence of potential human trafficking that I sent to the biden administration as part of my unaccompanied children oversight . Over a decade I've exposed how children in this category and the program associated with them have been subject to harm, abuse, and even sex and labor trafficking.
▶ 2:14:14Chair Grassley: Thanks to the trump administration, greater transparency has been brought to this issue.
▶ 2:14:22Sen. Britt: Thank you, Mr. chairman and madam secretary for being here today. To echo what senator kennedy said, I appreciate you actually securing our border. The work president trump has done and you alongside him to make sure we don't have -- happening every day like we saw under the biden administration. I believed we had an average of 5000 people per day that came over the border during the bite and administration.
▶ 2:14:50Sen. Britt: Many of which are unaccounted for. When we are looking at what is ahead of us, I heard senator blackburn and others bring this up to you, but I'm thinking about the children that we know came unaccompanied. Many of them with a phone number written on their arm or taped to them. Senator blackburn mentioned that the biden administration did away with the dna policies. We know many of these children have been trafficked into our interior.
▶ 2:15:15Sen. Britt: You mentioned rape, 30% of women, right, that came across our border were most likely raped in the process. 4000 people who died in the inhumane circumstances that were created. The enriched cartels as a result. As a result of four years of the biden administration the cartels were stronger, more prosperous, and unfortunately had a greater grip on our interior. It is your job to make sure that we unwind it is your job to unwind that and keep american families safe.
▶ 2:15:49Sen. Britt: We have to do with the right way. There are countless families sitting behind you who either have a loved one injured or lost because of the lack of enforcement of the previous administration. Do you commit to me today that you will ensure that no family has to go through this again, that you will use the tools at your disposal the right way to protect american citizens?
▶ 2:16:11Sec. Noem: Yes, I will use every tool I have available to protect as many americans from having to go through with these families had to go through.
▶ 2:16:20Sen. Britt: Secretary noem, I want to talk to you about these children. Where are they? We didn't have hearings under the previous administration. I want to know where they are. Are they being sex traffic, labor traffic? How many have you found and what is your plan to find all of them? Every one of those children deserve to be seen, deserves to be found, and I appreciate the president's commitment to making that happen.
▶ 2:16:50Sen. Britt: I want to know what you are going to do to follow through.
▶ 2:16:51Sec. Noem: We are going to continue to do our work, return the back to loved ones, and we will continue until we find every single one of them. Homeland security investigations teams are the most specialized law enforcement officers for getting into these networks, the trafficking networks, making sure they are not just finding one child, for the network funding -- finding --
▶ 2:17:23Sen. Britt: Let's talk about hsf. We have heard ice be vilified across the nation, called nazis. I want to talk about hsi for a second. When we are looking at finding child predators come when we are looking at finding people who are exploiting look at cybercrimes, human trafficking, drug smuggling, weapons smuggling, hsi does the hard work, do they not?
▶ 2:17:54Sec. Noem: Yes, they do.
▶ 2:17:56Sen. Britt: I wanted to see behind me, these are our most notorious and high-profile criminals in recent years. Sean "p. Diddy" combs. El chapo. R kelly. Jared fogle. What do all of these criminals have in common? All of them were brought to justice with the help of I.c.e.
▶ 2:18:29Sen. Britt: Hsi. Does that sound like the work of nazis or gestapo, madam secretary?
▶ 2:18:37Sec. Noem: No, it is not.
▶ 2:18:40Sen. Britt: This sounds like an agency that is working for the american people, who is taking bad actors across the streets and is doing the hard work for our most vulnerable. Can you speak a little bit to the work you have seen hsi do?
▶ 2:18:57Sec. Noem: These hsi officers are the most exceptional law enforcement officers we have had at the federal level. They specialize not just in identifying sex traffickers and human traffickers, but also any kind of money laundering, financial investment. They partner with our other intelligence agencies to use that information to build cases that we then win in prosecutions and hold those people accountable, and they all of families.
▶ 2:19:24Sec. Noem: They all have families they care deeply about, and when you talk to them, they will go on and on about how they do their work to make sure families in the united states can be safe, and that they have a future, and they can walk down the streets and continue to be interested that their kids won't fall victim like they see so many times in their work when they do these types of cases.
▶ 2:19:46Sen. Britt: Changing gears a little bit, when we talk about immigration enforcement in general, I have had a number of questions from constituents over the weekend about the number of known and unknown terrorists in our interior. We know the numbers that came through the border, but we also know that the countless numbers of known got aways. We don't know who they are, where they are going, what their intentions are.
▶ 2:20:14Sen. Britt: Madam secretary, what we saw in austin was chilling to so many people. We want to make sure that we are doing everything possible to locate tourists in our interior and to obviously capture and get them out. Tell me what you are doing to make sure that that happens and what the american people need to hear from you.
▶ 2:20:36Sec. Noem: First of all, senator, let me thank you for your work together department of homeland security funded so we can use every tool available to us to go after these threats that we face, both foreign and domestic. These individuals that we brought to justice already include over 1500 known and suspected terrorists we have found the last year that president trump has been in the white house, and we brought them to justice and remove them from our we have thousands and thousands of gang members --
▶ 2:21:06Sec. Noem: Ms 13 members that have partnered to victimize people and perpetuate violence. We are doing that work every single day but we need funding to make sure that all of our law enforcement agencies have the tools they need to bring them to justice.
▶ 2:21:20Sen. Britt: Let's actually talk about that. When we are looking at the department having gone unfunded for 17 days, I would like to know what are the real implications. I think a lot of people when you look at the department of performance security, we have seen in the news I.c.e. And cbp. We talked about some of the good work that I.c.e. Has done, particularly I.c.e. Hsi.
▶ 2:21:47Sen. Britt: You look at the border, customs, productions, people coming through and making sure whether it is weapons being smuggled or whether it is drugs combat those things are caught by those men and women at the border. And we will get the other missions that fall under the department of homeland security. Our courageous men and women of the coast guard. You have those serving in fema. We have been ravaged by storms in of the northeast, and these people need assistance and help.
▶ 2:22:17Sen. Britt: That comes through your department. You look at the secret service and where that is. You look at the center for domestic readiness in alabama, which I hope you have your commitment to continuing to make sure that our law enforcement officers are trained there in the event of something unthinkable.
▶ 2:22:32Sec. Noem: Yes, absolutely.
▶ 2:22:35Sen. Britt: As we look at all of this and our tsa officers, I was struck by what I saw -- put this up behind me -- when you see what's happening with people going without pay, you have people like a tsa officer that went without pay for 43 days in the previous democrat-led shutdown, and here they go once again. The financial insecurity from that is tremendous.
▶ 2:23:00Sen. Britt: We heard reports of officers sleeping in their cars and airports to save money on gas, selling their blood and plasma, and taking on a second job to make ends meet. Some are just recovering from the financial impact of the 43-day shutdown, and many are still reeling from it. We cannot put them through another such experience.
▶ 2:23:23Sen. Britt: In the last minute left, will you tell us the real implications of the shutdown on men and women that stepped up to serve our country in the highest way to keep our homeland safe and secure?
▶ 2:23:34Sec. Noem: Yes, I'm grateful for our tsa security officers that are still showing up and doing their jobs running those security checkpoints even though they are not collecting a paycheck. Couple of the stories I heard when I spent time with them in recent days was one individual whose wife needed cancer treatment, $1200 treatment that he couldn't afford, and ended up having to borrow money so she could get 10 could get cancer treatment because he didn't have his paycheck.
▶ 2:24:05Sec. Noem: Another individual with nine children and raising his grandchildren as well was struggling to bays bills and took a nighttime desk struggling to pay his bills and took a nighttime job as a welder. These people joine tsa because of 9/11 and they wanted to be part of keeping people safe in the united states and defending the homeland. Beyond that, fema, the ability to fund disaster response is virtually gone. He needs to be -- it needs to be re-funded.
▶ 2:24:33Sec. Noem: We have 10,000 in hundred individuals who are funded out of the disaster -- 10,800 individuals who are funded out of the disaster relief fund.
▶ 2:24:43Sen. Britt: Thank you for your work, and I'm hopeful we can work with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to bring a pathway forward.
▶ 2:24:50Chair Grassley: Senator blumenthal.
▶ 2:24:52Sen. Blumenthal: Thank you, Mr. chairman. Thank you for being here today, madam secretary. For a year you maintained that no U.S. citizens have been detained by I.c.e. Or cbp. After hearings I conducted in the subcommittee on investigations, as the ranking member, you admitted finally in a letter written to me just last month that in fact U.S.
▶ 2:25:21Sen. Blumenthal: Citizens have been detained and arrested. I'm going to ask, Mr. chairman, that that b entered into the record. Thank you. --that letter be entered into the record. Thank you. You put the number at 38. Far more american citizens have been arrested by I.c.e. And cbp, and the hundreds, perhaps the thousands. Have you met with any of the american citizens who have been detained or arrested by your agency?
▶ 2:25:51Sec. Noem: The individuals that may have been detained and arrested were individuals that could have been obstructing law enforcement operations --
▶ 2:25:59Sen. Blumenthal: You haven't met with them.
▶ 2:26:02Sec. Noem: -- until their identity was confirmed --
▶ 2:26:10Sen. Blumenthal: Would you please stand? These three individuals, madam secretary, were arrested by your agency. Leonardo garcia, javier ramirez, marimar martinez. Did you know what your agents due to leo? I will tell you.
▶ 2:26:33Sen. Blumenthal: May 21 of last year, they enter the private property at a house he was constructing without consent, without a warrant, illegally. Again, on june 12, they enter private property, a home where he was doing construction. He is a united states citizen, born in florida.
▶ 2:26:57Sen. Blumenthal: They seized him and ignored, and disregarded this proof of citizenship. Wouldn't you agree with me that no U.S. citizen simply working lawfully should be arrested?
▶ 2:27:12Sec. Noem: In law enforcement operations across the country, there are times when U.S. citizens --
▶ 2:27:18Sen. Blumenthal: Simple yes or no.
▶ 2:27:20Sec. Noem: May be detained or arrested --
▶ 2:27:25Sen. Blumenthal: Citizens should not be arrested when they are obeying the law and they have no criminal record and they are engaged in lawful activity?
▶ 2:27:31Sec. Noem: Sir, in situations where law enforcement, regardless of the agency, across the country --
▶ 2:27:38Sen. Blumenthal: Let me tell you about javier ramirez. Do you know what your agents did you javier ramirez? He was on his own private property when he was assaulted by masked agents -- his own property -- without a warrant, without consent.
▶ 2:27:56Sen. Blumenthal: They said, "get him, he's mexican." he was violently slammed into the ground while being handcuffed and taken into custody, by telling officers t-- despite telling officers that he is a united states citizen, and even showing them his passport. And when he was asked what he was being arrested for, you know what they said?
▶ 2:28:20Sen. Blumenthal: "we don't know." wouldn't you agree that targeting someone just because he is, or looks like he is, mexican, when he is a united states citizen, is wrong?
▶ 2:28:35Sec. Noem: Senator, we do not target people based on their race or ethnicity. We do targeted operations based on criminal backgrounds --
▶ 2:28:44Sen. Blumenthal: This story goes on, madam secretary. Javier was detained for over four days. He was denied medicine that he needed for severe diabetes. He lost consciousness. He had severe hypoglycemia. Wouldn't you agree with me that medical treatment should have been provided to him? He was denied.
▶ 2:29:06Sec. Noem: Senator, medical treatment is provided to individuals in our detention centers. Within 12 hours they have a medical examination and we get them to prescriptions and medications they need --
▶ 2:29:18Sen. Blumenthal: Will you commit to taking action and to look into why he was denied medical treatment?
▶ 2:29:25Sec. Noem: Yes, I will look into that case specifically for you, senator.
▶ 2:29:30Sen. Blumenthal: Marimar martinez is with us as well. She is standing right behind you. She was on her way to donate clothing at her church when she came across an unmarked car. The agents sideswiped her car. Three masked agents in camouflage stormed out. One of them pulled out his gun and fired at her moving vehicle, getting her five times.
▶ 2:30:02Sen. Blumenthal: She almost bled to death. Wouldn't you agree that shooting miramar martinez on her way to donate clothing at her church, a united states citizen from chicago, is wrong?
▶ 2:30:15Sec. Noem: Sir, I don't know the situation or the case. I will look into it --
▶ 2:30:21Sen. Blumenthal: Well, I'm glad you will look into it. Miramar was falsely charged with impeding law enforcement. But the case actually fell apart. The judge dismissed it as being trump top.-- trumped up. He dismissed it with prejudice.
▶ 2:30:38Sen. Blumenthal: In fact, the agent who shot her, not going to name him, but you know who he is, was quoted on social media the day or so afterward, and he said, "I fired five rounds, and she had seven holes.
▶ 2:31:05Sen. Blumenthal: Put that in your book, boys." and "cool, I'm up for another round of f around and find out." will you join me in condemning that agent?
▶ 2:31:20Sec. Noem: Sir, that situation I don't know the details of, but I will look into that.
