Jamaine Punzalan

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DVZUrqeAdAA/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=763&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A2202100.6000003815%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="546" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief Kristi Noem came in for bipartisan criticism on Tuesday over the Trump administration&#x27;s sweeping immigration crackdown.</p><p>Democratic lawmakers led the verbal attacks on the immigration enforcement chief during a tense Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing but were joined by several Republicans.</p><p>&quot;Under your leadership, the Homeland Security Department has been devoid of any moral compass or respect for the rule of law,&quot; Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, told Noem.</p><p>&quot;DHS agents have wreaked havoc in our cities,&quot; Durbin said. &quot;They roam the streets in paramilitary gear and arrest and detain people based on the color of their skin, their accents and the language they speak.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/1/14/more-migrants-are-dying-in-ice-detention-under-trump-1039">More migrants are dying in ICE detention under Trump</a></div><p>Durbin and other Democrats repeatedly asked Noem to apologize for the deaths of <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/1/26/second-death-in-minneapolis-crackdown-heaps-pressure-on-trump-0857">two Americans shot dead by federal agents</a> in Minnesota during<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/1/24/defiant-protests-over-us-immigration-crackdown-child-s-detention-1534"> protests against the immigration crackdown </a>and for calling them &quot;domestic terrorists.&quot;</p><p>Noem, making her first appearance before Congress since the shootings, expressed her condolences to the families over the &quot;tragic&quot; deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis but denied calling them domestic terrorists.</p><p>&quot;I said it appeared to be an incident of (domestic terrorism),&quot; she said, blaming the reference on &quot;chaotic&quot; first reports.</p><p>Republican President Donald Trump campaigned for the White House on a pledge to deport millions of undocumented migrants and Noem is the chief enforcer of that policy.</p><p>Noem defended the department&#x27;s actions, saying US-Mexico border crossings have plummeted to historic lows and &quot;nearly three million illegal aliens&quot; have been removed from the United States during the past year.</p><p>&quot;Our department has delivered historic results and has made our community safer since the start of President Trump&#x27;s second term,&quot; she said.</p><p>Republican Senator Lindsey Graham praised the immigration enforcement, saying the Trump administration inherited a &quot;mess&quot; from Democratic President Joe Biden.</p><p>&quot;Sensible immigration died on Biden&#x27;s watch,&quot; Graham said. &quot;It was replaced by an out-of-control open border, just absolute chaos.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;NO QUOTAS&#x27; </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina who has announced plans to retire, also criticized the Biden administration&#x27;s border policies but had harsh words for Noem&#x27;s tenure at DHS and called for her resignation.</p><p>&quot;What we&#x27;ve seen is a disaster under your leadership,&quot; Tillis said. &quot;What we&#x27;ve seen is innocent people getting detained that turn out are American citizens.&quot;</p><p>Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, also questioned Noem about her characterizing Good and Pretti as domestic terrorists and expressed skepticism about DHS&#x27;s advertising spending on its deportation campaign.</p><p>&quot;How do you square that concern for waste, which I share, with the fact that you have spent $220 million running television advertisements that feature you prominently?&quot; Kennedy asked.</p><p>Noem said the advertisements had been &quot;effective.&quot;</p><p>&quot;They were effective in your name recognition,&quot; Kennedy shot back.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/2/2/child-arrested-in-trump-raids-is-back-home-lawmaker-1018">Child arrested in Trump raids is back home: lawmaker</a></div><p>Democratic Senator Chris Coons accused DHS of acting unconstitutionally in a bid to meet White House demands for &quot;higher and higher numbers for deportations.&quot;</p><p>Noem denied DHS was operating under a quota system.</p><p>&quot;There are no quotas at the Department of Homeland Security,&quot; she said. &quot;When we do law enforcement operations we do them on targeted enforcement, getting public safety threats off of our streets and out of our communities to protect the American people.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/2/18/us-towns-resist-trump-plans-to-jail-immigrants-in-warehouses-0941">US towns resist Trump plans to jail immigrants in warehouses</a></div><p>Noem also urged lawmakers to reach an agreement ending a partial government shutdown that has choked off funding for parts of her department.</p><p>Democrats oppose any new funding for DHS until major changes are implemented to how the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency conducts its operations.</p><p>They have demanded curtailed patrols, a ban on ICE agents wearing face masks and a requirement that they obtain a judicial warrant before entering private property.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/2/16/lawyer-gives-tips-for-tnt-filipinos-in-us-amid-trump-immigration-crackdown-1221">Lawyer gives tips for &#x27;TNT&#x27; Filipinos in US amid Trump&#x27;s immigration crackdown</a></div>

<p>US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief Kristi Noem came in for bipartisan criticism on Tuesday over the Trump administration's sweeping immigration crackdown.</p>

US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief Kristi Noem came in for bipartisan criticism on Tuesday over the Trump administration's sweeping immigration crackdown.

US Homeland Security chief grilled over immigration crackdown

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US Homeland Security chief grilled over immigration crackdown

Agence France-Presse

Published Mar 04, 2026 09:57 AM PHT

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immigration

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