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Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., a member of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement and of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, speaks outside of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 3, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray\/States Newsroom)<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2014 Dozens of U.S. House Democrats and leaders of several caucuses rallied on a chilly Tuesday morning outside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in the nation\u2019s capital, demanding the resignation, firing or impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.<\/p>\n
Democrats criticized Noem for the monthslong immigration operation in Minnesota in which\u00a0federal immigration agents<\/a> killed two U.S. citizens \u2014 37-year-old Renee Good, a poet and mother of three, on Jan. 7, and 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse, on Jan. 24.\u00a0<\/p>\n They blamed Noem for aggressive tactics used by ICE and other federal immigration agents in Customs and Border Protection and criticized the use of warrantless arrests as well as the presence of officers who are masked and unidentifiable. Such practices, as well as the deadly shootings, led to a partial government shutdown as lawmakers\u00a0negotiate new constraints on immigration enforcement for the Homeland Security funding bill.\u00a0<\/p>\n Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly, who represents parts of Chicago where aggressive immigration enforcement occurred late last year, said more than 180 lawmakers have\u00a0co-sponsored her articles of impeachment<\/a> against Noem.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cKristi Noem brought a reign of terror to cities across the country,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cEverywhere they go, ICE causes death and destruction. She seems to get her kicks and giggles out of tearing families apart.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelly said if Noem does not step down, Democrats will move forward with impeachment proceedings, which will likely only occur if Democrats flip the GOP-controlled House in the November midterm elections.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to States Newsroom\u2019s request for comment. \u00a0Noem is a former Republican member of the House from South Dakota.<\/p>\n Democrats also slammed Noem\u2019s attempts to block members of Congress from conducting unannounced oversight visits at detention centers that are permitted under a 2019 appropriations law.<\/p>\n A federal judge earlier this week<\/a> placed a temporary bar on a second policy from Noem that required a seven-day notice for lawmakers to conduct oversight visits.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re gonna be able to exercise our oversight responsibilities and duties without any impairment or pushback from ICE or the Secretary (Noem),\u201d said\u00a0Adriano Espaillat, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.<\/p>\n Most recent DHS data<\/a> shows that there are more than 70,000 people in ICE detention custody across the country.\u00a0It\u2019s nearly double the number\u00a0<\/a>of people detained during the last fiscal year of the Biden administration, when nearly 40,000 people were in ICE detention when Biden left office in January 2025.<\/p>\n Other Democratic caucus leaders rallying outside ICE headquarters included the second vice chair\u00a0of the Congressional Black Caucus, Lucy McBath of Georgia; the chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Grace Meng of New York; the chair of the Democratic Women\u2019s Caucus, Teresa Leger Fern\u00e1ndez of New Mexico; and the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Greg Casar of Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Progressive Caucus has vowed to oppose any approval of funding for ICE following Pretti\u2019s death.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks as Democratic members of Congress protest outside of Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (Video by Ashley Murray\/States Newsroom)\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n However, even if the Homeland Security bill for fiscal year 2026 is not approved, DHS still has roughly $175 billion in funding for immigration enforcement that was provided from President Donald Trump\u2019s signature tax cuts and spending package signed into law last summer.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Casar called for an end to Trump\u2019s mass deportation campaign and immigration enforcement across the country.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are united as Democrats and united as a country, marching in the cold in Minneapolis, facing tear gas from coast to coast, marching to demand that we impeach Kristi Noem, that we end Donald Trump\u2019s mass deportation machine, and that we focus on the well-being and the constitutional rights of everyday people in the United States,\u201d Casar said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, who represents parts of Minneapolis, said her district is \u201ccurrently under occupation\u201d from ICE and CBP. She said students are afraid to go to school and immigrants are terrified to go to hospitals \u201cbecause our hospitals have occupying paramilitary forces.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week, a man rushed<\/a> at Omar and used a syringe to squirt apple cider vinegar on her during a town hall where she called for ICE to be abolished and addressed concerns about immigration enforcement in Minneapolis. She was unharmed, but the attack followed an increase in\u00a0threats to members of Congress<\/a>, and the president has verbally attacked her multiple times.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/noemprotest-scaled.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>Unannounced visits<\/h4>\n
\nBody cameras<\/h4>\n
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