▶ 2:31:26Sen. Blumenthal: I don't know why you can't join me in saying it was wrong to shoot miramar, almost caused her death, and then brag about it. Wouldn't you agree with me that it was wrong?
▶ 2:31:41Sec. Noem: Sir, the way that you have portrayed it it appears to be, but let me look in the case so I can speak to the specifics of it.
▶ 2:31:50Sen. Blumenthal: Apparently, contrary to what you just said, you act we supported the agent who shot Ms. martinez five times. He is quoted as saying come when he was asked, "everyone has been supportive, including chief bovi no, secretary noem, and el hefe himself," referring presumably to president trump.
▶ 2:32:20Sen. Blumenthal: Is the agent who shot Ms. martinez still on the job?
▶ 2:32:24Sec. Noem: Sir, our law enforcement officers conduct operations every day according to procedures and training and experience they have. Whenever something --
▶ 2:32:35Sen. Blumenthal: Is the agent who shot Ms. martin is still on the job carrying a gun?
▶ 2:32:41Sec. Noem: I don't know the details. I will find out and get that information to you.
▶ 2:32:46Sen. Blumenthal: Would you agree that he shouldn't be on the job?
▶ 2:32:49Sec. Noem: I will look into this case and get the details to you --
▶ 2:32:53Sen. Blumenthal: I think americans would find it absolutely terrifying at that agent is still on the job. Carrying a gun. And the fact that you can't tell me that you will take him off --
▶ 2:33:05Sec. Noem: Sir, do you know who angel semanago is? Do you not recognize that name?
▶ 2:33:13Sen. Blumenthal: You know --
▶ 2:33:15Sec. Noem: This is an individual who was murdered interstate by an illegal alien-- in your estate find illegal alien, duct tape --
▶ 2:33:25Sen. Blumenthal: You can give better answers today --
▶ 2:33:28Sec. Noem: -- illegal immigrants --
▶ 2:33:34Sen. Blumenthal: Ms. miramar.
▶ 2:33:37Sec. Noem: I would like to hear you say the names of people called by illegal criminal activity by people who should have never been in this country to begin with. Illegal individuals and aliens in this country --
▶ 2:33:49Sen. Blumenthal: -- dismissed with prejudice. Let ask you about a memo that evidently was written by the acting director of I.c.e. This memo -- have you seen it?
▶ 2:34:07Sec. Noem: I can't tell what it says. I see lots of memos, many a day.
▶ 2:34:16Sen. Blumenthal: It has been frequently referenced in the hearing I conducted by the whistleblower who testified as being the basis for instructing I.c.e. Agents. It specifically says that I.c.e. Agents should violate the fourth amendment and break into people's homes without a judicial warrant. Do you agree with that?
▶ 2:34:42Sec. Noem: I will look at that memo, sir. I can't read it for I can't read it f from here, but if it is referencing warrants, that is the legal tool this body is given for mitigations. That was affirmed by the supreme court and will continue to use those.
▶ 2:35:01Sen. Blumenthal: Does corey lewandowski have a role in approving contracts cabinet if so, what is that role? -- and if so, what is that role?
▶ 2:35:15Sec. Noem: His role as a special government employee and special government employees work for the white house in the administration. There are thousands of them.
▶ 2:35:20Chair Grassley: Senator schmitt.
▶ 2:35:23Sen. Schmitt: Since we are having folks stand up, I would have laken riley stand up. I would have joslyn stand up. I would have rachel warren stand up. I would have the sons and daughters who were murdered by illegal immigrants stand up. But they can't because they are dead. They were murdered by illegal immigrants let into this country by joe biden.
▶ 2:35:53Sen. Schmitt: I think it is important to set the stage come since we are having this oversight hearing, to set the stage of how we got here. Five years ago, something was done that had never been done in the history of our country. We had a president who willfully ignored immigration laws and enforcement, threw open the border to 15 million, million people, who were here illegally.
▶ 2:36:23Sen. Schmitt: Tens of thousands of murderers. Hundreds of thousands of hardened violent criminals. We can debate why. I know why. They're trying to pump up the numbers for the congressional districts because they lost the case with the american people.
▶ 2:36:43Sen. Schmitt: But the tragedies that ensued, the tragedies that were left in the wake of this disastrous policy, are what we are left with. And your job is to finally enforce our immigration laws. They don't like it. They actually don't think that anybody should have to leave. Because if you create a problem so big, which is what joe biden and the democrats tried to do, the only solution is mass amnesty.
▶ 2:37:12Sen. Schmitt: Enter tell you, we are not doing--I am here to tell you, we are not doing it. And the mass deportations will continue. Thank god we frontloaded the money for I.c.e. Thank god we did, because it was just a matter of time. By the way, the outrage machine has moved on to something else so I actually have hope we will approve dhs funding. We are not recapping I.c.e. -- knecapping I.c.e.
▶ 2:37:38Sen. Schmitt: We are not doing it, we are not taking away the tools they have to deport criminals in this country who are murdering and raping sons and daughters. So for all the spectacle that the democrats want to create, the american people will not los e sight of what this mission is, which is to restore american sovereignty. N countryo, no sane country would ever do this. We threw it --we lived through it. Now it is time to fix it.
▶ 2:38:06Sen. Schmitt: In the century status in these jurisdictions--and the sanctuary status in these jurisdictions, there's about 11 that matter in this country. What is that about? What does that really mean? It means that the local leaders will not tell I.c.e. When rapists and murderers and criminals are released from prison so they can be deported. Think about that. Think about that. That's what's happening. By the way, it's happening in northern virginia.
▶ 2:38:35Sen. Schmitt: The new governor just today said that this brutal killer, abdul jallo, an illegal immigrant from sierra leone with more than 30 prior arrests who brutally stabbed to death stephanie minter, a mother and american citizen, less than 50 miles from here, she will not work with I.c.e. If for some reason this monster gets released, she will not I.c.e. Go when he is being released. Think about that. That is what is happening in this country.
▶ 2:39:06Sen. Schmitt: S forgive meo if I don't want to be lectured by the democrats on this point. I would think in a different time and different place that we could all actually agree that if somebody is here illegally and they are being released from prison, we were that federal law enforcement know about it. Appellee not.--apparently not.
▶ 2:39:26Sen. Schmitt: And so if you want to know what we had a flashpoint in minneapolis, is because it is a sanctuary jurisdiction that wasn't letting anybody cooperate, it wasn't stunning to 911 calls--responding to 911 calls for law enforcement, and encouraging people to engage in this kind of confrontation. So I just want to go through a few of these. I mentioned abdul jalla. Let's talk about the difference between states and actually work with I.c.e. And states or jurisdictions that don't. This is the contrast.
▶ 2:39:58Sen. Schmitt: Lopez vaquez was an illegal alien from guatemala. He was arrested by highway patrol for dui. He had an active rate warrant in guatemala. Missouri is not a sanctuary state and turned him over to I.c.e. He was deported, thank god. Fernando garcia morales was an illegal alien from mexico. He was arrested multiple times in new jersey for crimes including burglary.
▶ 2:40:27Sen. Schmitt: New jersey is a sanctuary state, failed to notify dhs or I.c.e. He was released. On january 9 of this year he threw a baseball sized rock at a school bus, shattering the window and hospitalizing a third grader. Ariel nunez figuroa was an illegal alien from mexico with an arrest warrant tied to the murder of 43 students at the teachers college.
▶ 2:40:59Sen. Schmitt: I.c.e. Arrested him in houston, texas, not a sanctuary city. Dhs deported him march 6. Christian espinoza salonga was an illegal alien from ecuador, arrested in new haven, connecticut, for sexually assaulting a minor. He was charged with multiple serious offenses. Connecticut sanctuary laws prevented cooperation with I.c.e., and he was released as the community before being rearrested by I.c.e.
▶ 2:41:27Sen. Schmitt: Liama sese was an illegal alien from liberia. She was a former rebel commander linked to work crimes, including recruiting and leading child soldiers, despite a removal order in 2022, not taken into custody by I.c.e. Until april 19 of 2025. The previous administration refused to deport her. She has since been deported.
▶ 2:41:53Sen. Schmitt: Hector balderes arjone was an illegal alien from mexico arrested in california for felony hit and run that killed an 11-year-old boy. California, a secular state, rejected dhs' detainer. Hector has a bond of $100,000 that could've allowed this guy back on the streets. We don't know. If he is released, they are not going to tell I.c.e..
▶ 2:42:24Sen. Schmitt: Luis santos was convicted of statutory rape in boone county, missouri. Missouri cooperated with I.c.e. I.c.e. Took him into custody in february 2026, and assuming he will be deported. Finally, hugo renée hernandez mendez was arrested in prince georges county, maryland, for dui. The county did not cooperate with I.c.e. And released him. Months later he murdered a 19-year-old woman.
▶ 2:42:52Sen. Schmitt: She would be alive today had maryland cooperated with I.c.e. I don't know how you explain this away, but I just want to ask you, madam secretary, how critical is it for the operations of I.c.e. To deport these monsters to be able to work with local leaders?
▶ 2:43:12Sec. Noem: Oh, it's actually critically important. It gives officers -- it keeps officers save and make sure that the public is safe as well. When you talk about these sanctuary jurisdictions turning murderers and rapists loose on the street, I picture every time listening to rachel morin's mom telling the story of how she died, how she was brutally raped and murdered, and a mother of five children that no long have
▶ 2:43:43Sec. Noem: A mother. The individual woh rate-- who raped and murdered her was released three different times, back to perpetuate more crimes. I don't understand the arguments these democrats are making. Do we have to until someone in this country illegally create another victim before we hold them accountable? Why do we have to wait until there is more murder victims?
▶ 2:44:03Sen. Schmitt: When sq quickly, we talked about---I want to ask you quickly, we want to talk about imitation and the pieces we have seen. I have written to you about h1v, and for those listening, the h1v program was marketed as a program to bring the best and the brightest people for jobs we don't have people for. That has been patently false. What is happening is that american citizens are being displaced by cheaper, more obedient foreign labor.
▶ 2:44:35Sen. Schmitt: The abuse has been rampant. The opt program, which is visa mills for universities, taking away opportunities for american students because they don't have to pay taxes on foreign labor for police to year if you have this via for -- visa for opt. There has been rampant abuse. I have written to you about this and I appreciate your response.
▶ 2:45:00Sen. Schmitt: I want to just -- you committed in that letter to reevaluate opt's scope and duration. I want to ask, what is the timeline for that review. We you commit to completing that reevaluation this year?
▶ 2:45:15Sec. Noem: Yes, we are continuing that review and it will be competed in 2026.
▶ 2:45:21Sen. Schmitt: Thank you, adam secretary.
▶ 2:45:24Chair Grassley: For we take a break, I want to know that law enforcement faces of recommended threads in their duties. This is an acceptable. Any loss of--this is on except double.-- unacceptable. Any loss of life is a tragedy. Investigations should play out. We will stand at ease for a few minutes.
▶ 2:56:43Chair Grassley: [bangs gavel]
▶ 2:56:48Chair Grassley: You say she is coming down the hall? The secretary is just about here, and when she gets here, senator rounds will be the first with a question.
▶ 2:57:26Chair Grassley: How do you know she was in the hall?
▶ 2:57:58Chair Grassley: Is she coming through this door? Go see if she's coming down the hall. >> she is c1 I just checked. The secretary is coming.
▶ 2:58:55Chair Grassley: Tell me, secretary, when you are ready.
▶ 2:58:58Sec. Noem: Yes, Mr. chairman, I'm ready. Yes, sir. >> thank you, Mr. chairman. Over the last year, the american people have watched in horror as dhs agents have terrorized our communities.
▶ 2:59:18Sec. Noem: We have all seen pictures and videos of ice being agents dragging people out of their cars, shooting them with pepper balls or worse, murdering people in the streets. This is not normal. But it's what communities being targeted by I.c.e. Are forced to face every day under this regime. It is why americans of every background across the country are up in arms and raising a cry above I.c.e.
▶ 2:59:49Sec. Noem: My first question, last august, dhs attempted to deport 600 children to guatemala in the middle of the night. When challenged in court, the lawyer representing dhs said, our requests have been made by either their parent or legal guardian to justify deporting children.
▶ 3:00:16Sec. Noem: A federal judge found that statement. In other words, no evidence that the parents have been asked. That statement by the lawyer represented dhs was false. That was a lie. Yes or no?
▶ 3:00:33Sec. Noem: In that situation and in many others, we are working to return children back to their parents so they can be with their families. Specifically in guatemala, we were staffed by an activist judge to return children to their family members.
▶ 3:00:50Sen. Hirono: A lie. You live.
▶ 3:00:54Sec. Noem: These families behind he will never have their children again.
▶ 3:00:58Sen. Hirono: After dhs agents shot miramar martinez five times -- five times. Your department was quick to label her a domestic terrorist, and claim that she ambushed and ran to federal agents with her car. She was even criminally charged, only for those charges to be completely dropped when body camera footage showed the truth.
