Watch Live: Noem testifies at House hearing after grilling from senators

Noem began her opening statement with an emotional appeal to "angel families," a reference to the loved ones of those who have been killed or victimized by immigrants in the country illegally. Some of the families are seated behind Noem in the hearing room.

Noem said she accepted the job because "this is going to be a difficult job — it's going to be a hard job."

"We're going to have to secure our border and make sure we're going after dangerous criminal illegals and remove them from our country, and everyday we're going to have to make tough decisions to uphold the law, but to make sure that the consequences for breaking the law are put in place as well," Noem said. 

What she wasn't prepared for, Noem said, was the "heartbreaking stories" she's heard from families who have suffered violence at the hands of noncitizens. 

"They never should have been here, and then they perpetuated violent crimes against these people," Noem said. 

The secretary said the reason she does the job everyday "is for that."
"Somebody has to do the right thing and tell the stories of these families and make sure that we don't sit around here and make political hotshots and falsehoods and lies, like I just heard from the ranking member," Noem said. "That instead, we do the right thing to defend these families and remember their children."

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the committee, began his opening statement by highlighting the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis. 

Raskin said not long after Good and Pretti had been shot, Noem launched a "smear campaign" against them with her comments linking their actions to "domestic terrorism."

"You provided no evidence to back up your defamatory lie against either of these American citizens," Raskin said. 

Raskin said "rather than work with state and local authorities to solve these homicides, you barred Minnesota's investigators from the crime scenes."

"You're denying them access to all the evidence that you have about the deaths of their citizens," Raskin said. "It smells like a cover-up, and it makes me wonder who the real domestic terrorists are." 

The Maryland Democrat also scrutinized Noem over a more than $200 million advertisement campaign and pointed to other lavish expenses under her leadership of DHS. 

"Secretary Noem, you're flying high now — maybe even a little bit too close to the sun," Raskin said. "But with all these free planes and houses and pilots, you've traveled a long distance from your actual job, and the things you should be doing as head of Homeland Security."

Raskin said Noem has "turned our government against our people" and "our people against our government."

"But the people are winning today," Raskin said. "We are clearly in the fight of our lives, and we obviously have very serious questions today about what you are turning our government into."

Jordan kicked off his opening statement by comparing the current approach to immigration to the Biden  administration's policy.

"Three years ago, Secretary Mayorkas sat at that table and told this committee, 'the border is secure,'" Jordan said. 

The Ohio Republican outlined a long list of grievances, concluding: "That was how ridiculous everything was in the last administration."

"But here's the good news, Secretary Noem has rescinded the Mayorkas memo, has rescinded the protected areas memo," Jordan said. "Under Secretary Noem, fentanyl coming into the country is down, women and children are safer, and most importantly, under Secretary Noem and President Trump's leadership, the border is now secure." 

Jordan said the DHS secretary has an "amazing record," citing deportation and arrest figures.

The chairman said "there is still one big problem," pointing to sanctuary jurisdiction policies, which limit local cooperation with federal immigration agents. Jordan touted legislation that he said would address the issue. 

Noem arrived in the hearing room, shook hands with some of the committee members and took a seat as photographers snapped photos. 

Chairman Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, then gaveled in the hearing. 

As Noem is set to testify before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday, including about the Minneapolis immigration crackdown, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is testifying before another committee on Capitol Hill.

The House Oversight Committee is fielding testimony from Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in a hearing about Minnesota fraud.

Ellison testified at a Senate hearing that also featured testimony from the leaders of ICE, CBP and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services last month. That hearing focused on the recent surge of agents to the state, as both sides pointed fingers at the other for mishandling of the situation in Minnesota. 

Much of DHS remains shut down amid a standoff between Democrats and Republicans over how to reform immigration agencies.

In addition to ICE and CBP, DHS also oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard and other components. Workers who continue to perform their jobs during the partial shutdown began missing paychecks in recent days. 

During her testimony Tuesday, Noem criticized Democrats for failing to support legislation to fund DHS, calling it "reckless" and "unnecessary."

"It harms the men and women who work at DHS and their families," she said. 

The funding lapse began on Feb. 14. And although Democrats and the White House have been trading proposals for reforms in recent weeks, an imminent breakthrough has appeared far off. 

The House is set to vote later this week on a measure to fund the department as GOP leaders work to put pressure on Democrats. But Democrats haven't expressed willingness to change their position. A similar effort failed in the Senate last week.  

The Trump administration's immigration crackdown has remained funded despite the shutdown, since ICE and CBP received an influx of funds as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year. 

Noem accused Senate Democrats of holding the department "hostage," and said critical functions are "strained."

Noem's testimony Wednesday comes after she appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, where she ran into intense criticism from Democrats and a pair of Republicans.

While the bulk of GOP senators offered support for the administration's immigration enforcement operation, GOP Sens. John Kennedy of Louisiana and Thom Tillis of North Carolina critiqued the DHS secretary.

Kennedy questioned Noem about the decision to spend millions of dollars on television advertisements that feature her prominently, along with her comments linking Alex Pretti and Renee Good to domestic terrorism. But it was Tillis' exchange with Noem that was the most striking. 

Tillis heavily criticized the DHS secretary for her handling of immigration enforcement, using his allotted time for a "performance evaluation," rather than a line of questioning. 

"What we've seen is a disaster under your leadership," he said. Tillis threatened to block the Trump administration's nominees and bring Senate business to a halt until Noem answers his questions and addresses concerns about stonewalling investigations.

Democrats mostly focused on the Minnesota crackdown and the fatal shootings of Pretti and Good. Given multiple opportunities to apologize for her comments about domestic terrorism shortly after their deaths, Noem declined. She expressed her condolences for their families and pledged to "continue everyday to get up and to work hard to give everybody factual information."