Illinois Senator Dick Durbin grills DHS Sec. Kristi Noem on immigration enforcement, Minnesota shootings, domestic terrorism claims during testimony

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin grilled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on her immigration enforcement tactics, claims that protesters are "domestic terrorists" and how she handled the deadly Minneapolis shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti Tuesday.

Noem is testifying before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee during a partial government shutdown affecting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after their immigration tactics triggered a clash in Congress over its routine funding without limitations how federal agents can conduct their immigration enforcement.

It is Noem's first congressional appearance since Pretti's and Good's deaths galvanized widespread national opposition to how the Trump administration is carrying out its mass deportation agenda.

"Secretary Noem is the public face for an abominable anti-immigrant crusade," said Durbin, the top Democrat on the committee, in a statement in advance of the hearing. "Her agents continue to wreak havoc on our cities and act with unspeakable cruelty against children, immigrant families, and American citizens."

During the hearing, Durbin pressed Noem on her department's actions in Minnesota and in Illinois.

"Your statements cause immeasurable pain to these families," Durbin said. "Let me give you an opportunity to do the right thing. Do you retract these statements identifying these individuals as domestic terrorists?"

"Sen. Durbin, when we have these situations happen, we always offer our condolences to those families, and I offer mine as well," she replied. "These are tragic situations, and I can't imagine what these families go through in losing a loved one. What I will say is we always work to provide the American people with as much information as possible."

"The situation on the ground that day was chaotic," Noem said of the Minneapolis shootings.

"How did you think that calling them 'domestic terrorists' at that scene was somehow going to calm the situation?" Durbin retorted.

"You know, senator, we were working in those situations where there is a tragic loss of life and there is something that our agents were involved in—" Noem responded.

"Is it so hard to say you were wrong?" Durbin interjected.

"As these investigations continue to go, I absolutely strive to provide accurate information and we will continue to do so—" Noem replied.

"And when you fail to, do you admit it publicly?" Durbin interrupted again.

"Absolutely," Noem said. "We always know that there's room for improvement."

DHS's claims of "domestic terrorism" in the Good and Pretti shootings were quickly contradicted by video evidence and eyewitness accounts in both situations.

Durbin also grilled Noem about Ruben Torres, a Niles resident who was detained by federal agents outside a Home Depot during the height of Operation Midway Blitz last fall. Torres, a Mexican national, had been in the U.S. since 2003 and his 16-year-old daughter Ofelia was fighting a rare and terminal cancer.

"Is that really necessary? Was he a violent criminal?" Durbin said.

Noem said that DHS enforces the law.

"If you don't like the law, I would suggest you change the law," she said.

His lawyers fought for his release from immigration detention as the primary parent for Ofelia and her younger brother, who he watched while she received treatment. A judge ruled at the end of October that his rights were violated when he was detained without a bond hearing and ordered him released.

Ofelia Torres died last month from Stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer that develops in skeletal muscles.

Durbin wrapped up his questioning by telling Noem, "I think what is happening in this administration is neither sensible, nor humane," before yielding his time. 

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Illinois) has also filed articles of impeachment against Noem, accusing her of obstructing congressional oversight of immigration enforcement efforts and abusing her position for personal gain.