▶ 3:01:30Sen. Hirono: That during the incident, the dhs agents -- and then rammed her car. Secretary noem, dhs was lying when it said Ms. martinez was a domestic terrorist who ambushed federal agents. That was a lie.
▶ 3:01:53Sec. Noem: Every day, our law enforcement officers face tragic situations on the ground. They work every day to brings public safety threats to justice.
▶ 3:02:05Sen. Hirono: You had to dismiss the lies that you alleged against Ms. martinez. That was a lie. Next, after dhs agents shot and killed icu nurse alex pretti, you were also quick to label him a domestic terrorist, even before an investigation began, you said he was brandishing a gun, a firearm.
▶ 3:02:34Sen. Hirono: You also said he was apparently trying to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement. The videos show that pretti had a phone in his hand while helping a woman who was pepper spray. He never touched his gun. After dhs agents pinned pretti to the ground, and your agents removed the gun, they then shot him at least six times, killing him.
▶ 3:03:03Sen. Hirono: Secretary noem, when dhs claimed that Mr. pretti was a domestic terrorist, who was brandishing a firearm, that was a lie. Yes or no?
▶ 3:03:20Sec. Noem: That investigation is still ongoing, being led by the fbi. When that horrific day happened in the tragic situation, we continued to relay information from agents --
▶ 3:03:31Sec. Noem: I'm not hearing --
▶ 3:03:31Sen. Hirono: I'm not hearing your answer. These are yes or no questions. Moving on. Secretary noem, in this photo, this man is on the ground, and there are multiple people holding him down. Yes or no?
▶ 3:03:47Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 3:03:49Sen. Hirono: Yes or no?
▶ 3:03:52Sec. Noem: Yes, he is lying on the ground.
▶ 3:03:55Sen. Hirono: That is what the american people saw. This man is completely subdued, on the ground, with multiple dhs agents on top of him. Despite being pinned down, a dhs agent soaks him with pepper spray, which can blind and burn a person. You can't even see his face. That yellow substance is pepper spray, because your agent deemed it necessary.
▶ 3:04:27Sen. Hirono: To cover his face with pepper spray. Next photo. In this photo, the man with the clergy caller is surrounded by multiple dhs agents. Yes or no?
▶ 3:04:39Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 3:04:42Sen. Hirono: Showing you a picture. Yes or no?
▶ 3:04:45Sec. Noem: Yes, ma'am.
▶ 3:04:48Sen. Hirono: This man is reverend david black who is the senior pastor of the first presbyterian church of chicago. He had his arms up in prayer when I.c.e. Agents fired upper balls direct -- pepper balls directly at his head. They shot him seven times, including twice in his head. Next photo. In this photo, do you see the woman on the ground? Yes or no.
▶ 3:05:14Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 3:05:18Sen. Hirono: That's what the american people saw. This is just after your deist set -- your dhs agent violently shoved her against the wall and down to the ground, in front of her two young children. She later went to the hospital. Secretary noem, under your leadership, dhs attacked americans and acts as if the law does not apply to them.
▶ 3:05:46Sen. Hirono: That recklessness and that accountability stemmed from the lies that you and your partners in this regime are constantly telling, domestic terrorists, they were aggressive. Whatever. Meanwhile, stephen miller, a top white house official, declared to an I.c.e. Officer, you have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties. To all I.c.e. Officers.
▶ 3:06:16Sen. Hirono: That was stephen miller. When dhs agents hear what you and the white house say, those agents think they can do anything. They know there will be no accountability for their lawlessness. They know that when they fire their weapons without restraint s, you will immediately and reflexively blame the victims.
▶ 3:06:43Sen. Hirono: And label them domestic terrorists, regardless of the circumstances. Four fax. -- or the factor that is what happened when dhs officers shot and killed renée good. Dhs agents pulled up to her car, surrounding her. Moments later, a dhs officer shot her three times through the car window. She died.
▶ 3:07:13Sen. Hirono: In response, you blamed renée good, saying she committed an act of domestic terrorism. Vice president vance was then quick to say that I.c.e. Officer -- the I.c.e. Officer who killed Ms. goode is protected by absolute immunity.
▶ 3:07:33Sen. Hirono: No wonder we saw dhs shoot and kill another innocent person mere weeks later. The lies that you and this regime spread are creating a culture that fosters abuse of power. This is the reason we need clear guardrails on dhs.
▶ 3:08:00Sen. Hirono: No more masks, no more warrantless searches, no more roaming gangs of officers terrorizing our communities. We need dhs to meet the same use of force standards that local police may need to meet. They have the same requirements to identify themselves, like local police have. And use the same warrants that local police use.
▶ 3:08:27Sen. Hirono: In other words, we need immediate guardrails to rein in the lawlessness that you have unleashed. Mr. chairman, I am done with this witness.
▶ 3:08:48Chair Grassley: Thank you -- >> thank you, Mr. chairman peters secretary noem, thank you for being here. I'm glad a lot of my republican colleagues talked about the disaster that biden, your predecessor, created. It is absurd. You heard the things who themselves were traumatized by the very people who have come to this country and come to this country and from the ties american citizens. You heard senator schmitt saying the same thing.
▶ 3:09:20Chair Grassley: A lot of us are very frustrated with the disaster that president biden left behind. And a failed dhs. It is why I'm angry and I have been critical of you, secretary noem. Because we are missing an opportunity. Ladies and gentlemen, one of the reasons president trump won a year and a half ago is because people were sick and tired of a democratic administration with that border policy and allowing millions of people to come to this country.
▶ 3:09:50Chair Grassley: We don't even know where they are but we know when you pay a premium to a cartel to get them us -- get them into this country, they are bad people. Why I'm critical of secretary noem? Because I don't think we are focusing on -- we have limited resources. I.c.e. Can't be everywhere at once. There are very few people in capitol hill that support law enforcement more than me, including this -- these sworn I.c.e. Officers.
▶ 3:10:16Chair Grassley: I've just been told in a week and a half, we will get a plaque in the wall over the capital bank, thinking the capitol police officers who responded january 6. All of those thugs have been pardoned and yet we have not thanked the capitol police officers further work. When I say I'm unapologetically prolonged enforcement, you can count every single sworn officer paired why am I disappointed with secretary noem?
▶ 3:10:43Chair Grassley: Because we are not going after enough people who did this damage at the expense of running numbers that miller wants out of the white house. We want numbers. 6000 today, 9000 today. Because numbers matter. No, they don't matter. Quality matters. When we have seen is a disaster, under your leadership, Ms. no, a disaster.
▶ 3:11:09Chair Grassley: What we have seen is innocent people getting detained that turn out -- turned out are american citizens. I can talk about the culture that has been created. With the aid -- aiding and abetting. I heard what ports that he was the one who said it was a domestic terrorist situation where two people lost their lives in minneapolis. I have heard about report. Maybe you can refute it.
▶ 3:11:35Chair Grassley: I'm giving you a performance evaluation here, I'm not looking for a response. And I'm saying, Ms. noem, that time after time after time, I've been disappointed. Before I get back to looking at the list -- vicious people that did this damage to these families, I want to talk a minute about fema. You have a policy right now that anything over $100,000 has to go through your desk for approval.
▶ 3:12:02Chair Grassley: I asked my staff, because I'm a management consultant, I don't try to do cheap shots in here. But the facts do not lie. This is your administration for fema response. This is president trump's first administration. Which one would you like to have? If you are a state that has a $60 billion disaster, your biggest disaster in south dakota that I can tell when you were an elected official was about half $1 billion.
▶ 3:12:33Chair Grassley: Where thousands of people are hurting in north carolina, and you are just barely catching up. -- hurting in north carolina and barely catching up. This is what incompetent leadership looks like and people are hurting. The most significant storm they have ever experienced. This is what we need more of, I'm convinced you can't do it. If you are requesting a review of 100,000 dollars and up it begs the question why. Why would that be a policy?
▶ 3:13:04Chair Grassley: In a minute I will ask about people involved, special government employees, why are they involved. Thank you.
▶ 3:13:10Sec. Noem: Senator.
▶ 3:13:12Sec. Tillis: No. I will hold the clock until I finish. The bottom line is, I have done the analysis and you can say whatever you want. I have worked with a democrat governor, republican governor, physical research. We have people contacting my office to get the information to better understand the failure of this department. You failed at fema and in fact if I get to it, why don't I cover this right now?
▶ 3:13:39Sec. Tillis: The homeland security act of 2002 expressly prohibits the secretary of homeland security from restricting or diverting fema resources from the agency's mission. Based on your disaster response, the chart I just showed you, I have reason to believe you are violating the law knowingly or unknowingly.
▶ 3:14:00Sec. Tillis: I will be putting a submission -- submitting a question for the record with the total amount of fema reimbursements are held currently by dhs awaiting for file and approval, for an agency that you should not be obstructing disbursement on. I will give you time to answer under penalty of perjury so we can get it right. Now.
▶ 3:14:27Sec. Tillis: Going back to minneapolis, why can't we just say we made a mistake? I will ask you one question if you could give me a quick response, who does tom homan work for? You are the president?
▶ 3:14:38Sec. Tillis: The president. -- sec. Noem: the president.
▶ 3:14:42Sec. Tillis: Why is that? I think the president recognized you were not getting it done in minneapolis and putting us farther than where we need to be. The way you are going around deporting them is wrong, the fact you cannot admit to a mistake which looks like under investigation it will prove that Ms. goode and Mr. pretti should not of been shot in the face and in the back. Law enforcement needs to look at that.
▶ 3:15:13Sec. Tillis: Not only should the fbi be investigating but every single law enforcement agency in that jurisdiction should be invited so law enforcement officers do not have this pall cast upon them. One reason I.c.e. Officers are having threats and damn the people that threaten I.c.e. Officers because so many are doing a good job is because you cast a pall on them by acting like we should investigate differently.
▶ 3:15:43Sec. Tillis: Officer-involved shooting's have a formula every time. In Ms. good's case they were saying maybe there even was not a need for the doj and I hope that has changed. It was a civil rights review. Correct me if I'm wrong but originally they said there would be an investigation. Law enforcement, we have to have their back.
▶ 3:16:08Sec. Tillis: We have to make it clear when they make a mistake they get corrected for it you don't walk away from it and you have done it too many times. Now, secretary, I read your book last week and honestly, some parts of it impressed me but some of it distresses me. I will give you a good example of one that does. The passage where you talked about killing a dog that was 14 months old -- I trained dogs.
▶ 3:16:39Sec. Tillis: And you are a farmer, you should know better. You should know if you are going out to a hunting lodge and putting pheasants and dogs out you don't take a puppy out there. A 14 month old dog is basically a teenager in dog years. You decided to kill that dog because you had not invested the appropriate time and training, and then have the audacity to go into a book and say it is a leadership lesson about tough choices! It is in your book, we could play it if we had time.
▶ 3:17:07Sec. Tillis: And that same, you killed a goat because you said it was behaving badly. You are a farmer, you don't castrate a go, they behave badly. You should have done that before. My point is, those are bad decisions made in the heat of the moment, not unlike what happened in minneapolis.
▶ 3:17:28Sec. Tillis: I expect we are an exceptional nation in one of the reasons, we expect exceptional leadership and you demonstrated anything but that in the time I have seen you responding to the emergency in north carolina and the southeast and acknowledging when mistakes are made and speaking too soon to social media. I will leave you with this, I'm expecting answers to charlotte's web.
▶ 3:17:59Sec. Tillis: I requested it a month ago. That was one of the investigations in charlotte, 20 minutes from where I live. All I asked for if it had to be anonymized was information so I could determine if your hit rate was rights. Want to find more of those people and detain fewer of the others. Mr. chair, and my remaining time, I have a lot to go, but I want to submit this letter from the office of inspector general. One cites 10 different instances under Ms.
▶ 3:18:29Sec. Tillis: Noem's leadership where they have not been allowed to pursue investigations they think are important. Any idea how bad it has to be for them to do this publicly? That is stonewalling, a failure of leadership and why I have called for your resignation. If I don't get an answer to these questions -- [applause] I don't want and applause, please don't do that for me.
▶ 3:18:55Sec. Tillis: If I don't get an answer for these questions, these westerns you had a month to respond to and the remaining ones as of today I will be informing leadership on putting a hold on any unblocked nominations until I get a response and in two weeks if I don't get a response I will deny quorum and mark up as many committees as I get response. Thank you, Mr. chair. >> now it is senator booker's turn.
▶ 3:19:26Sen. Booker: Thank you. You are in charge of your agency and thebuck stops with you?
▶ 3:19:33Sec. Noem: Correct.
▶ 3:19:36Sen. Booker: And you had to swear an oath to the constitution?
▶ 3:19:39Sec. Noem: Correct.
▶ 3:19:43Sen. Booker: One of the most sacrosanct ideas of our constitution is liberty. It is an idea the government has a very high standard should they take away the birdie and freedom on american citizens. How many U.S. citizens has dhs detained as of last october?
▶ 3:20:08Sec. Noem: Senator, if you're talking bout detained and arrested, is that those that have been violating and obstructing our law enforcement operations? Because it could be hundreds and hundreds. We have faced violent riots across the country specifically -- Sen. booker: the only people you detained are committing crimes but you and I both know that is not true. How many people have you detained.
