(Washington) The heads of three agencies responsible for immigration control in the United States are heard in Congress on Tuesday, a few weeks after the death of two Americans killed by federal agents in Minneapolis which sparked indignation and put pressure on the government of Donald Trump.
Published at
The hearing comes at a time when Congress is engaged in a battle between Republicans and Democrats over the budget of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), on which these three agencies depend. DHS funding expires on Saturday, at which point many of its services will enter a state of budgetary shutdown.
Before the Homeland Security Committee of the House of Representatives, the heads of these three agencies defended the record of the Trump administration.
The head of the border police (CBP), Rodney Scott, stressed that since the Republican’s return to power, illegal entries into the United States have never been at such a low level.
“CBP spent the last year rebuilding a border that was intentionally destroyed,” he argued, attacking Joe Biden’s record.
PHOTO ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Border Patrol (CBP) Chief Rodney Scott
The acting chief of the Immigration Police (ICE), Todd Lyons, stressed for his part that 475,000 expulsions had been carried out by his services in 2025.
“The president charged us with carrying out mass evictions, and we are accomplishing that mission,” he said.
Minneapolis
After their opening remarks, the two officials were subjected to questions from Democratic members of the commission.
At the center of the questions: the vast immigration repression operations in several cities across the country, and in particular in Minneapolis.
In this town in Minnesota, in the north of the United States, thousands of federal police officers, including armed and often masked agents, have increased raids in recent weeks to arrest illegal immigrants.
PHOTO KENT NISHIMURA, REUTERS
An aide holds up a photo of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, who was detained with his father by US immigration authorities before being released during the commission.
Their operations have been the source of tension in the city, where residents are demonstrating in large numbers against their presence. Alongside these, CBP and ICE agents fatally shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti within three weeks of each other in January. The death of these two Americans, both aged 37, sparked a wave of emotion across the country.
When asked by Democratic elected official Eric Swalwell if Renee Good was a “terrorist”, as members of the Trump administration had suggested just after her death, Todd Lyons responded that he did not want to “comment on an ongoing investigation”.
“Outlaw behavior”
Since the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, the Democratic opposition has called for broad reforms to the way ICE operates, including an end to flying patrols, a ban on agents covering their faces, and a requirement to obtain a court warrant before arresting a migrant.
To this end, Democratic leaders in Congress are threatening not to approve the 2026 funding plan for DHS, on which CBP and ICE depend.
Faced with their demands, the White House signaled its willingness to negotiate, but its response on Monday did not satisfy the opposition.
“Republicans shared a draft counterproposal that did not include any details or legislative content,” said Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his Senate counterpart Chuck Schumer in a statement.
They denounce an “incomplete and insufficient” response to the “outlaw behavior” displayed by ICE agents and say they are waiting for additional details.
If negotiations fail, DHS risks finding itself in budgetary paralysis starting Saturday. CBP and ICE operations could then continue thanks to funds approved by Congress last year, but other agencies, such as those responsible for natural disaster response (FEMA), could be affected by this blockage.
