Two top Trump administration officials could be forced to testify after an ICE agent killed 37-year-old mother Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, according to reports Friday.
Senate Homeland Security Committee Democrats were urging Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to call on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House border czar Tom Homan to testify before the committee, CBS reported.
In a letter Thursday, Democratic lawmakers on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee called on Rand to consider holding hearings and even issuing potential subpoenas, alleging that the Department of Homeland Security has "completely neglected its responsibility to fairly and transparently investigate these federal agents’ actions. We urge you to conduct needed oversight of the Department."
The letter was in response to growing protests in Minnesota and across the U.S., where lawmakers argued DHS has sent an "unprecedented number of federal agents." They questioned recent ICE agent tactics, including masked agents using unmarked vehicles to conduct operations, which the lawmakers have said has increased confusion and fear among community members.
Lawmakers argued that not only should Noem and Homan should be brought to testify, but in addition, so should ICE acting director Todd Lyons, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino should be called before the committee.
The senators also pointed to Noem, who had claimed that "no American citizens have been arrested or detained," even though a number of lawsuits, court rulings and reports have shown that's not the case. They also described how Noem's response to Good's killing was to accuse her of committing an act of domestic terrorism.
They argued that "this Administration is creating a false narrative by labeling citizens carrying out their First Amendment rights and protesting thisAdministration’s actions as domestic terrorists."