▶ 3:20:35Sec. Noem: I cannot give an accurate number because we detained and arrested many for those obstruction of law enforcement operations.
▶ 3:20:42Sen. Booker: Let me tell you what my staff researched. May I continue? Public records are showing that over 170 incidents of your agency unlawfully taking away the liberties and freedoms of american citizens. This includes 20 children. 20 american kids, that your agency detained.
▶ 3:21:13Sen. Booker: How long can your agency can -- detain an american citizen?
▶ 3:21:16Sec. Noem: We don't detain children in separate them from their parents. Their parents have chosen to keep their child with them.
▶ 3:21:23Sen. Booker: You're telling me under oath your agency has not detained american children?
▶ 3:21:28Sec. Noem: Those parents have chosen to keep their children with them. We don't separate families like the biden administration. We keep them together and parents have the option on if they want their children with them.
▶ 3:21:40Sen. Booker: How long do detentions last when you detain an american citizen?
▶ 3:21:44Sec. Noem: We don't detain american citizens. If there is probable cause --
▶ 3:21:49Sen. Booker: You are not speaking truthfully under oath. S isaiah pena salcedo, U.S. citizen living in california, was detained more than 70 hours, almost three days, even after he showed I.c.e. Agents his passport. My colleague senator blumenthal gave you example after example.
▶ 3:22:12Sen. Booker: He brought people here who had something else we americans consider sacred synced, our home --sacrosanct, our home, our property. Your on marked agents, considerable property damage occurring, into american citizens homes. Case after case of this and you sit here before me and claim the buck stops with you but you don't even know the names of these individuals.
▶ 3:22:41Sen. Booker: I read new jersey's largest -- ran new jersey's largest moon is about police department. When officers engaged in misconduct I damn well knew and investigated it yet you have situations where your officers are violating the sanctity of people's homes, arresting and detaining them, arresting and detaining them and holding their children, and you are acting as if you don't know about it and saying that under oath.
▶ 3:23:15Sen. Booker: Miramar martinez who is here right now, on her way to church, and american -- an american citizen going to church not just to worship but donate clothing, your officers shot her multiple times per the case was thrown out of court and you represent here that you don't know about it. In new jersey were you aware of your officers activities in places like schools?
▶ 3:23:48Sen. Booker: Are you aware of your officers activities at our public schools?
▶ 3:23:51Sec. Noem: Sir, we don't go into schools and do targeted law enforcement operations. We do targeted law enforcement operations like other agencies --
▶ 3:24:01Sen. Booker: I.c.e. Officers entered the grounds of a high school come of that is a fact. Elementary school children in new jersey are terrified of your agents. When they came upon a school bus, they fled. Another school, columbia university, your agents reportedly lied to students, told them they were searching for a missing person, to gain access to private spaces, nonpublic areas of campus. Secretary noem, these are kids.
▶ 3:24:35Sen. Booker: They are terrified in our communities. How do you think that affects them when children in my state go running, fleeing and often you all pursue children, throwing them to the ground, getting on their backs, putting them in handcuffs?
▶ 3:24:54Sen. Booker: I want to talk to you about this incredible empire of for-profit companies that are profiting at rates we have never seen and the way your -- you are using money per let's drill down on the warehouses dhs has been buying over the last several months. Totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. Are you familiar with the acquisition of a warehouse dhs recently bought in roxbury township, new jersey?
▶ 3:25:25Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 3:25:26Sen. Booker: You are familiar with that? Do know how much you spent for?
▶ 3:25:31Sec. Noem: Sen. booker: I do not.
▶ 3:25:33Sen. Booker: $129.3 million. Do know how much it was assessed for in new jersey?
▶ 3:25:41Sec. Noem: We are purchasing centers across the country to build efficiency into the detention center.
▶ 3:25:48Sen. Booker: Is a person who has run tight budgets before, you paid $129.3 million four facility in my state that was assessed at less than half of that at $62 million, to work for a president that says he is a great dealmaker I can believe he thinks you are a great dealmaker but what is worse than that is the roxbury township council comprised entirely of republicans voted unanimously early this year to oppose that
▶ 3:26:18Sen. Booker: Facility. My office tried to facilitate a meeting between dhs and local officials so I.c.e. Can hear their concerns, yet dhs did not even respond. That is unacceptable. You all would enter a town, you would not even follow environmental reviews or have conversations with local officials about the resources, from emergency resources to fire resources and more, that you will pull down. You did not even have a conversation.
▶ 3:26:49Sen. Booker: Secretary noem, do you comply with court orders?
▶ 3:26:52Sec. Noem: Yes, we do.
▶ 3:26:54Sen. Booker: Your agency complies with court orders?
▶ 3:26:57Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 3:26:59Sen. Booker: You are saying under oath that you do and yet we know in january the chief judge, republican appointed for the federal district of minnesota found that I.c.e. Violated nearly 100 court orders since january 1 alone.
▶ 3:27:16Sen. Booker: In my state of new jersey last month the chief of staff, deputy attorney general admitted in my state that new jersey district court, the government violated 52 separate court orders, all involving cases where immigrants successfully challenged the legality of their detention.
▶ 3:27:38Sec. Noem: Is this -- Sen. booker: there was a constitution you swore an oath to and one of the most important ideals is that no one is above the law. You are violating the separation of powers, violating court orders and routinely violating the civil rights of americans. This is a reckless and out-of-control agency that you are responsible for.
▶ 3:28:06Sec. Noem: You seem to have no situational awareness whatsoever of some of the most egregious examples of americans being completely attacked, violated, undermined, in accordance with our laws, by their own government. And this is what is phenomenal to me, is, immigration was your president's number one issue. Overwhelmingly popular with the american people.
▶ 3:28:36Sec. Noem: But now it is overwhelmingly unpopular. And it is not because you are deporting dangerous people that everybody here wants out of our country. No. It is because you are going into our schools, you are terrorizing our children, your detaining children, you are resting americans, you're breaking into our homes, terrorizing our streets, violating our rights to peacefully protest again and again and again.
▶ 3:29:03Sec. Noem: None of that is true.
▶ 3:29:05Sen. Booker: The court tells you to stop and do you violate a judges orders. You sit there and tell me you are not responsible for the running of your agency when you are not even aware. Either you are utterly incompetent or are violating laws with impunity. You should step down from your position. If you don't, you should be removed by this president.
▶ 3:29:35Sen. Booker: If not, congress should impeach you.
▶ 3:29:36Sec. Noem: I appreciate the encouragement. >> thank you, Mr. chairman and secretary noem. Over a year ago when trump took office, he came in with a significant set of mandates.
▶ 3:29:51Sec. Noem: One included the task of having to address a veritable title wave of illegal immigration that had occurred during the four year period between 2021 to 20 25. A time during which an unknown number of people entered the U.S. borders unlawfully. Some have said it is 10 to 15 million and some say more.
▶ 3:30:19Sec. Noem: It is difficult to ascertain but what we do know is many of the same people who were encouraging those things at that time are the same people who were no opposing president trump and his efforts and your efforts and those of your department. To remove those individuals. That was part of his mandate, clean up the mess.
▶ 3:30:40Sec. Noem: Now, under ordinary circumstances I would think of that when laws have been broken, most or all members of this body, if asked, those who have violated the law, and coming to our country, be returned to their own countries. I think we could all raise our hands in support of that.
▶ 3:31:02Sec. Noem: You have cast doubt on that last week during the president's state of the union address where he made the point, quote, the first duty of the american government is to protect american citizens, not illegal aliens. He asked those of us who agreed with him to stand. Stunningly, a lot of colleagues and counterparts declined to stand, refused to stand. These things are not without consequence.
▶ 3:31:31Sec. Noem: Illegal immigration is not something that poses no risk to the american people, to the security of the homeland, to the safety of individual families. It brings tremendous risk and we have felt that. Some families represented here felt that all too personally and my heart goes out to each of them. We also face another threats as we face another election this fall.
▶ 3:31:54Sec. Noem: The threat that, due to a ripple in existing federal law, out of the national voter registration act, it is stunningly easy for someone in almost any state of the union to walk into a dmv, fill out a form to apply for a driver's license which you can do as a noncitizen in almost any state and by checking a box and signing your name you can register to vote including to vote in a federal election even though existing law prohibits
▶ 3:32:27Sec. Noem: Anyone who is not a citizen from voting in a U.S. federal election. It is phenomenally easy to do so if they follow this stunning formula. That is why I proposed the save america act which would make sure we have tools necessary to protect your vote because anytime someone cast a vote who is not an american citizen it is taking away your vote, taking something that does not belong to them and belongs to you uniquely as an american citizen.
▶ 3:33:00Sec. Noem: Yet stunningly some of the same people who were condemning you and president trump were trying to clean up the mess that president biden created over a four year period of time, also the people most staunch, most dogged, most dug in and their opposition to this simple reform to make sure those showing up to vote are entitled to vote.
▶ 3:33:25Sec. Noem: You have to show your credentials and all sorts of circumstances when boarding a plane, applying for social security benefits, applying for a passport, starting any new job for a new employer you have to prove your identity, who you are, and that you are entitled to do that thing. You have to demonstrate you are entitled to do the thing you're going to do but it is not just government that requires these.
▶ 3:33:49Sec. Noem: You pick up a prescription at a pharmacy, go to the doctor, are admitted to a hospital, when you board an airplane, when you go to the super bowl, emmys, grammys, oscars or democratic national convention. Where yes photo id and credentials are required or you can get in.
▶ 3:34:09Sec. Noem: Because the democratic national convention understands that, when people participate at that event who were not entitled to, they are taking something from someone else who does have that right and that is wrong. Meanwhile many of those same individuals who publicly cheer and advocated for president biden as he was distorting various immigration laws including the uso immigration parole which requires
▶ 3:34:40Sec. Noem: Individualized determination to admit someone into the country, president biden used it categorically to bring in millions of people. With respect to our asylum laws he just opened floodgates and started treating people as if they were asylees just for submitting an asylum application and let them off into the interior U.S. hoping you will one day show up to your hearing where you will have a determination. By the way that immigration hearing might be many years or decades into the future.
▶ 3:35:13Sec. Noem: Those same people applauding that are now condemning you, condemning president trump for just trying to enforce the law and those very same people today want your department, the entirety of it, to remain shut down, defunded. Secretary noem,, how that is affecting your operations within the department.
▶ 3:35:34Sec. Noem: Either your operations, your ability to protect the american homeland from those who have come here illegally or otherwise, how is that harming the families of those who work in your department and the american people and undermining their safety?
▶ 3:35:48Sec. Noem: The patriots that work at the department of homeland security still get up every day and do their jobs and work hard to protect the american people. There are individuals and some of our department set a been furloughed, there is not an option for them takei -- to come in and they are not getting paychecks. Cannot pay rent. Our cyber agency has lost workers that have been furloughed.
▶ 3:36:14Sec. Noem: Weapons of mass destruction that detect for bombs and terrorist activities and work with local law enforcement, has been furloughed and is not on duty today. We have I.c.e. And cbp and officers at secret service and coast guard elements that are still there showing up and doing their jobs but support staff is not able to work and contracting is not getting done and management practices are not getting done and those families are struggling.
▶ 3:36:38Sec. Noem: Many of these tsa running security checkpoints are borrowing money to get through a short period without paychecks but they just got through one of those and are still in debt from paying fines and penalties for late bills so we are damaging families to make a political point that the democratic party is damaging families long-term to make a political point when it has no effect on what we are able to do for immigration enforcement every day because
▶ 3:37:09Sec. Noem: That agency is funded.
▶ 3:37:10Sen. Lee: You heard from some of those same colleagues to him -- today that they are negotiating, that they have made it fairly easy for us to fund your department with their conditions. Tell us about those conditions and how they would affect you.
▶ 3:37:27Sec. Noem: I don't understand what their conditions are at this point. One of the discussions we had was body cameras. I already instituted body cameras. They are being utilized. They need to be funded. That is something congress has not given us the tools to do. They talk about masks yet they are the party that in 2020 mandated masks and penalized and put crimes on U.S.
▶ 3:37:51Sec. Noem: Citizens if they did not have a mask on and now they don't want our law enforcement officers to be protected from doxxing and threats were people threatened their families.
▶ 3:38:01Sen. Lee: That to be sure is why they don't want them wearing masks? They want to be able to doxx them?
▶ 3:38:07Sec. Noem: To doxx their identities, have them be bullied, threatened and potentially victimized by those who do not support them upholding the law.
▶ 3:38:18Sen. Lee: Merely for doing their job?
▶ 3:38:20Sec. Noem: Correct.
▶ 3:38:21Sen. Lee: Which means enforcing the law. Who would not want the U.S. government doing its job and enforcing the law and sending people back to their home country? I cannot imagine why someone would not want that. It is stunning to me that during a time like this they want to carry out that shut down.
