Noem pressed on shootings, luxury jets in Senate hearing. Live updates - USA Today

Noem’s appearance comes as her department is partially shut down because of a funding impasse in Congress over immigration enforcement. Noem has argued politicians are “holding the safety and security of the American people hostage to score cheap political points.”

The Trump administration’s tougher immigration enforcement and deportation policies sparked massive protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection officers. Two citizens – Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good – were fatally shot by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis during an enforcement surge in January.

Noem agreed to have officers wear body cameras while on duty. But Democrats seek policy changes such as forcing immigration officers not to wear masks on duty and to obtain judicial warrants before arresting suspects.

The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing with Noem on Wednesday.

Follow USAT TODAY's live coverage below.

12:00 pm ET

Hirono accuses Noem of lying about trying to deport children

Bart Jansen

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, accused Noem and the DHS of lying when they tried to deport 600 children to Guatemala in August and were blocked in federal court.

A lawyer representing the DHS said a request had been made for each child by a parent or guardian, according to Hirono. But a judge found no evidence of those requests, Hirono said.

“That statement by the lawyer representing DHS was false,” Hirono said. “It was a lie.”

Noem said the department was working to return children to their parents.

“We were stopped by an activist judge from returning those children to their family members,” Noem said as Hirono continued to accuse her of lying. “We’ll continue to work to reunite them so we can keep people together.”

11:45 am ET

Noem says she will 'look into' arrests of US citizens

Christopher Cann

Kristi Noem said she will "look into" several cases of U.S. citizens being arrested by immigration authorities.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, had three citizens who were arrested over the last year stand up and questioned Noem about each case, including that of Marimar Martinez, who was five times by a federal immigration agent in Chicago.

When asked if she thought the actions of the agent who shot Martinez were wrong, Noem said “Sir, the way that you have portrayed it, it appears to be but let me look into the specifics of it.”

She also agreed to “look into” the case of Fernando Gomez Ruiz, a citizen arrested by ICE for several days and allegedly denied medicine for his diabetes, leading him to passing out.

11:40 am ET

Noem says 'no plans' for ICE at polling places

Bart Jansen

Noem said she has no plans to assign Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at polling places for the 2026 midterm elections in November.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, asked about ICE officers because Steve Bannon, a former adviser to Trump during his first term who now has a podcast, advocated for their deployment to protect the election. Coons cited a federal law prohibiting the stationing of armed troops or officers at polling places.

“There are no plans to have ICE officers at our polling locations,” Noem said. “Do you plan on illegal aliens voting in our elections, senators? Then there should be no need to, unless you plan on illegal aliens voting.”

The chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Noem should have said Bannon doesn’t work for the administration so it doesn’t matter what he said.

Noem said the whistleblower, former ICE attorney Ryan Schwank, arrived at the academy after the agency had reconfigured its training program and had no knowledge of its previous configuration.

“I don’t know how he would speak to how ICE used to do (training) and this individual was only detailed there for a short period of time – a few months,” she said. “He was a trial attorney.”

Schwank testified that ICE agency cut about a third of its training hours, a claim ICE and Noem have repeatedly denied. Among the 240 hours of cut training, Schwank said, were classes on the Constitution, use of force and limits of officer authority.

11:12 am ET

Noem denies arrest quotas for ICE

Bart Jansen

Noem denied that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have quotas to meet for arresting immigrants without legal authorization to be in the country.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, said White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told Fox News on May 28, 2025, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a goal of 3,000 arrests daily that could be pushed higher. Coons said quotas would put improper pressure on officers.

“There is no quotas at the Department of Homeland Security,” Noem said. “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.”

10:57 am ET

Noem says she didn't call Alex Pretti a domestic terrorist

Christopher Cann

When pressed on her comments immediately after the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Noem said “I did not call him a domestic terrorist, I said it appeared to be an incident of” domestic terrorism.

“I think the parents saw it for what it was,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Noem said, “This individual, who came with weapons and ammunition to stop a law enforcement operation of federal law enforcement officers, committed an act of domestic terrorism.”

The agency has provided no evidence that Pretti intended to harm federal agents. Videos show the ICU nurse was recording agents with his phone before he was taken the ground, disarmed and fatally shot from behind.

10:48 am ET

Hundreds of agents remain in Minnesota, Noem says

Christopher Cann

Kristi Noem said there are close to 650 federal agents in Minnesota weeks after the administration said they were ending the surge and would draw down the controversial operation.

When asked when the number of agents would fall to their original footprint, Noem said “we’re continuing to work at that” but some investigators will remain to probe alleged fraud in the state.

Last month, White House border czar Tom Homan announced the end of Operation Metro Surge and said a small group of agents would remain temporarily as the administration removes the bulk of federal agents from the state.

At its peak, the operation saw about 3,000 federal agents fan out across the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

10:33 am ET

Noem defends purchases of luxury jets

Christopher Cann

Noem defended the Department of Homeland Security purchasing multiple luxury jets that have reportedly raised concerns within the Trump administration.

“The department has found that in purchasing our aircraft that we will save the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars,” Noem said, later adding: “There are aircraft being purchased that will be utilized for executive air travel and deportations.”

