The US House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, is making the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, and her aggressive immigration enforcement tactics squarely in Democrats’ crosshairs for congressional investigation if they flip the House in the midterms.
Speaking on the Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller recently, Jeffries said Noem would be “one of the first people hauled up to Congress shortly after the gavels change hands” to answer for what he called the Department of Homeland Security’s troubling conduct.
“The lack of respect for due process, for the rule of law, the unleashing of masked agents on law-abiding immigrant communities, and the disappearing of people in some instances, to other countries without any real evidence that criminal behavior took place,” the New York representative said, outlining his concerns about Noem’s leadership.
Jeffries said that he supported deporting immigrants convicted of violent crimes, “but not law-abiding immigrant families, including in some instances, US citizen children who’ve been sent overseas to a place that they’ve never known”.
Since taking office, Noem has aided Trump’s mass deportation efforts by unleashing workplace raids and facilitated fast-tracked removals. In her first 200 days as secretary, she announced that approximately 1.6 million undocumented immigrants had left the US, according to DHS data released last week.
The department has actively promoted these figures, highlighting deportation numbers and a new “self-deportation” app offering $1,000 incentives and free flights home for voluntary departures – but also through a “200 Days of Progress” video on social media set to a Red Hot Chili Peppers song.
Following a wave of negative coverage of Noem, the DHS has also forecast a planned, taxpayer-funded public relations campaign, costing between $20m and $50m, branded “Stronger Border, Stronger America” for “media support services”.
Democratic lawmakers have already begun laying groundwork for investigations. In July, representatives Summer Lee and Robert Garcia formally wrote a letter demanding the DHS explain reports of agents using masks and unmarked vehicles during raids, calling the tactics designed to “terrorize immigrant families and shield abuses from accountability”.
Jeffries, in the podcast, indicated that representatives Bennie Thompson, who chaired the 2021 Capitol attack select committee, and Jamie Raskin, who led Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial in the House, would probably spearhead such inquiries if Democrats regain the House.
Noem has been facing scrutiny on multiple fronts beyond the Hill over the last few weeks. She drew fire for moving into the Coast Guard commandant’s residence rent-free at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, with DHS officials citing death threats and doxing as justification for the security measure.
There’s also been cultural ridicule, including a satirical portrayal in South Park that Noem condemned as “lazy” and “petty” on the Glenn Beck Program, accusing “liberals and extremists” of targeting her appearance rather than engaging with policy.