▶ 3:38:48Sen. Lee: Over the last few days we have had a few new developments on the world stage and domestically with what happened over the weekend in austin, and with what happened on the other side of the world over the weekend. Tell me how that has uniquely intensified the effects of the now 2.5 week old shut down of the department of homeland security which has been shut down a couple times in the last five or six month.
▶ 3:39:14Sec. Noem: We have known and suspected terrorists in this country that we don't know where they are. We have always faced threats here on our homeland and that is our department's duty to do all we can to protect the american people. But when we have conflict overseas we see ramifications are higher threats here at home as well and more resources are needed to do due diligence to do everything we can to prevent any attack on our homeland against our citizens.
▶ 3:39:41Sen. Lee: If we are going to be a country, a safe country, we have got to find the department of homeland security. We should focus on nothing. . -- thank you Mr. chair. >> before I call on senator padilla, all agencies should comply with orders, that is why we have an independent judiciary.
▶ 3:40:12Sen. Lee: Enforcement partners, our laws need to be followed, even in instances where the visuals might disagree with them, we have this public safety issue because previous administration refused to enforce our immigration laws. The previous administration let millions of illegal immigrants without proper vetting and creating a humanitarian crisis at the border.
▶ 3:40:38Sen. Lee: President and his administration have acted swiftly to address the crisis and with great success. Senator padilla?
▶ 3:40:48Sen. Padilla: , thank you Mr. chairman. Secretary noem, I'm senator alex padilla, senior senator for the state of california. Last june he were in los angeles when you publicly declared the mission of dhs in los angeles was to liberate the people, not just los angeles, but the state of california, from its duly elected leaders.
▶ 3:41:13Sen. Padilla: The national guard that was federalized and deployed into los angeles to assist dhs in this mission, that deployment was deemed unlawful, as I'm sure you are aware. Assist dhs in los angeles have returned home into their primary missions. Meanwhile I.c.e. And cbp are still conducting operations. My first question, the first of several yes or no questions, do declare mission accomplished?
▶ 3:41:45Sec. Noem: Senator padilla, our mission is not accomplished until we get every single illegal criminal out of this country and protect american citizens, until we protect all of our children in these families behind me don't ever have to go through what they had to go through.
▶ 3:42:01Sen. Padilla: Thank. Trumpet advisor steve bannon among others close to president trump have called for ice agents to quote surround the polls, unquote. However, acting I.c.e. Director, your acting I.c.e. Director tom lyons said quote there is no reason for us to deploy to a polling facility, unquote.
▶ 3:42:29Sen. Padilla: Just last week your deputy assistant secretary for election integrity, heather huntley, told a bipartisan group of state election officers on a call that I.c.e. Be present at polling places. I know this question came up earlier but I have two specifics, which is it? Do you secretary noem agree with steve banning or your acting I.c.e. Director and deputy assistant secretary?
▶ 3:42:56Sec. Noem: There are no plans to have I.c.e. Officers at polling locations. I'm not certain if you're indicating your party is planning on the cilla dating illegal aliens voting in our elections.
▶ 3:43:07Sen. Padilla: You say there are no current plans but obviously plans can change. No plans is the right answer, but not definitive enough. Sending I.c.e. Agents to the polls to intimidate voters is illegal so I want to ask you explicitly, if president trump or stephen miller directed you to do it anyway, with or without a bogus national emergency declaration, would you say no?
▶ 3:43:36Sec. Noem: Sir there is no land to send I.c.e. Officers to polling locations. Are you planning on sending illegal aliens to vote?
▶ 3:43:44Sen. Padilla: It is already illegal.
▶ 3:43:46Sec. Noem: But people have done it in the past.
▶ 3:43:50Sen. Padilla: We are asking these questions because a couple weeks ago secretary noem, when you visited arizona, claimed dhs has authority over certain aspects of elections. Enlighten me here, what statutory authority are you referring to?
▶ 3:44:06Sec. Noem: The department of homeland security has mitigation responsibility over critical infrastructure in our election system, defined by statute as critical infrastructure. Therefore it is under our department to put forward and point out vulnerabilities
▶ 3:44:24That May Be -- Sen. Padilla: I'm familiar as former secretary of state. The third area -- sec. Noem: states run election but we point out vulnerabilities.
▶ 3:44:36Sen. Padilla: I'm going to ask a question here.
▶ 3:44:42Sec. Noem: Ok.
▶ 3:44:44Sen. Padilla: The nation has watched the violent manner in which many immigrants and citizens alike have been taken into custody by your officers and your agents. In addition to that, 32 people died while in I.c.e. Custody last year and more have died in the first seven weeks of this year. A big increase from prior years.
▶ 3:45:18Sen. Padilla: Yes or no, do you care enough about the human rights of the men, women and children in your custody to improve the conditions as required by the courts?
▶ 3:45:27Sec. Noem: Yes, absolutely. We adhere to our federal detention standards which are higher than virtually all state and local detention standards. We provide medical care to all detainees, three nutritious meals a day, we keep families together.
▶ 3:45:43Sen. Padilla: I appreciate the response.
▶ 3:45:46Sec. Noem: There are unfortunate situations where --
▶ 3:45:49Sen. Padilla: I saw with my own eyes firsthand the poor conditions with which people were treated when I visited the detention center in california city. Mr. chairman, I would like to enter into the record reports from california based and nongovernmental organizations as well as the california attorney general's office about deplorable conditions at the california city detention facility, and a recent court order requiring dhs to address
▶ 3:46:20Sen. Padilla: These conditions, if I may. Thank you very much. Maintaining basic standards should not require court orders. The deplorable conditions across the country are the result of secretary noem's failed leadership. Since the beginning of the administration federal judges have found dhs not in compliance with judicial directives on a number of immigration matters.
▶ 3:46:52Sen. Padilla: The administration has lost in court, lost in court, on immigration cases more than 4500 times. Since october alone. With judges across the country finding that dhs is detaining immigrants unlawfully, and judges appointed by both republicans and democrats across the country have threatened to hold the administration in contempt for failure to comply with court orders.
▶ 3:47:20Sen. Padilla: This too is a result of secretary noem's failed leadership. Despite clear court orders, dhs continues to refuse members of congress, including myself, access to detention facilities to conduct unannounced oversight. That is our job. This is yet another court order that dhs refuses to comply with, and another example of secretary noem's failed leadership.
▶ 3:47:52Sen. Padilla: Meanwhile the department of homeland security has cut support and collaboration with state and local elections officials on election security. Secretary noem has cut staff at cisa by 1/3, proposed cutting $500 billion from the budget. You talk about critical infrastructure, I know it well, after having transferred $144 million from cisa to I.c.e.
▶ 3:48:19Sen. Padilla: Last year for immigration enforcement, all this at a time when our country is more vulnerable to cyber attacks than ever. Another example of kristi noem's failed leadership. Now the department is playing political games with distribution of disaster aid. Another sign of failed leadership.
▶ 3:48:45Sen. Padilla: On the topic of immigration enforcement, despite the dhs database that supposedly showcases the worst of the worst, a dhs spokesperson recently admitted that the database was full of inaccurate information. What we know is true, based on dhs' own data is, less than 14% of those arrested by I.c.e. And cbp, have previously been charged with or convicted of violent crimes.
▶ 3:49:17Sen. Padilla: Lies have become the pattern or practice of kristi noem's dhs. In the fall of last year secretary noem asserted that no american citizens have been arrested or detained, despite more than 170 verified reports to the contrary.
▶ 3:49:38Sen. Padilla: During a house of homeland security oversight hearing recently, secretary noem claimed dhs had not deported veterans, not under this administration, and seconds later, representative magaziner presented via video call, a veteran who had earned a purple heart, but was deported by secretary noem's dhs. So it comes as no surprise, not just the sec.
▶ 3:50:08Sen. Padilla: Directly, but her representatives within the department, have repeatedly lied to the american people about how the officers and agents under her charge have beaten, tased, shot at and killed.
▶ 3:50:24Sen. Padilla: Secretary noem, before you even knew the facts, or even allowed for a credible investigation to be conducted you called renée good and alex pretti domestic terrorists for exercising their first amendment rights.
▶ 3:50:42Sen. Padilla: And just last week dhs lied yet again about abandoning a rohingya refugee, and nearly blind man who could not see or speak english in the parking lot of a closed coffee shop only for him to die in the freezing streets of buffalo. These are not accusations, colleagues. I submit for the record reported -- reports, declarations, documents, confirming these lies.
▶ 3:51:09Sen. Padilla: For all these reasons and more secretary noem, you should resign or the president should fire you or the house should vote to impeach.
▶ 3:51:15Chair Grassley: Did you want those put in the record? Without objection. Secretary noem, in a couple minutes if you want to respond. If you don't, I will move on to senator moody.
▶ 3:51:29Sec. Noem: I wish senator padilla would have used his time to talk about kate steinle or other families that lost loved ones that are not here anymore because of violence, illegal criminals in this country that we are charged with removing to protect american citizens. He did not use any of his time to talk about victims that have been perpetuated by joe biden's invasion over the southern border.
▶ 3:51:54Sec. Noem: He did not talk about the 1.7 billion lives saved by the amount of drugs we have stopped in the last year from coming into our country and killing americans. He did not talk about the fact we have the lowest murder rate in the last 125 years because of president trump and the work he has done to keep americans safe. He did not talk about the fact american citizens should be the priority in this country because they are american citizens.
▶ 3:52:20Sec. Noem: I know he is concerned about illegal aliens but my job as secretary is to keep americans safe in the homeland and I will continue to defend the homeland every moment of every day that I get the chance and I am blessed to.
▶ 3:52:34Chair Grassley: Senator moody.
▶ 3:52:36Sen. Moody: Thank you Mr. thank you secretary for being here today. I know it is a long morning and we appreciate you being here to answer some really tough questions. But I think questions that are important to have for the american people, to know what their government is doing, and how it is placing their interest first finally. Caring about the sovereignty and safety and security and stability of this country.
▶ 3:53:06Sen. Moody: I now president trump came in on day one and said we are taking this back. We witnessed years of devastation took communities as a result of a president who was asleep at the wheel or allowed radicals to run the white house, pre-much abolished I.c.e. Abolished border patrol. Basically.
▶ 3:53:29Sen. Moody: Just in your understanding, I know you previously served as a congresswoman and governor, but in your understanding have you ever seen anything like the dereliction of duty by a president as it relates to immigration and safety of a nation?
▶ 3:53:42Sec. Noem: No, it was alarming and under that invasion every state was a border state even though I was from south dakota and the governor there, we were the first state to deploy national guard to help texas in their efforts to keep our country safe because we saw millions of people coming into the country unvented.
▶ 3:54:01Sec. Noem: We saw other countries sending their criminals and emptying out their prisons and mental health institutes and sending people to our country to make them our problem to deal with to try to protect our citizens from any crimes they would commit. That is why I took this job and why I'm blessed and honored president trump asked me to do this job. I get the chance every day to stop the damage that invasion.
▶ 3:54:28Sen. Moody: Your predecessors's out in front of this committee. I sure wish I had been on this committee at the time. At the time I was florida attorney general dealing with the effects and consequences, the jeopardy to the safety of liberty, and as a result biden's policies. Your predecessor mayorkas sat there and set under oath the border was secure, and that they were following the laws.
▶ 3:54:57Sen. Moody: In fact, when I knew with my team, migrate team in florida, not only within the attorney general's office, but sheriff's across the state, local law enforcement, they saw what was happening, the trafficking, the children, the peddling of poison in our communities. They saw what was happening as a result of an unencumbered border, nonexistent border, and the effects it was having on our state. I saw that firsthand.
▶ 3:55:30Sen. Moody: President biden came in, and in his policies, I think it is important we put this in perspective. We have some families here today with those that have lost loved ones. And I appreciate you being here, thank you so much, for reminding us of the duty we owe the american people to protect them, not just adopting good policies in congress, but making sure they are faithfully executed and enforced by the executive branch, which is what the constitution requires of our
▶ 3:56:02Sen. Moody: President. I appreciate you being here and reminding us all of the solemn responsibility and duties we owe you and every american that has trust us with these roles. President biden came in and upended precedent of democratic and republican presidents.
▶ 3:56:23Sen. Moody: That precedent was to deport those here illegally that had committed felony crimes from trafficking, to violent crimes to other types of crimes where they would've been deported, they stopped doing that. They reversed that policy.
▶ 3:56:42Sen. Moody: We also saw policies at the border that required more and more people to be pushed in I would say and said many times they are requiring a certain number of people every day to be pushed in, quotas, and demanding they process faster and faster until vetting was practically nonexistent. Do you remember that?
▶ 3:57:06Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 3:57:08Sen. Moody: Do remember the 11 million to 20 million that cayman, encountered people on the terrorist watch list, had been murders, rapists, drug traffickers. Do you acknowledge and remember there were many got aways, millions we have no idea their background? No idea why they did not walk up and go to the welcoming committee, that president biden rolled out.
▶ 3:57:40Sen. Moody: We don't know their backgrounds or where they are today, is that correct?