When asked why one of the planes appears to have a bedroom in it, Noem said “I believe it is being refurbished and not having a bedroom in it.”

10:15 am ET

Threat of terrorism 'up' because of war in Iran, Noem says

Bart Jansen

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, asked Noem whether the threat of terrorism was up because of the war against Iran. She said it was.

“We’re engaged in military action against the mothership of terrorism: Iran, which I hope will sink pretty soon,” Graham said. “Do you think threat level against the United States is up or down when it comes to radical Islamic terrorists?”

“It’s up,” Noem said.

10:08 am ET

Noem refuses to apologize for labeling Alex Pretti a domestic terrorist

Noem said she was “relying on reports from the ground and from agents” in the field.

The current leaders of ICE and Border Patrol testified before Congress last month that their agents did not report to DHS leadership that Pretti was a domestic terrorist.

“Is it so hard to say you were wrong?” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, asked.

“I absolutely strive to provide factual information and will continue to do that,” Noem said.

“And when you fail, do you admit it publicly?” Durbin asked.

“Absolutely, we always know there’s room for improvement," Noem said.

The top Democrat on the committee, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, asked Noem about why federal judges have found the Department of Homeland Security has violated court orders hundreds of times.

Durbin said a Republican-appointed judge in Minnesota identified 200 court orders that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials violated during two months. In a sworn court filing, federal officials acknowledged violating court orders 50 times in New Jersey “in recent weeks,” Durbin said.

Noem said she couldn’t respond to specific cases but that her department follows orders.

“We do comply with federal court orders,” Noem said. “We follow federal court orders when they apply and when the jurisdiction and decision is applicable to a federal agency like ours.”

9:59 am ET

Noem: ICE administrative warrants used 28 times to enter homes

Bart Jansen

The chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the department’s use of administrative warrants has been criticized and asked Noem how they work.

Noem said Congress granted the Department of Homeland Security the authority to issue administrative warrants to arrest immigration suspects in addition to seeking judicial warrants. She said of 400,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement cases, administrative warrants were used 28 times to enter a home.

“It is the legal process that we have, that was given us by Congress,” Noem said. “We will continue using this tool.”

An internal ICE memo from May 2025 said agents can use force to enter a residence with only an administrative warrant, which are signed by ICE officials and do not require a judge's approval, according to a whistleblower complaint. Constitutional scholars, immigration experts and a federal judge have said that violates the Fourth Amendment. Longstanding precedent requires warrants signed by impartial judges to enter homes or businesses for searches and arrests.

9:41 am ET

Noem calls DHS funding lapse 'reckless and unnecessary'

Bart Jansen

Noem said 3 million immigrants left the United States during the first year of Trump’s second term, including 675,000 who were detained and deported for lack of legal authorization, and 2.2 million who left voluntarily.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 1,500 known and suspected terrorists and 7,700 known gang members, Noem said.

But she called the funding lapse for the Department of Homeland Security for the third time in five months “reckless and unnecessary.” Disrupting the department is “indefensible,” she said.

9:34 am ET

Durbin says DHS agents have 'wreaked havoc'

Christopher Cann

Ranking Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois criticized Noem in his opening statement, blasting her handling of immigration enforcement nationwide.

Durbin said federal agents have “wreaked havoc” in U.S. cities and inflicted “unspeakable cruelty.” He also accused the agency of “trampling” on constitutional rights, stopping people “based on the color of their skin” and holding them without due process.

“That is not a public safety operation, that is paramilitary operation,” he said. “And Secretary Noem has made excessive force the agency’s default position.”

9:22 am ET

'One death is too many' but ICE shouldn't be threatened: Grassley

Bart Jansen

The Judiciary Committee chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, noted the two shooting deaths during immigration protests but said officers shouldn’t feel threatened while enforcing laws.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have received an 8,000% increase in threats and a 1,300% increase in assaults, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The threats and assaults occur while pursuing murderers and members of criminal gangs, Grassley said.

“Mistakes have been made,” Grassley said. “Let’s make it clear. One death is too many. But officers should never be threatened or harmed while enforcing our laws.”

9:03 am ET

2 GOP senators have called for Noem's removal

Bart Jansen

Numerous Democrats and two Republican senators – Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina – said Noem should be removed.

"She should be out of a job," Tillis told reporters after the shooting of Pretti.

"I think she's doing a very good job," he told reporters at the White House.

9:00 am ET

Durbin says Noem must answer for 'recklessness'

Bart Jansen

The top Democrat on the committee, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, said Noem has stonewalled lawmakers who question the department’s indiscriminate arrests of citizens and immigrants, most of whom he said don’t have criminal records or pose threats to their communities.

“Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS is operating without a moral compass or any respect for the rule of law,” Durbin said on the Senate floor March 2. “Tomorrow, she must answer for this recklessness.”

Noem and other administration officials are unapologetic about strictly enforcing laws against immigrants being in the country without legal authorization. Federal officials contend they target the most violent criminals but must cast a wider net when city and state authorities refuse to cooperate with federal agents seeking to arrest suspects who are still in jail.