Noem defends her portrayal of killed Minneapolis protesters as agitators, in her Senate hearing

Homeland Security Secretary Faces Sharp Criticism Over Immigration Tactics and Minnesota Deaths

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faced intense questioning from lawmakers on Tuesday during a contentious Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, defending her department’s immigration enforcement tactics while pushing back against criticism of her handling of two fatal shootings in Minneapolis earlier this year.

The hearing marked Noem’s first congressional appearance since the deaths of two U.S. citizens during immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, incidents that have galvanized widespread opposition to the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda—a centerpiece policy of President Donald Trump’s second term.

“I want to address the dangerous environment that our ICE officers face on the streets today,” Noem told the committee. “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.”

Democrats repeatedly pressed Noem about her initial characterization of the two protesters killed by federal officers. Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on January 7, triggering intense protests. Weeks later, on January 24, Customs and Border Protection officers fatally shot Alex Pretti, who had been filming enforcement operations.

“You and your agency rushed to brand these victims as, quote, domestic terrorists,” said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee. “We have ample video evidence and eyewitness testimony proving you are wrong. Your statements caused immeasurable pain to these families.”

Noem defended her initial statements, claiming she relied on information from agents at the scene. “I was getting reports from the ground from agents at the scene, and I would say that it was a chaotic scene,” she said, blaming “violent protesters” for contributing to the chaos officers encountered.

The Minnesota operation, dubbed “Operation Metro Surge,” was initially described by federal authorities as an effort to root out fraud. It involved hundreds of officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Their presence was met with organized resistance from protesters who marched, patrolled neighborhoods for ICE activity, and provided food to immigrants afraid to leave their homes.

Following public outrage over the deaths, Trump dispatched border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to take control of operations. Homan has since announced a scaling back of federal enforcement personnel in Minnesota, though Noem noted about 650 investigators remain in the state as part of a broader fraud investigation. The secretary emphasized that the administration’s mass deportation agenda will continue despite the drawdown in Minnesota.

In a surprising development, Noem faced harsh criticism not just from Democrats but also from retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who bluntly called her leadership a “disaster.”

“What we’ve seen is a disaster under your leadership, Miss Noem, a disaster,” Tillis said. “What we’ve seen is innocent people getting detained that turn out are American citizens.” Tillis, who previously called for Noem’s resignation following the Minneapolis shootings, also criticized her for failures in disaster recovery management and referenced a controversial incident where she shot her own dog.

“We’re beginning to get the American people to think that deporting people is wrong. It’s the exact opposite. The way you’re going about deporting them is wrong,” added Tillis, who has already announced he is not seeking another term.

Another Republican, Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, questioned Noem about a $200 million advertising campaign she appeared in last year encouraging migrants to leave the country voluntarily. Kennedy asked whether Trump was aware of the price tag beforehand.

Noem defended the ads as effective and said they went through the regular department bidding process. “Well, they were effective in your name recognition,” Kennedy responded pointedly.

The hearing, which stretched nearly five hours, also touched on the department’s partial shutdown due to an ongoing clash in Congress over its routine funding. While a spending bill passed last year granted the department a significant cash infusion for the Republican administration’s deportation policy, budget negotiations remain unresolved. Noem called the partial shutdown “reckless” and blamed Democrats for putting national security at risk.

The secretary’s appearance also came in the wake of a weekend shooting at a Texas bar being investigated as a possible act of terrorism, raising concerns that escalating conflict in Iran could have repercussions for domestic security in the United States.

Noem is scheduled to appear Wednesday before a House committee, where she is likely to face additional questioning about her department’s enforcement tactics and the deaths in Minneapolis that have become a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration enforcement.