▶ 3:57:42Sec. Noem: Yes and because the biden administration pulled border patrol off the border to process people and feed people and move paperwork, great chunks of our border had no surveillance at all. There was no security on other chunks of our border in the cartel used that as a mechanism to divert attention.
▶ 3:58:05Sec. Noem: They pushed thousands across the border and locations of the other part of the border miles down could be exposed and they could move human trafficking in drugs -- and drugs across. The biden administration enable data gave the cartels what they needed to enrich themselves, to commit their crimes, build themselves up and perpetuate violence. That is why we are dealing with cartels now that are foreign terrorist organizations.
▶ 3:58:33Sec. Noem: Years ago you would not of heard of foreign gangs like ms13 or td a.
▶ 3:58:37Sen. Moody: Taking over apartment complexes. We saw that during the biden administration. In addition to breaking down any sense of border, pushing more and more in, to wear border patrol said they were asking us for advice, how not to stop it but how to process faster. They also built programs to make it easier during that search, overwhelming surge, using apps to make it easier to come here and many of those folks were not vetted.
▶ 3:59:08Sen. Moody: In fact we found them committing crimes after they came over on the app. Is that correct?
▶ 3:59:12Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 3:59:14Sen. Moody: An app I said was illegal yet they pushed forward even though we were experiencing a historic surge at the border.
▶ 3:59:21Sec. Noem: Correct.
▶ 3:59:23Sen. Moody: Some democratic states declared an emergency, correct?
▶ 3:59:28Sec. Noem: That is correct.
▶ 3:59:30Sen. Moody: And they demanded more money from the administration because they could not keep pace with the emergency the democratic president biden and his radical handlers created and at the same time as florida attorney general I got calls from around my state that drug traffickers who were prosecuted here that were not american citizens, but were incarcerated in federal prisons, I want underscore this, the only reason they're in america is because they were drug
▶ 4:00:00Sen. Moody: Traffickers, not citizens, we brought them here in prosecuted them here and they served a portion of their sentence and after that, instead of deporting them back to their country after they did the, -- that, they were pushing them back into the communities where they were prosecuted even though they were not citizens, is that correct?
▶ 4:00:20Sec. Noem: Correct.
▶ 4:00:21Sen. Moody: When I pressed for who they were and where they were going, do you know they stymied our efforts and would not give us that information? Would you say what you are faced with as secretary is unlike any successor has had to deal with in terms of cleaning up a dangerous, threatening situation created by their predecessor?
▶ 4:00:48Sec. Noem: Yes, absolutely. Not just the illegal immigration situation. It is the crime, individuals that wish to do us harm that they lead in. The amount of known and suspected terrorists we know are here that we need to find and move before they perpetuate harm in this country. To the neglect of fema, politicization of fema.
▶ 4:01:12Sec. Noem: They only did disaster response to individuals that aligned with the democratic party and ignored other families that were suffering and had lost everything. What we saw as far as not investing in secret service, tsa, intelligence and analysis and cisa was manipulated and censoring people's first men rights. Deciding what was misinformation, disinformation, trying to --
▶ 4:01:39Sen. Moody: How important is it -- in florida I was so proud of my state. When we had an administration that said we will put american interests of safety first again and it was so clear who supports that at the state of the union. Every one of the counties, 67 and my state, signed up and said we will help you, enter into agreements, help you track these people down that should not be here that committed crimes.
▶ 4:02:09Sen. Moody: I as a senator said let's get you money to reimburse those efforts. Does that make a difference did you see a difference in the way you engaged with states and the stability and safety involved when you did not have people working with you hand in hand?
▶ 4:02:23Sec. Noem: Absolutely and we are thrilled we have over 1400 law enforcement agreements between the 287(g) program that partnered with us to address public safety threats and get them out of communities. Those individuals are critical partners in the success and safety of the american people.
▶ 4:02:45Sen. Moody: I would ask you to keep engaging with sheriffs in the local communities, how they can best safely do these operations.
▶ 4:02:54Sec. Noem: I spent yesterday with all of our sheriffs, hundreds, thanking them for the work they do.
▶ 4:02:59Chair Grassley: Senator schiff.
▶ 4:03:02Sen. Schiff: Thank you, Mr. chairman and thank you to the families who are here that have lost loved ones, both who lost loved ones to violence perpetrated by immigrants but also to those who have been seriously injured by I.c.e. Agents and to those watching who had family members killed by I.c.e. Agents.
▶ 4:03:30Sen. Schiff: Madam secretary I want to ask you about one of the first claims you made in the heated aftermath of the shooting of renée good and alex pretti. You accused them both within hours of engaging in domestic terrorism. You have testified earlier you did so based on preliminary field reports. Who told you that these two victims were engaged in domestic terrorism? Where did you get that information from?
▶ 4:03:59Sec. Noem: I have said before and will repeat again those reports were coming from on the ground agents there. It was a chaotic scene.
▶ 4:04:07Sen. Schiff: You spoke to agents on the ground that told you they were domestic terrorists?
▶ 4:04:11Sec. Noem: Yes, my team was working with me, talking to asians on the ground to relay as much information as we could.
▶ 4:04:18Sen. Schiff: They told you people in minneapolis said they were domestic terrorists. Did they tell you whether they had any basis for that claim within either minutes or hours of the shooting of alex pretti and renée good?
▶ 4:04:32Sec. Noem: If you look back at the day of january 24, there was a press conference earlier in the day and I held one hours later.
▶ 4:04:43Sen. Schiff: Did you determine if there was any basis for the sensational claim, claim that proved to be utterly false, that these victims were engaged in domestic terrorism?
▶ 4:04:55Sec. Noem: There is an investigation ongoing.
▶ 4:04:58Sen. Schiff: I'm aware of that. I'm asking you, asking about your statements in the immediate aftermath of these shootings. Your statements based on completely on vetted information. Information that eve it was even provided proved to be utterly false, that you were content to tell the whole country.
▶ 4:05:26Sen. Schiff: Do you have any concern about misleading the whole country? Don't you think in the immediate aftermath of a shooting that you should provide only vetted information to the public? How do you imagine you are going to gain the trust of the american people if you're pushing out false information about the shooting of american citizens?
▶ 4:05:44Sec. Noem: I work every day to get factual information to the american people --
▶ 4:05:50Sen. Schiff: You did not on the day alex pretti was shot or on the day renée good was shot. You are not giving out good information, you were making a spurious claim that is because endless injury to the victims families on the basis of god knows what, and then, your agency does not allow local investigators. They essentially pushed away independent investigators.
▶ 4:06:21Sen. Schiff: How does the public have any confidence in investigations done in excessive use by I.c.e. Agents if number one you make immediate and false statements about victims and two, you don't let any independent agency conduct an investigation? How is the public supposed to believe anything your agency says or finds?
▶ 4:06:40Sec. Noem: These investigations are being done in the same way they always are.
▶ 4:06:45Sen. Schiff: No, they are not being done because you are not allowing -- excuse me, excuse me.
▶ 4:06:54Sec. Noem: Would you like to hear about the on gauge -- investigations ongoing?
▶ 4:06:58Sen. Schiff: You are not allowing state and local investigators.
▶ 4:07:01Sec. Noem: That is not my decision. The department of justice and fbi decides--
▶ 4:07:07Sen. Schiff: This is not how investigations are always done. Are you telling me in the case of marimar martinez that having an agent involved in shooting her, drive a vehicle that was used to ram into her vehicle, drive that vehicle, that evidence away from the scene, and a thousand miles to maine, you're telling me that is the way investigations are always done?
▶ 4:07:33Sen. Schiff: That you let an agent involved in an officer-involved shooting drive a key piece of evidence a thousand miles away? Is that how you conduct investigations at dhs?
▶ 4:07:43Sec. Noem: I'm not conducting these investigations, the doj with fbi is conducting those and cbp.
▶ 4:07:50Sen. Schiff: For how investigations are conducted, when agents under your control are engaged -- sec. Noem: investigations into our officers have not changed under my leadership or the president's leadership.
▶ 4:08:06Sen. Schiff: Done by pam bondi's justice department.
▶ 4:08:10Sec. Noem: Our internal investigations are following the same policies they always have.
▶ 4:08:15Sen. Schiff: You are responsible, you are responsible. You could insist on independent investigations but you are not. You could wait until there is good information after shooting before you go to the press and the public and mislead them. Let me ask you about a different subject. That is, the waste of resources at your agency.
▶ 4:08:42Sen. Schiff: The continued allegations of favoritism and contracting, and in particular, the $220 million ad campaign many of which feature you prominently. An ad campaign more expensive than the whole budget for one fight after another or any hollywood blockbuster film.
▶ 4:09:09Sen. Schiff: Let me ask you, you said the president approved this, this vast expenditure on a media campaign that largely profiles you. How do you know that? Did he approve it to you personally?
▶ 4:09:20Sec. Noem: This media campaign was critical in telling the world and this country that we are enforcing the laws in the united states of america. That if you are the country illegally [crosstalk]
▶ 4:09:35Sen. Schiff: My question is, how do you know -- excuse me, madam secretary.
▶ 4:09:43Sec. Noem: It has been extremely effective.
▶ 4:09:45Sen. Schiff: How do you know the president approved of this $220 million contract.
▶ 4:09:50Sec. Noem: We had conversations and worked with omb.
▶ 4:09:56Sen. Schiff: You had conversations directly with the president where he approved this $220 ad campaign that significantly features you?
▶ 4:10:03Sec. Noem: This campaign was talking about making sure people know that our laws were being enforced, we continue to go through the process, a competitive campaign. I had nothing of choosing --
▶ 4:10:14Sen. Schiff: So the president approved this expenditure?
▶ 4:10:17Sec. Noem: I have been explaining this when it was a competitive process and officials at dhs --
▶ 4:10:26Sen. Schiff: You are not telling the president's role in this and I can understand why. You say it was competitive but this contract went to a company that did not exist two weeks before they got the contract.
▶ 4:10:38Sec. Noem: Sir I can't speak to that I don't know the name of the company.
▶ 4:10:41Sen. Schiff: Are you saying it is just a coincidence, a happy circumstance, a fortuitous event, that $143 million of that went to a subcontractor that you work with extensively as governor in south dakota, during your campaign, that that is coincidental?
▶ 4:11:02Sec. Noem: The same process was followed for this media contract as any other.
▶ 4:11:06Sen. Schiff: So it is just a coincidence.
▶ 4:11:09Sec. Noem: I have nothing to do with --
▶ 4:11:11Sen. Schiff: Just a coincidence. Excuse me. Just a coincidence also then that this -- sec. Noem: you ask questions you should want the answers. You are trained to say it is political and it is not.
▶ 4:11:29Sen. Schiff: So it is just a coincidence that $143 million subcontract went to the husband of your press person? Also, someone that core 11 dow skate, one of your -- cory lewandowsky worked with, that was a coincidence question mark -- coincidence? [crosstalk]
▶ 4:11:57Sec. Noem: We don't weigh in on who subcommand treasures -- subcontractors are. It goes out and only career employees at dhs were in on the choosing.
▶ 4:12:11Sen. Schiff: Can you stay for the record that neither you nor Mr. lewandowsky nor your press secretary married to the person that got this $143 million, can you stay for the record that none of you I just described had any role, played any part, made any communication with any government agency that was involved in deciding who would get that contract?
▶ 4:12:33Sec. Noem: To the best of my knowledge none of us were involved in deciding who got those contracts.
▶ 4:12:39Sen. Schiff: Were any of you involved in advocating, communicating?
▶ 4:12:43Sec. Noem: Not to my knowledge.
▶ 4:12:45Sen. Schiff: Excuse me, let me finish the question. Were any of you involved in any way expressing preference in any form, manner, verbal, written, with any government agency involved in the contracting process?
▶ 4:12:59Sec. Noem: The same process was followed for that contract is all media contracts. To my knowledge there was no involvement whatsoever of anybody on the political appointees side of this position and that media contract.
▶ 4:13:12Sen. Schiff: Thank you, I yield back.
▶ 4:13:15Chair Grassley: Thank you, secretary noem, good to see you again. If I could start with a missouri question. Last time you and I visited on the homeland security meeting following a massive series of tornadoes in missouri. You pledged. In fema support and cleaning up devastation which is happened. I think you for that and want to follow up on one challenge that is come in the wake of the devastation. In partnership with the state of missouri, city of st.
▶ 4:13:44Chair Grassley: Louis has set up a debris removal project. Local officials estimate 10,000 homes -- these were significant tornadoes -- 10,000 homes will require debris removal assistance. Fema has very helpfully helped fund this debris removal, thank you for that.
▶ 4:14:06Chair Grassley: My question is, conditions laced on the funds by fema meant only one or -- 100 or 200 homes out of the 10,000 can get access to those funds. Would you be willing to work with me and the state of missouri to see if we can remove some of this red tape so more folks in the city, thousands of people now, can get access to the debris removal cleanup, get back in their homes if they need to, have their homes appropriately remedied, so folks
▶ 4:14:38Chair Grassley: Can get a roof over their head?
▶ 4:14:38Sec. Noem: Yes, I will.
