Top 5 Takeaways From The House Immigration Oversight Hearing - Beritaja

Left to right, Rodney Scott, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Joseph Edlow, head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Todd Lyons, acting head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, attest during a House Committee connected Homeland Security proceeding connected Feb. 10, 2026. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Immigration agency leaders appeared earlier Congress for the first clip since 2 U.S. citizens were changeable and killed by national migration officers successful Minneapolis.

Democrats, and immoderate Republicans, connected the House Homeland Security Committee connected Tuesday took the opportunity to knock the strategies utilized by officers connected the crushed and the strategy of apical Trump management officials to curb forbidden migration.

The disapproval came arsenic legislature backing is set to expire connected Friday for the Homeland Security Department — the section that houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The proceeding underscored really profoundly divided Republicans and Democrats stay connected top-level changes to migration enforcement successful the aftermath of the shootings. It suggested Congress is inching person to different stopgap measure to money the section successful the absence of deeper agreement.

Here are immoderate different takeaways from the hearing:

1. Deaths of 2 U.S. citizens enactment apical of mind

Both Republicans and Democrats discussed the deaths of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti, the 37-year-olds killed by DHS officers successful 2 abstracted incidents.

Rep. Andrew Garbarino, N.Y., the Republican president of the committee, called the deaths, arsenic good arsenic accrued convulsive rhetoric generally, "unacceptable and preventable."

"The information of rule enforcement and the communities they service and protect must ever travel first. When officials aliases elected leaders unreserved to conclusions about rule enforcement, aliases their chap Americans, nationalist spot suffers," Garbarino said successful his opening remarks, calling for a "complete" investigation.

"I cannot put myself successful the shoes of rule enforcement, nor could I ideate what the families of Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti are enduring today," he said.

But ICE acting Director Todd Lyons — who hasn't been confirmed by the Senate yet — deflected questions regarding the deaths. He said he would "not remark connected immoderate ongoing investigations."

He besides sought to deflect disapproval of President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for labeling Pretti arsenic a "domestic terrorist," saying arsenic elected aliases appointed officials, "that's their correct to their comments."

But Lyons, successful consequence to Democrats' questions, did stress that U.S. citizens shouldn't beryllium caught up successful migration enforcement.

"ICE officers and typical agents are trained successful the Immigration and Nationality Act, truthful anyone that is present legally aliases lawfully aliases a US national should not beryllium concerned about being deported aliases detained," Lyons said. He later drew a favoritism betwixt personification being "arrested" – which he acknowledged could hap to a U.S. national — and being "detained" connected a longer basis.

BERITAJA witnessed aggregate instances successful Minnesota wherever migration agents drove about Minneapolis and questioned group about their migration status, pinch the state's lawyer wide saying U.S. citizens were detained.

The detention of U.S. citizens has besides happened nether anterior administrations. A 2021 Government Accountability Office study recovered that complete a five-year period, U.S. citizens had encounters pinch migration officers that could lead to their apprehension and moreover deportation.

2. Bipartisan questions about training and soul oversight

ICE and CBP officials collapsed down training and resources disposable to officers, successful consequence to repeated questions about really officers are treating U.S. citizens and others.

Lyons said that officers acquisition 3 months of training, which includes 47 days astatine the Federal Law Enforcement Training Academy successful Georgia. Law enforcement officers and typical agents who were certified successful the past sewage to person a shorter training module, focused connected conscionable topics for illustration the Immigration and Nationality Act.

"They would person to spell done the rigorous migration training, which, unluckily ... migration rule is conscionable arsenic confusing and agelong arsenic [the] taxation code," Lyons said.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., asked Lyons really galore ICE officers person been fired for their conduct. Lyons declined to remark connected unit matters.

But Lyons did denounce immoderate of the connection migration officers were caught utilizing connected video. For example, successful a video shared connected social media aft Pretti's death, an serviceman could beryllium heard telling a woman: "if you raise your voice, I will erase your voice."

When asked about the footage, Lyons said he hadn't seen it but said ICE "does respect and adhere to the First Amendment" and that the connection heard successful the video "doesn't correspond the values of the men and women of ICE."

