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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faced sharp questioning from House Democrats on Thursday as they pressed her on the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement practices, allegations of misused security funds and the department’s handling of an Afghan national accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, D.C.
During a House hearing on worldwide threats, Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., confronted Noem with the case of Sae Joon Park, an Army veteran who self-deported to South Korea in June after receiving a removal order tied to drug charges and a missed court appearance dating back more than 15 years. Magaziner played a live Zoom video of Park as he accused the administration of targeting veterans and longtime residents despite Noem’s vow to focus on “the worst of the worst.”
“You say you’re going after violent criminals,” Magaziner said, noting that records show Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested tens of thousands of people without criminal convictions, including U.S. citizens and military families. “That is not what the American people think they signed up for.”
Noem disputed that any veterans had been deported and insisted her department is carrying out immigration laws as written. “If people don’t like the outcomes, they should change the law,” she said, bristling at accusations that DHS was overreaching.
The hearing grew even more contentious as the panel’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, delivered a blistering critique of Noem’s leadership. Citing a ProPublica report, Thompson accused her of steering a $220 million homeland security grant to associates who produced videos while following her around the country. He also criticized her for living in a taxpayer-owned military residence typically reserved for the Coast Guard’s top admiral.
“Every penny that you spend on yourself represents the blood, sweat and tears of hardworking Americans,” Thompson said. “They expect their tax dollars to be spent on homeland security, not promoting you.”
Thompson also pressed Noem on which agency admitted the Afghan national now charged in the Nov. 26 attack on National Guard members. “Your DHS approved the asylum application,” he said. Noem repeatedly responded that the vetting occurred during the Biden administration. When Thompson referred to the shooting as an “unfortunate accident,” Noem shot back that it was “a terrorist attack.”
Following the incident, DHS halted Afghan visa processing, froze asylum decisions and suspended entry for foreign nationals from 19 countries previously included in Trump’s travel ban.
Noem left the hearing at 12:08 p.m. for what DHS later said was another scheduled meeting. Thompson said the meeting had been canceled and accused her of dodging oversight. “She was a liar with no respect for congressional oversight,” he claimed. DHS said Noem learned the meeting was canceled 18 minutes after leaving the hearing.
Thompson moved to subpoena Noem, but the Republican majority tabled the motion.