▶ 4:14:40Sen. Hawley: Thank you for your help on this, it has been tremendous. I have heard a lot of complaining. Let's take a second to talk about the unqualified success you have enjoyed since coming to office and been a big part of since the president has taken office. Daily migrant encounters are down from the peak under joe biden. Daily border apprehensions are down 95%.
▶ 4:15:06Sen. Hawley: Correct me if I'm wrong, last year's southwest border apprehensions came in at the lowest annual total since 1970 so in 55 years for seven consecutive months border patrol released released a zero illegal aliens into the country, zero. That is really something. I want to make sure I get this number right, removals. Your department reports more than 2.5 million illegal aliens have left the U.S. since january last year.
▶ 4:15:36Sen. Hawley: Over 620,000 through formal proceedings and more through self leaving. Give us a sense, what does this mean for example for the flow of illegal drugs into our country? How has what happened at the border, the effective closing of the border how is that affected drugs?
▶ 4:16:02Sec. Noem: With president trump prioritizing a secure border it has cut the flow of fentanyl into the country by 56% also because of the interdiction efforts between the coast guard being out there on operation river wall and on maritime waters doing interdiction there cbp cbp in partnership with, somali -- in partnership with cbp, I.c.e.
▶ 4:16:26Sec. Noem: And the department of war, we have intercepted 156 -- 1.7 billion illegal doses of drugs which means lives saved because we stopped them proliferating it.
▶ 4:16:43Sen. Hawley: How about crime? What hasn't meant for crime?
▶ 4:16:46Sec. Noem: We have historic low crime rates. Since we have been keeping this data for 125 years we have never had a lower murder rate than we have now. Even though we deal with challenges in sanctuary and areas where they don't partner with us to address public safety threats, we still have done fantastic work in getting criminals, murderers and rapi off of our streetssts -- rapists
▶ 4:17:17Sec. Noem: Off of our streets.
▶ 4:17:18Sen. Hawley: How about human trafficking?
▶ 4:17:20Sec. Noem: Of the 450,000 children joe biden lost track of, allowed cartels to manipulate and traffickers to abuse in government paid sponsors to abuse these children, we have found 145,000 of them and will not stop until we find everyone.
▶ 4:17:39Sen. Hawley: I'm glad you mentioned child trafficking because it is so important and I will never forget that whistleblower from hsi come to me in 2023 and revealed 600 hsi investigators assigned to child exploitation fentanyl cases, 600, pulled off of those child exportation and fentanyl cases and moved to the senate -- to the southern border to make sandwiches for illegal immigrants and ferry them back
▶ 4:18:12Sen. Hawley: And doctor appointments. At the same time the administration in power at the time, the biden administration, was allowing and facilitating the largest child trafficking ring in american history. You have, I'm confident, remedied that problem and reassigned those hsi agents back to child exportation and interdiction of fentanyl. Let me ask you where child trafficking is moving now which is increasingly online.
▶ 4:18:40Sen. Hawley: I want to show a chart that is truly shocking. This chart records the number of images and videos of suspected child abuse uploaded just in the U.S., just in the year 2023.
▶ 4:18:58Sen. Hawley: The far right side records the number just in 2023, 104,375,572 images of exploited children. That same year the national center for missing and excluded children estimated more than 20 million -- 20.5 million cases of child abuse and child expectation online. -- exploitation online.
▶ 4:19:30Sen. Hawley: There are many facets but many of these images are hosted on big tech social media platforms and now ai platforms. We talked about homeland security investigations. You have a mandate to investigate and prosecute it. Are you getting cooperation when it comes to identifying children in these images? Are you getting cooperation from social media platforms who frequently are hosting these images to identify and take down the images?
▶ 4:20:01Sen. Hawley: Are they helping you and your work of going after these?
▶ 4:20:03Sec. Noem: Yes, they are partnering with us. There is always more we can do but president trump has done a fantastic job bringing them to the table and getting them to engage with these criminals and individuals who abuse our children.
▶ 4:20:18Sen. Hawley: My big concern with these data centers, or thousand in the U.S. and another 4000 coming online. If we don't take action soon to get rid of these images and get the trafficking rings using these platforms to carry on their exploitation to feed trafficking rings, if we don't do that I'm afraid these data centers will be child poor libraries -- porn libraries. I don't want that, I know you don't want that.
▶ 4:20:49Sen. Hawley: I want to call in these companies again today to take down these images, and to allow the victims of these images and exploitation to be able to get into court and have their day in court. Currently these companies are completely immune from accountability in court. It is completely anomalous and unjust and they say they will take down these images and work cooperatively, we will not support the traffickers and stop this epidemic of child exploitation.
▶ 4:21:19Sen. Hawley: Let me ask. Of all these images on kids online I was shocked to earn recently -- learn hundreds of thousands are unidentified which means we don't know who they are . I know dhs works hard on this. You have an entire section that works on identification and rescue. Is it time for congress to give you more resources?
▶ 4:21:50Sen. Hawley: I know you have agents working hard but truth of the matter is I was looking through your budget and you don't have that many folks able to work on victim identification. I was looking at interpol numbers and there are multiple data -- databases. 90,000 kids are completely unidentified. In the u.k. Database over 200,000. There are pictures of them abused and exploited, we don't know where they are or where to send folks.
▶ 4:22:20Sen. Hawley: Would it be helpful if congress said, we will create more analysts, more child-abuse expert positions, more forensic analysts and more prosecutors to give to you to look at these images, figure out who these kids are and go after their abusers. Would that be helpful in tackling this epidemic?
▶ 4:22:38Sec. Noem: Incredibly helpful. Hsi are experts at this work and to have more resources to focus on this can free these kids of a life of victim a foot -- victimhood.
▶ 4:22:51Sen. Hawley: Thank you for the terrific work you are doing to end the epidemic of child exportation, defined the missing children brought in over the border but also define these children and bring their abusers to justice. Thank you.
▶ 4:23:04Chair Grassley: Senator welch.
▶ 4:23:07Sen. Welch: Thank you. I would like to acknowledge the families that are here. You have my condolences. We appreciate your participation. I would also like to acknowledge others who have lost their lives as a result of violence that did occur with I.c.e. Agents. Second. On the question -- madam secretary, welcome.
▶ 4:23:37Sen. Welch: On the question of alex pretti and renée good, I heard your answers to my colleague, senator schiff. But, knowing what you do know, do you want to take an opportunity to apologize to their families that you characterized them on the basis of the information you had at the time, that they were engaged in domestic terrorism?
▶ 4:24:02Sec. Noem: I certainly offer my condolences to these families for their loss. It was a tragic situation that we saw in minneapolis and we continue to work to make sure those situations are handled appropriately.
▶ 4:24:20Sen. Welch: I understand you are offering condolences. You said something that accused them of being domestic terrorists. A 37-year-old mother of three, a 37-year-old veterans administration nurse. One question. Do you want to atoll it -- do you want to apologize for the characterization that they were domestic terrorists?
▶ 4:24:44Sec. Noem: I'll continue every day to get up and work hard to give everybody factual information and do all I can to portray --
▶ 4:24:52Sen. Welch: I want to move on to use of department resources. Senator kennedy asked about this contract, $120 million, senator schiff asked about it as well. I don't want to question what the purpose was, but how the award was made. $220 million.
▶ 4:25:16Sen. Welch: An advertising campaign that featured you, on a horse sitting on mount rushmore. The contract was no-bid. Do you acknowledge that?
▶ 4:25:29Sec. Noem: I was not involved with this contracting process so my understanding is --
▶ 4:25:35Sen. Welch: The answer to that is yes or no?
▶ 4:25:38Sec. Noem: I don't believe it was I believe other companies competed because there was two different vendors chosen.
▶ 4:25:45Sen. Welch: I have here a document from U.S. spending -- usspending.gov. It states justification for no-bid contract that goes to safe america media and people that think. Those are the two entities that did the campaign?
▶ 4:26:08Sec. Noem: I believe it is. I was not part of the contracting process.
▶ 4:26:13Sen. Welch: Let's get serious. The safe america was incorporated seven days by my count before they got an award of $143 million.
▶ 4:26:33Sec. Noem: Are you talking about the subcontractor?
▶ 4:26:36Sen. Welch: No, safe america.
▶ 4:26:39Sec. Noem: I was not part of this decision. We followed the same processes that have been our policies.
▶ 4:26:48Sen. Welch: I will go through this and then you can answer. I don't want us talking over each other. Safe america was incorporated 11 days or seven days by my account before they got a $143 million contract.
▶ 4:27:10Sen. Welch: As an administrator who has fiscal responsibility over a huge budget, do you realistically think a company that was created 11 days before they got $143 million is in a position to execute on a $143 million contract.
▶ 4:27:25Sec. Noem: I can't speak to their model but since at the department I have reviewed over 10,000 contracts. I save taxpayers over $13 billion by renegotiating contracts.
▶ 4:27:39Chair Grassley: Mr. chairman, I don't want the filibuster. And I want my time back. -- Sen. welch: Mr. chairman, I don't want the filibuster, I want my time back. I'm not denying her a chance to answer. I'm asking you to deny her the abuse, the filibuster.
▶ 4:28:31Sen. Welch: Thank you very much. I will go through this. This says that contract for $143 million was a no-bid contracts. Public documentation says the contract of $143 million went to the safe america company created 11 days before they got the award with that company then contracted with the strategy group and you are familiar with
▶ 4:29:03Sen. Welch: Many of the principles in this strategy group, correct?
▶ 4:29:05Sec. Noem: I know one of them.
▶ 4:29:07Sen. Welch: Mr. yoho. That is Mr. yoho standing next you, correct? He is also the husband of your former spokesperson, is that correct?
▶ 4:29:22Sec. Noem: Correct.
▶ 4:29:24Sen. Welch: Tricia mclaughlin.
▶ 4:29:26Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 4:29:27Sen. Welch: Your former assistant secretary and her husband are the ones that got the subcontract from safe america or from safe america, that is what the record shows read any dispute?
▶ 4:29:45Sec. Noem: No. There was no politicals, myself or anyone else besides career employees putting out those contracts in choosing those vendors.
▶ 4:29:57Sen. Welch: What you have is republican operatives --
▶ 4:30:00Sec. Noem: You're trying to insinuate.
▶ 4:30:03Sen. Welch: I am stating a fact.
▶ 4:30:06Sec. Noem: You're saying I weighed in on this contracting process and I did not.
▶ 4:30:10Sen. Welch: Mr. chairman. The fact is Mr. yoho was married to your assistant secretary, is married, correct?
▶ 4:30:19Sec. Noem: Yes, they are still married. And he also ran the -- your gubernatorial and attended your inauguration?
▶ 4:30:35Sec. Noem: Correct.
▶ 4:30:36Sen. Welch: And received $8.5 million from the taxpayers of south dakota with the video that showed you in various jobs as a plumber and a dentist, correct?
▶ 4:30:47Sec. Noem: That was according to the long processes of --
▶ 4:30:51Sen. Welch: I understand but this is a person that worked on your campaign,, your media plan in south dakota and a person that can work on your memoirs. And you worked with Mr. lewandowsky, correct?
▶ 4:31:16Sec. Noem: Special government employee for the white house.
▶ 4:31:20Sen. Welch: And Mr. lewandowsky brought Mr. yoho into your camp, they worked on the louisiana governor's campaign?
▶ 4:31:28Sec. Noem: No, I knew him before that.
▶ 4:31:32Sen. Welch: The person you knew, the husband of your assistant secretary, is the person in the company that got the subcontract 11 days after this original company, safe america, was founded. That is the record. So I have a question. Did Mr.
▶ 4:31:55Sen. Welch: Lewandowsky receive any compensation, directly or indirectly, from safe america or from the strategy group?
▶ 4:32:05Sec. Noem: Senator I cannot speak to that.
▶ 4:32:08Sen. Welch: Would that be of interest for you to find out?
▶ 4:32:11Sec. Noem: Sure.
▶ 4:32:13Sen. Welch: Did you ask lewandowsky, did he get compensation directly or indirectly from these contracts?
▶ 4:32:22Sec. Noem: Are you asking me to ask him?
▶ 4:32:24Sen. Welch: Yes, I am. Ask your special government advisor.
▶ 4:32:29Sec. Noem: I can do that.
▶ 4:32:30Sen. Welch: And you will get back?
▶ 4:32:32Sec. Noem: Absolutely.
▶ 4:32:34Sen. Welch: We will want that. You said in a cabinet meeting on march 24 that we are going to eliminate fema. Is that correct?
▶ 4:32:46Sec. Noem: Eliminate fema as we know it, there was no longer going to be politicized disaster response agency that president trump was going to ensure it was there to
▶ 4:32:58Respond -- Sen. Welch: We need fema unreformed. We had 2024, 2025. We need local control, we can have the fema that promotes abolishing fema and not providing services that our citizens and all our states need when on the receiving end of a monster storm.
▶ 4:33:25Sen. Welch: -- sec. Noem: fema has been responding twice as fast and empowering states and local emergency management directors. We come in and support.