3. Republicans stock immoderate concerns pinch Democrats

Republicans voiced interest about 2 issues that Democrats person often raised: roving patrols and the usage of assemblage cameras.

Under the 2nd Trump administration, CBP, which houses the Border Patrol agency, has taken a starring domiciled successful enforcing national migration laws successful the interior of the country, alternatively than strictly adjacent the borders.

In consequence to wide disapproval of the events successful Minneapolis, Trump removed Border Patrol commandant Gregory Bovino from serving arsenic the nationalist look of the migration beingness there, replacing him pinch White House separator czar Tom Homan. Trump later said in an interview that "maybe we could usage a small spot of a softer touch" erstwhile it comes to migration enforcement.

GOP Rep. Michael McCaul, Texas, said he believed "roving patrols should beryllium done astatine the separator alternatively than successful the awesome cities of the United States." He besides applauded the activity changes successful Minneapolis arsenic "returning to the original ngo of ICE."

Lawmakers from some parties person besides pushed for greater usage of assemblage cameras to assistance successful oversight of agents' actions connected the ground.

Lyons said that ICE had 3,000 cameras for 13,000 officers and Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott noted that only half of 20,000 CBP officers person assemblage cameras.

Lyons pledged to Rep. Tony Gonzalez, R-Texas, that assemblage camera footage of enforcement successful Minneapolis would beryllium released to the nationalist and that he welcomes each officers getting specified cameras.

Scott, from Customs and Border Protection, besides pleaded for Congress to afloat money the assemblage camera programme for his agency, too, noting that while location has been money for the beingness devices, location person not been the unit to afloat instrumentality the assemblage camera program.

"So money the full programme truthful that we could beryllium transparent and that we could make judge America knows what we're doing, because that spot is critically important," Scott urged lawmakers.

Noem, the homeland information secretary, has said the section is sending assemblage cameras to each section serviceman successful Minneapolis and that the assemblage camera programme would beryllium expanded nationwide arsenic backing allows.

Democrats want this codified into law.

4. Most requests were still partisan

The rhetoric and questions still seemed mostly divided on partisan lines. Republicans described the activity done by ICE arsenic "remarkable," while Democrats called for the "abolishment" and "dismanteling" of the agency.

Other Democratic proposals proceed to look an uphill conflict for GOP support, including calls for officers to show identifying accusation specified arsenic their past names connected their uniforms, and to prohibit them from wearing look coverings.

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., asked Lyons whether he would perpetrate to unmasking his officers. Lyons said no. And Republicans based on that banning look masks would make it easier for group to dox national agents — a communal refrain from the administration.

5. ICE was successful the spotlight, while CBP, USCIS — and the looming shutdown — took a backseat

Both Republicans and Democrats peppered Lyons pinch questions about his agency's operations. But lawmakers mostly did not drill down into the changes astatine CBP and USCIS, contempt those agencies' growing roles successful migration enforcement complete the past year.

Questions for CBP's Scott still centered about separator enforcement. That comes moreover arsenic the Border Patrol has gone beyond its accepted jurisdiction of 100 miles from U.S. borders to behaviour enforcement successful cities for illustration Minneapolis, and lead operations successful Illinois, North Carolina and Louisiana.

All 3 agencies hedged successful consequence to questions about whether their operations would beryllium affected if DHS shuts down connected Friday. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow reminded lawmakers that his agency is funded chiefly by the fees group salary erstwhile they taxable various forms and applications, truthful his labor would still get paid.

And ICE and CBP some sewage a immense infusion of rate from Congress successful Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act past summertime — making ICE the highest-funded U.S. rule enforcement agency.

Lyons said the shutdown could impact the Department of Homeland Security's activity related to transnational crime, but he did not statement immoderate effect to migration operations. And Scott besides didn't item really the shutdown would impact personnel, conscionable saying: "I work together America becomes little safe."

Their responses propose immoderate lapse successful backing could about impact non-immigration agencies wrong the Department of Homeland Security, for illustration the Transportation Security Administration and Federal Emergency Management Agency — perchance pronunciation problem for U.S. aerial recreation and disaster response.

—BERITAJA's Barbara Sprunt contributed to this report.