The committee chairman, GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, told “CBS Mornings” on Wednesday that there has been “a loss of public trust in ICE and their officials after seeing what’s been going on in Minneapolis,” while citing “fault on both sides.”
Outlining what he hopes to hear from witnesses, Paul said, “We want to hear both sides on this.”
“But we’re also going to ask the ICE heads and those at DHS, we’re going to ask them, ‘What is the proper use of force?'” Paul said. “‘When should agents be drawing their guns? When should they be firing their guns?’ And if these heads of these agencies refuse to answer these questions, it’s going to be a real problem.”
Paul said: “When a mistake of this magnitude happens, the first thing should be an apology and it should be regret, it should be sadness and it should be, ‘We are going to do better, and this is the policy, and we’re going to make sure it’s enforced.'” He credited Tom Homan with “doing better.” Homan is the White House border czar who has taken over operations in Minnesota.
The Kentucky Republican said the public needs to “know how to behave, too.”
“Do you have a chance of being shot if you take a weapon and have a proper license for a weapon to a rally?” Paul said. “Could you be shot if you’re yelling at ICE officers? Could you be shot if you’re gesticulating?”
He said the heads of the immigration enforcement agencies must be ready to answer the questions, noting that their testimony at the House hearing earlier this week was “mostly side-stepping.”