▶ 4:33:35Sen. Welch: I saw the graph senator tillis held up and that is not what that graph says. Chairman I yield back.
▶ 4:33:44Chair Grassley: Three things before I call -- where there are a couple minutes you wanted to address something?
▶ 4:33:52Sec. Noem: I would like to say fema has gone forward and done 60 different emergency disasters, 41 major disasters and have overwhelmingly responded to taking care of american citizens and removed the politicization joe biden put into the agency. I'm proud of the work fema has done.
▶ 4:34:14Sec. Noem: They deployed dollars immediately and responded with other agencies to save coast guard, cbp and flooding situations in texas and made sure while local emergencies are executed at the local level that they are managed by states and the federal government is there to support. >> the department of homeland security shutdown is now in its third week.
▶ 4:34:42Sec. Noem: Are you surprised democrats opposed enforcement of immigration laws, they did so for four years when they controlled the white house. Last week they refused to stand and support trump's call to support american people during the state of the union. Homeland security includes other critical entities like secret service, fema, tsa, coast guard, the democrats refused to the primary responsibility of the federal government is to keep the american people safe,
▶ 4:35:14Sec. Noem: So it is critical that democrats and dhs at the end of this a political exercise, the hearing record will remain open for one week. Members should get their questions to the secretary at the end of the week. My expectation is the department will answer the committee's questions for the record.
▶ 4:35:42Sec. Noem: Secretary noem, senator cruz is going to adjourn this meeting. I am going to go to another meeting. I thank you for your appearance today.
▶ 4:35:54Sen. Cruz: Thank you, Mr. chairman. Madam secretary, congratulations on a grueling morning. Between you and returning to work, I start by saying thank you.
▶ 4:36:09Sen. Cruz: Thank you for accepting the charge to protect this nation at a time of enormous peril and at a time, sadly, a far too much politicization and demonization of the department of homeland security. Department of homeland security was founded in the wake of the september 11 attacks. After nearly 3000 americans were murdered on our soil.
▶ 4:36:37Sen. Cruz: It exists because we learned at a tear -- the terrible cost that vigilance is not optional. And the success of vigilance is quiet and often ignored. It is measured not in headlines but the absence of them, the flights that land safely. Plots that never materialize.
▶ 4:37:04Sen. Cruz: The threats that are intercepted before they reach our communities, like sentinel standing watch at the walls of the city, the men and women of dhs guard the homeland day and night with extraordinary dedication and professionalism.
▶ 4:37:22Sen. Cruz: Yet, over the past 18 days, democrats have shut down the very department tasked with that mission, weaponizing the budget process to advance political disagreements. The same voices that once called to abolish ice and defund the police have now left the sentinels unsupported and the watchtower dark. That is what the democratic shut down has done.
▶ 4:37:53Sen. Cruz: Let's get to the truth. The american people, this oversight hearing is about three things, where we were, what has been accomplished, and where we go next. Let's start with where we were. Secretary noem, when you walked into dhs, what was the state of operational control at the southern border that you inherited?
▶ 4:38:14Sec. Noem: There was none. Our border patrol agent's and federal officers were being forced to help facilitate the invasion of dangerous criminals and aliens into our country.
▶ 4:38:27Sen. Cruz: Were daily encounters at or near historic highs.
▶ 4:38:32Sec. Noem: Absolutely, worse we have ever seen.
▶ 4:38:36Sec. Cruz: Between 2021 and 20 24, the biden administration released more than 13 million illegal aliens into this country at the southern border, correct?
▶ 4:38:50Sec. Noem: Yes, that we know of. There could be millions more.
▶ 4:38:55Sen. Cruz: During this period of mass releases into the interior, crimes committed by foreign nationals included at least 15,000 homicides and more than 20 thousand sexual assaults, correct?
▶ 4:39:09Sec. Noem: Correct.
▶ 4:39:11Sen. Cruz: And I will say, these numbers are not abstractions. I would say to all the angel families here, thank you for being here. Thank you for holding the photographs of your children, of your spouses, your parents, of your brothers and sisters who should be with you.
▶ 4:39:44Sen. Cruz: Names like jocelyn hungry and lake and riley -- laken riley, and rachel moran. Joslyn, just 12 years old, was killed just miles from her house, raped and murdered by two venezuelan gang members that the U.S.
▶ 4:40:06Sen. Cruz: Government had apprehended and then released, and when released, they traveled to houston, texas, and kidnapped a 12-year-old girl and raped and murdered her.
▶ 4:40:25Sen. Cruz: And your time at dhs, has anyone in the leadership of the previous administration explained why the hell they let so many violent criminals free in our country?
▶ 4:40:43Sec. Noem: No, they have in. In fact, under the biden administration, they closed the victim's office at ice, the office that would help families that suffered a loss like jocelyn's family and laken and rachel's family, and they had no way to track court appearances or get counseling services, no support whatsoever. They purposely closed that down to punish those families even more.
▶ 4:41:11Sen. Cruz: It was not just murderers and rapists being released to this country. The open border under democrats also became a pipeline for poison killing our children. Secretary noem, when you took office, is it correct that fentanyl was the leading cause of death for americans between the age of 18 and 45? Was the volume of fentanyl crossing the southern border at or near record levels?
▶ 4:41:36Sec. Noem: Yes.
▶ 4:41:37Sen. Cruz: Would you agree that when operational control collapses, cartels exploit that?
▶ 4:41:43Sec. Noem: They exploit it and become enriched from it.
▶ 4:41:50Sen. Cruz: Now let's talk about what has been accomplished under president trump's leadership. Under president trump's leadership, we have had zero illegal aliens released for 10 straight months, correct?
▶ 4:42:02Sec. Noem: Correct.
▶ 4:42:04Sen. Cruz: And president trump's first year back in office, how many illegal aliens left the united states?
▶ 4:42:11Sec. Noem: 2.5 million have left voluntary, and we have detained and removed close to 700,000 now.
▶ 4:42:20Sen. Cruz: And how many known or suspected terrorists have been removed?
▶ 4:42:24Sec. Noem: We have over 1500 now to date that have been apprehended and brought to justice.
▶ 4:42:31Sen. Cruz: In the first one hundred days in the second trump administration, is it true daily border encounters decreased by approximately 90 3%?
▶ 4:42:42Sec. Noem: Yes, correct.
▶ 4:42:43Sen. Cruz: And that counters with those escaping apprehension, decreased by roughly 90 5%?
▶ 4:42:52Sec. Noem: Correct.
▶ 4:42:53Sen. Cruz: And illegal crossings overall fell by 99%?
▶ 4:42:58Sec. Noem: Correct.
▶ 4:42:59Sen. Cruz: And how much illegal drugs are we interdicting at the border?
▶ 4:43:04Sec. Noem: Fentanyl has dropped by 56% in just the last year, from 2024 when historic highs were coming into the country to historic lows in 20 25 under president trump's leadership.
▶ 4:43:16Sen. Cruz: And I would note that securing the border, targeting narco terrorists, arresting and prosecuting nicolas maduro, all of those have had extraordinary effects. Is it correct that nationwide the murder rate has decreased 20% in the last year?
▶ 4:43:38Sec. Noem: It is at a historic low. In the last 25 years, we are at the lowest murder rate in our country's history.
▶ 4:43:45Sen. Cruz: Is it also correct that the number of drug overdose deaths in america has decreased 20% in the last year?
▶ 4:43:56Sec. Noem: That is correct.
▶ 4:43:58Sen. Cruz: That literally means there are thousands of americans who are alive today who would not be alive if president trump had not been reelected, if republicans had not won control of congress, would you agree?
▶ 4:44:12Sec. Noem: That is correct.
▶ 4:44:14Sen. Cruz: It means, tragically, that had the democrats open border policies continued, there would be more and more rows of people, americans holding pictures of loved ones -- we do not know who the loved ones are that were not murdered this last year, we do not know who the loved ones were that did not die of fentanyl overdoses, but we know that many more americans would have.
▶ 4:44:45Sen. Cruz: Correct?
▶ 4:44:45Sec. Noem: Correct.
▶ 4:44:47Sen. Cruz: A particularly infuriating illustration, several weeks ago, the houston chronicle had a front page story , banner headline, murder rate in houston, texas, decreases by 18%. And heidi, my wife, handed me the article because she knew it would piss me off, and she was correct.
▶ 4:45:09Sen. Cruz: The article said, the murder rate has dropped 18%, experts are baffled as to why and can think of no reason whatsoever why the murder rate would drop and clearly is not connected to anything that is happening anywhere. Madam secretary, is it reasonable inference that arresting and deporting murderers and gang bangers will result in fewer murders?
▶ 4:45:35Sec. Noem: Correct, yes, sir.
▶ 4:45:37Sen. Cruz: And arresting and deporting drug traffickers and stopping narco traffickers resulted in fewer people dying of drug overdoses?
▶ 4:45:45Set Boat -- Sec. Noem: Correct.
▶ 4:45:47Sen. Cruz: It is amazing that cause and effect was so difficult to understand. Where do we go from here? As we sit here today, are there border patrol agent's right now working with zero pay?
▶ 4:45:59Sec. Noem: The agents and law enforcement officers are being paid. Some support and administrative staff or not.
▶ 4:46:07Sen. Cruz: Is the shutdown making it harder to sustain the enforcement gains for the american people?
▶ 4:46:15Sec. Noem: Yes, it is -- it is.
▶ 4:46:16Sen. Cruz: Does the funding and stability affect morale in the department?
▶ 4:46:20Sec. Noem: It does. The people in the department of homeland security love their jobs and come to work recognizing how important their mission is, but they become discouraged when they cannot pay their bills and feed their families, especially with multiple shutdowns, which tells the members of this body, the democratic party, do not think they are important enough to get paid for what they do.
▶ 4:46:40Sen. Cruz: We are right now engaged in military conflict with iran. At this time, the uss -- do you assess that there is a real danger and risk of terrorism to the united states?
▶ 4:46:57Sec. Noem: Every day there is a real danger and risk of it, but there is an elevated risk because of what is happening overseas.
▶ 4:47:05Sen. Cruz: Tragically, this past sunday in austin, texas, we saw that unfold. A mass murderer who arrived wearing a sweatshirt that said "property of allah," who was wearing a t-shirt with the flag of iran, who had a koran in his car, opened fire on a bar in
▶ 4:47:36Sen. Cruz: Austin, texas. Among those murdered, ryder harrington, age 19, 20 one-year-old, and a 30-year-old. Secretary noem, is it correct that this mass murderer was born in senegal?
▶ 4:47:57Sec. Noem: He was, and he was naturalized during the obama administration.
▶ 4:48:02Sen. Cruz: He was naturalized in 2013. Would you agree that weaknesses in screening, vetting, or oversight, even in years of the past, can reverberate years later with deadly consequences?
▶ 4:48:18Sec. Noem: Absolutely. That is why in green cards and naturalization purposes, the last several years of the biden administration, we are reviving those individuals. Set
▶ 4:48:32Ssen. Cruz: Despite the risk of more terrorism, more americans being murdered by radical islamic cleric's's -- terrorists, democrats are nonetheless working over and over again to defend the department of homeland security.
▶ 4:48:54Sec. Noem: Encouraging violent rioters to continue to resist as in protest against ice and the operations we do.
▶ 4:49:05Sen. Cruz: You know, it was not long ago that common sense prevailed, there was bipartisan agreement. We agreed, we all support the police. We all support law enforcement. We all want to see criminals in jail, believe murderers should be in jail, believe rapists should be in jail, believe child molesters should be in jail, believe gang bangers should be in jail.
▶ 4:49:27Sen. Cruz: Today, tragically, the democrat party has decided they are party of murderers and rapists and child molesters and gang bangers. And the men and women who are on the wall, the men and women who are defending us from these violent criminals, to the democrats, they are the enemy.
▶ 4:49:47Sen. Cruz: And they engage in rhetoric that is shameful, attacking border patrol agent, attacking ice agents, calling them nazis, calling them gestapo, calling them terrorists, cheering on violence against law enforcement. It is utterly shameful.
▶ 4:50:09Sen. Cruz: I want to speak to the men and women in your department, speak to those border patrol and ice agents come all the men and women on that line, I want to say thank you. We appreciate you, your service, your courage, 31 million texans say thank you. By the way, the violence is occurring in democrat states where it is cheered on by democrat politicians.
▶ 4:50:38Sec. Noem: It is true.
▶ 4:50:41Sen. Cruz: It is shameful, and secretary noem, I want to say thank you for getting up and doing your job every day, thank you for making my family safe. Thank you for making the families of 31 million texans safer. Thank you for the honorable work of the department of homeland security and to everyone there, god bless you and your families.
▶ 4:51:01Sen. Cruz: Thank you for speaking out and having the courage to say your loved ones matter, they are not forgotten, I want to apologize on behalf of the federal government. Your loved ones should never have lost their lives. The federal government had done its damn job, these murderers would not be here. Thank you. Thank you, secretary noem. With that, I do not have a gavel, but this hearing is adjourned. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap.org]