Trump’s immigration heads questioned over Pretti, Good killings in House hearing

Government officials continued to defend the Trump administration’s tactics on immigration and did not offer an apology when questioned by Democrats during a House hearing Tuesday.

Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Rodney Scott, Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, testified before the House Homeland Security Committee.

Officials declined to answer Democrats’ questions about the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration agents in Minneapolis last month, citing an ongoing investigation into the events surrounding the killings.

“The killing of Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti by DHS is the most tragic example of what is wrong with Trump’s DHS,” Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said in his opening remarks.

Lyons refused to apologize for the deaths of Good and Pretti and said he would not comment on ongoing investigations.

He defended the administration’s immigration policies and tactics, saying that “following the previous administration’s unprecedented border crisis, ICE stepped in to enforce the law.”

“We have sent a message to anyone who thinks they can intimidate us: you will fail,” he added.

Lyons said ICE made 379,000 arrests in the first year of the Trump administration and removed more than 475,000 people from the United States.

“We’re just getting started,” he said.

Republican lawmakers have focused on escalating threats against federal law enforcement while also calling for an investigation into fatal shootings in Minnesota.

“We sit here today at an inflection point, an opportunity to evaluate and strengthen the integrity of immigration enforcement, to build public trust, an opportunity to highlight and underscore the unwavering mission of the Department of Homeland Security as a whole,” said House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Andrew R. Garbarino, R-N.Y.

Garbarino said there should be a “full and impartial” investigation into the murders of Pretti and Good.

“We’ve seen state and local jurisdictions refuse to protect federal law enforcement officers, and obviously, we’ve now seen the deaths of two American citizens in Minnesota,” Garbarino said. “All of this is unacceptable and avoidable. »

Garbarino noted that there has been a significant increase in attacks on federal law enforcement and the number of threats they and their families face.

Democrats asked Lyon how many ICE agents or officers have been fired for misconduct during immigration operations, to which Lyon did not respond as they cited reports of arrests of U.S. citizens, the use of chemical irritants on protesters and other instances of excessive use of force. CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said several investigations were open within his agency, but declined to provide details.

Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., showed videos of chemical irritants deployed against a driver and his young child, and of pepper spray used at close range in someone’s face while they were pinned down by officers. When Magaziner asked Scott if it was proper procedure to deploy pepper spray in a moving vehicle, Scott said no. Scott declined to comment on the second instance, saying the video was only a limited excerpt.

“Your agency has been caught on camera repeatedly using unnecessary violence against civilians, and you can’t even tell me if any of these agents have been investigated or disciplined,” the congressman said.

Democrats have pledged to vote against defunding the Department of Homeland Security unless it changes its immigration enforcement policies. The department will go into shutdown this weekend if a funding bill is not passed, something Republican lawmakers have warned against.

“Let me be clear: Shutting down DHS makes America less safe,” Garbarino said during the hearing.

It was the first time these top immigration officials appeared together before Congress since their umbrella government agency, the Department of Homeland Security, received a huge infusion of federal funds last summer to dramatically ramp up enforcement operations across the country.