Homeland Security Secretary Noem Faces Scrutiny Over Immigration Policies At House Hearing | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defiantly defended the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration insurance policies on Thursday throughout a House committee listening to, portraying migrants as a significant risk confronted by the nation that justifies a crackdown that has seen widespread arrests, deportations and a dizzying tempo of restrictions on foreigners.

Noem, who heads the company central to President Donald Trump’s method to immigration, acquired backup from Republicans on the panel however fierce questioning from Democrats who known as for her resignation. The secretary, whose testimony was interrupted by protesters calling for an finish to deportations, vowed she “would not back down.”

Noem, who was testifying in entrance of the House Committee on Homeland Security to debate “Worldwide Threats to the Homeland,” emphasised in her remarks how large a task she believed immigration performed in these threats to the nation. Her remarks, and the Democrats’ questioning, targeted closely on the Trump administration’s immigration insurance policies, whereas in years previous the listening to has centered on points akin to cybersecurity, terrorism, China and border safety.

“What keeps me up at night is that we don’t necessarily know all of the people that are in this country, who they are and what their intentions are,” Noem mentioned. She mentioned that was why Trump’s administration was being “so aggressive” in “finding those people who shouldn’t be in this country to begin with.”

Trump returned to energy in January with what he says is a mandate to reshape immigration within the U.S., claiming the nation is beneath an invasion.

In the months since, the variety of individuals in immigration detention has skyrocketed; the administration has continued to take away migrants to international locations they don’t seem to be from; and, within the wake of an Afghan nationwide being accused of capturing two National Guard troops, Noem’s division has dramatically stepped up checks and screening of immigrants within the U.S.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, the rating Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, instructed Noem that she has diverted huge assets to hold out Trump’s “extreme” immigration agenda and failed to supply primary responses to oversight questions from Congress.

“I call on you to resign,” the Mississippi congressman mentioned. “Do a real service to the country.”

Noem didn’t handle Thompson’s name throughout her opening assertion however urged that she and the division she leads weren’t going wherever.

“We will never yield. We will never waver, and we will never back down,” she mentioned. She praised the Trump administration’s efforts on the subject of immigration, saying, “We’re ending illegal immigration, returning sanity to our immigration system.”

It has been months since Noem final appeared in Congress in May. Since then, immigration enforcement operations, particularly in Los Angeles and Chicago, have turn into more and more contentious, with federal brokers and activists often clashing over her division’s ways.

Her testimony was interrupted by protesters shouting “Stop ICE raids” and “End deportations.”

The worldwide threats listening to, normally held yearly, is a chance for members of Congress to ask the leaders of the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center about threats dealing with the U.S. and what their companies are doing to handle them.

The listening to provided lawmakers a uncommon alternative to listen to instantly from Noem, however many members of the panel used the majority of their allotted time to both reward or lambast her dealing with of immigration enforcement quite than ask questions designed to elicit expansive and illuminating responses.

The secretary levied broad criticism for this system by means of which the person suspected of capturing two National Guard members final month got here to the United States.

The program, Operation Allies Welcome, was created by then-President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration after the 2021 resolution to depart Afghanistan following 20 years of American intervention and billions of {dollars} in help.

Noem’s division is beneath explicit scrutiny as a result of Congress in July handed laws giving it roughly $165 billion to hold out its mass deportations agenda and safe the border. The division is getting more cash to rent 10,000 extra deportation officers, full the wall between the U.S. and Mexico and enhance detention and removing of foreigners from the nation.

The secretary’s look additionally comes as a federal choose is investigating whether or not she ought to face a contempt cost over flights carrying migrants to El Salvador.

Noem can even doubtless should reply to criticism from Democrats who accuse immigration enforcement brokers of erroneously detaining and arresting American residents of their rush to deport as many individuals within the nation illegally as doable. And numerous the Democratic members of the committee are a part of a lawsuit accusing Noem and the division of limiting their entry to Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention services.

Also attending Thursday’s listening to are Joseph Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, and Michael Glasheen, operations director of the nationwide safety department of the FBI.

Glasheen, operations director of the FBI’s nationwide safety department, mentioned the nation faces “serious and evolving” threats, from terrorism plots and international intelligence operatives to stylish cyberattacks and internet-enabled exploitation of youngsters. Notably, he didn’t establish immigration as among the many most urgent considerations for the homeland.

When the listening to was introduced in September, the Republican committee chair mentioned that moreover Noem and Kent, FBI Director Kash Patel would even be attending. But as a substitute the FBI is being represented by Glasheen.

Thompson mentioned throughout his opening assertion that he felt the FBI director must also be showing on the listening to alongside Noem, saying he “can’t help but notice” Patel’s absence.

Patel seemed to be overseas on official FBI enterprise. Late Wednesday on X, Patel posted that he was in Brussels for a “great” assembly with Matt Whitaker, the U.S. ambassador to NATO.