Name: Homeland Security Officials Defend Immigration Operations in Public Testimony
Uploaded: 2026-02-11T10:45:59.000Z
Description: The leaders of three major immigration agencies were pressed by members of the House Homeland Security Committee, marking the first public hearing since two deadly shootings involving federal agents in Minneapolis.

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Top Trump officials testified before Congress on Tuesday to defend President Donald Trump's ongoing illegal immigration crackdown.

The leaders of three major immigration agencies were pressed by members of the House Homeland Security Committee, marking the first public hearing since two deadly shootings involving federal agents in Minneapolis.

Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow provided testimony during Tuesday’s hearing.

The Trump administration has argued that it targets the “worst of the worst criminals” in its nationwide operations, but House lawmakers pointed to data that showed less than 14 percent of immigrants arrested by ICE last year had violent criminal records.

"More than 60 percent of every individual that is in ICE custody has a pending or a conviction on a criminal charge,” Lyons said, noting how the 14 percent doesn't include dangerous criminals such as drug traffickers and human traffickers.

Lawmakers also questioned him about a Jan. 20 incident that involved the arrest of Adrian Conejo Arias in a Minneapolis suburb. Arias was taken into custody by ICE as he returned home from preschool with his 5-year-old son Liam Ramos.

The boy’s school and his family reported that he was used as “bait” by federal agents to take his father into custody. DHS, however, has stated that agents stayed with the boy after his father ran off and abandoned him in a running vehicle.

The incident prompted Democrats to call for the resignation of top immigration officials.

But Lyons said he would not resign from his position after being asked by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) if he would step down following the incident.

“No sir, I won’t,” he said. "Because sir, that child that you're showing right there, the men and women of ICE took care of him when his father abandoned him and ran from law enforcement."

Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) said during the hearing that federal agencies have “lost the trust of the American people, warning the CBP commissioner that he will be held accountable.”

“You better hope you get pardoned because you will be held accountable for the absolute disregard of the law your agencies have shown in the past year.”

In January, Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed during shootings involving federal agents. The back-to-back incidents prompted demonstrations in opposition to Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement.

Critics have criticized the tactics used in the operations, including Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), who <a href="https://x.com/Breaking911/status/2021280712725340462?s=20">described</a> Trump’s enforcement  as “outright fascist” and “un-American.”

But the Trump administration has touted its success in making the country safer. Lyons said during the hearing that the administration is "just getting started.”

From Jan. 20, 2025, through Jan. 20, 2026, ICE conducted nearly 379,000 arrests. Among those arrests were more than 7,000 suspected gang members and more than 1,400 known or suspected terrorists, according to Lyons.

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