Washington — Senate Homeland Security Committee Democrats are urging the panel’s chairman, Sen. Rand Paul, to convene oversight hearings and call Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House border czar Tom Homan to testify, after the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
Good’s fatal shooting on Jan. 7 by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has sparked days of protests and heated clashes with federal officers, and it’s prompted renewed scrutiny of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics.
In a letter first obtained by CBS News, Democrats on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, led by ranking member Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, called on Paul, a Kentucky senator, to use the panel’s authority to hold hearings and potentially issue subpoenas to senior administration officials.
In addition to Noem and Homan, the lawmakers said 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 said the deployment of federal agents has occurred “without appropriate coordination with state and local law enforcement.” They also accused federal officers of engaging in “numerous operations involving excessive uses of force,” including in the case of Good’s killing.
Good sustained at least three gunshot wounds, and possibly a fourth, according to a Minneapolis Fire Department incident report obtained by CBS News Minnesota. The newly released details followed a week of protests in Minnesota that prompted President Trump to threaten invoking the Insurrection Act. The rarely used law would allow him to deploy the U.S. military to the state or federalize the National Guard.
Democrats say Good’s killing is part of a broader pattern. They catalogued incidents beyond Minnesota, alleging federal agents appear to have used excessive force in firing pepper balls at peaceful protesters, detaining U.S. citizens during immigration raids — despite proof of citizenship — and deploying tear gas and pepper balls against journalists covering demonstrations.
The lawmakers also expressed concern about agents conducting operations while masked and their use of unmarked vehicles, both practices they say have fueled fear and confusion in communities.
The senators accuse DHS leadership of failing to fairly and transparently investigate such incidents. They faulted Noem for claiming publicly that “no American citizens have been arrested or detained,” despite lawsuits, rulings and reporting that indicate otherwise, and for stating in the immediate aftermath of Good’s killing that she had committed an act of domestic terrorism.
In response to the Democrats’ letter, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement, “DHS is a law enforcement agency — enforcing the rule of law passed by Congress. If members don’t like the law, it is quite literally their job to change it.”
She added, “As ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them, politicians are more focused on showmanship and fundraising clicks than actually removing criminals from our streets.”
Noem last testified before Congress on Dec. 11, during a contentious House hearing on immigration enforcement that ended abruptly when she left early, a move Democrats criticized as evading oversight. A subsequent Democratic effort to subpoena her testimony was blocked by Republicans.
The push for Senate hearings comes as Congress negotiates funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Lawmakers passed a three-bill package this week funding several federal agencies, but left DHS unresolved after Democrats said they would not support a funding bill without new accountability measures for ICE.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats in both chambers are demanding changes to ICE’s conduct as part of the appropriations process, ahead of a Jan. 30 shutdown deadline.
The oversight demand also comes as ICE operations expand nationwide. CBS News reported Friday that the agency’s detainee population has reached a record high of 73,000.
With Republicans in control of the Senate, Democrats cannot compel hearings or subpoenas on their own. But the letter places pressure on the GOP chairman at a moment when scrutiny of ICE operations, DHS leadership and federal enforcement tactics is intensifying.
A spokesperson for Paul said the chairman’s office is reviewing the letter.
