Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director Todd Lyons on Tuesday declined to apologize for the Trump administration’s characterization of two U.S. citizens killed during ICE-related operations in Minnesota as “domestic terrorists.”
In response to a line of questioning during a Senate hearing from Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Lyons refused to comment on whether he would apologize to Renee Good and Alex Pretti’s families after the two were labeled by top officials as domestic terrorists. “I’m not going to comment on any active investigation,” Lyons told lawmakers during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing.
Lyons and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, whose agency has assisted ICE in recent operations, were grilled about immigration enforcement operations, particularly in Minnesota. The state has experienced ongoing protests centered on tactics ICE has used, including those used against Good and Pretti in deadly encounters last month.
After Pretti’s death, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said he committed “acts of domestic terrorism,” but then walked it back after extensive pushback. She made similar comments after Good’s death as well.
Lyons told Swalwell he would not resign on Tuesday. And he declined to confirm whether any ICE officers have been fired under his leadership, including in connection with the recent lethal incidents in Minneapolis.
“I can get you that data,” he told Swalwell. “I’ll get that back to you.”
Officials told the committee that ICE recruits with no prior experience go through roughly three months of training. ICE recruits with prior qualifying law enforcement history, such as a U.S. Capitol police officer, go through condensed training over a 47-day period, they said.
Lyons testified that 3,000 out of 13,000 ICE officers currently use body cameras. Around 10,000 out of 20,000 Border Patrol agents currently carry body cameras, according to Scott. Scott said he “100%” supported releasing body camera footage related to Minnesota operations and added he “welcomed” body cameras being required “all across the spectrum,” in response to questioning from Rep. Alex Padilla (D-CA).
Officials faced bipartisan concerns during the hearing.
FEDERAL JUDGE SKEPTICAL OF MINNESOTA’S PLEA FOR COURT TO END SWEEPING DHS OPERATION
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) said he preferred “roving patrols” found in Minneapolis to be contained to the border only, and not be sued in major cities. He praised the Trump administration for demoting Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol’s commander of at-large operations, in a move to de-escalate tensions following Pretti’s death. And McCaul commended the White House for positioning border czar Tom Homan, also a former acting ICE director, as the new leader in immigration operations.
“He is returning to the original mission of ICE,” McCaul said. “He is working with state and locals to do the crowd control. He is getting them to honor the ICE detainers. He is also getting the body cameras put on them, and the roving patrols, in his words to me, should be done at the border, not in major cities.”