Homeland Security Secretary Noem defends Trump’s hard-line immigration
policies during tense hearing
[December 12, 2025]
By REBECCA SANTANA and LISA MASCARO
WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defiantly
defended the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies on
Thursday during a House committee hearing, portraying migrants as a
major threat faced by the nation that justifies a crackdown that has
seen widespread arrests, deportations and a dizzying pace of
restrictions on foreigners.
Noem, who heads the agency central to President Donald Trump’s approach
to immigration, received backup from Republicans on the panel but faced
fierce questioning from Democrats — including many who called for her
resignation over the mass deportation agenda.
The secretary's testimony was immediately interrupted by protesters
shouting for her to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and
“end deportations." They trailed her down the halls as she left early
for another engagement, chanting, “Shame on you!”
But she vowed she “would not back down.”
“What keeps me up at night is that we don’t necessarily know all of the
people that are in this country, who they are and what their intentions
are,” Noem said.
The hearing was Noem's first public appearance before Congress in
months, testifying at the House Committee on Homeland Security on
“Worldwide Threats to the Homeland,” and it quickly grew heated as she
emphasized how big a role she believed immigration played in those
threats. It focused heavily on the Trump administration's immigration
policies, whereas in years past the hearing has centered on issues such
as cybersecurity, terrorism, China and border security.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, the panel's ranking Democrat, said Noem has
diverted vast taxpayer resources to carry out Trump’s “extreme”
immigration agenda and failed to provide basic responses as Congress
conducts its oversight.
“I call on you to resign,” the Mississippi congressman said. “Do a real
service to the country.”
Trump returned to power with what the president says is a mandate to
reshape immigration in the U.S. In the months since, the number of
people in immigration detention has skyrocketed; the administration has
continued to remove migrants to countries they are not from; and, in the
wake of an Afghan national being accused of shooting two National Guard
troops, Noem’s department has dramatically stepped up checks and
screening of immigrants in the U.S.
Tough questions from Democrats
Several Democrats repeatedly told Noem flatly that she was “lying” to
them and to the public over claims they are focused on violent
criminals. They presented cases of U.S. citizens being detained in
immigration operations and families of American military veterans being
torn apart by deportations of loved ones who have not committed serious
crimes or other violations.
“You lie with impunity,” said Rep. Delia Rodriguez, D-Ill., who said
Noem should resign or be impeached.
Republicans largely thanked Noem for the work the department is doing to
keep the country safe and urged her to carry on.
“Deport them all,” said Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn.
Since Noem's last Congressional appearance in May, immigration
enforcement operations, especially in Los Angeles and Chicago, have
become increasingly contentious, with federal agents and activists
frequently clashing over her department's tactics.
Noem did not address the calls to resign, but she tangled with the
Democratic lawmakers -- interrupting some — and suggested that she and
the department she leads weren’t going anywhere.
“We will never yield. We will never waver,” she said.
Noem, whose own family, including an infant granddaughter, was in the
audience, praised the Trump administration’s efforts when it comes to
immigration, saying, “We’re ending illegal immigration, returning sanity
to our immigration system.”
[to top of second column]
|
From left, Joseph Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism
Center, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Michael
Glasheen, operations director of the National Security Branch of the
FBI, raise their arms before the House Committee on Homeland
Security on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP
Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
During the hearing, a federal judge ordered the government to free
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose wrongful deportation to a notorious
prison in El Salvador made him a flashpoint in the Trump
administration’s immigration enforcement. Noem did not address the
judge’s order, nor was she asked about it during the hearing.
Noem left early, saying she was headed to a meeting of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency review council. The meeting, however,
was abruptly canceled with no reason given.
Noem and her department are under scrutiny
The worldwide threats hearing, usually held annually, is an
opportunity for members of Congress to question the leaders of the
Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the National
Counterterrorism Center.
FBI Director Kash Patel did not appear, but sent Michael Glasheen,
operations director of the national security branch of the FBI.
Glasheen said the nation faces “serious and evolving” threats, and
pointed to so-called antifa, and Trump's executive order designating
the group as a domestic terror organization, as the “most immediate
violent threat” facing the country.
Pressed by Thompson for details — where is antifa headquartered? How
many members does it have? — the FBI's representative appeared
unable to provide answers, saying it's “fluid” and investigations
are “ongoing.”
And, notably, he did not identify immigration as among the most
pressing concerns for the homeland.
Asked about the U.S. seizure of an oil tanker off the Venezuelan
coast, Noem linked it to the Trump administration’s antidrug
campaign in the region, saying cocaine had been kept from entering
the U.S. as a result.
The hearing offered lawmakers a rare opportunity to hear directly
from Noem, but many members of the panel used the bulk of their
allotted time to either praise or lambast her handling of
immigration enforcement.
During one sharp exchange, the secretary levied broad criticism for
the program through which the man suspected of shooting two National
Guard members last month came to the United States.
“Unfortunate accident?” Noem retorted after Thompson raised the
issue. She called it a “terrorist attack.”
The program, Operation Allies Welcome, was created by then-President
Joe Biden's Democratic administration after the 2021 decision to
leave Afghanistan following 20 years of American intervention and
billions of dollars in aid. Thompson pointed out that the Trump
administration approved the asylum claim of the suspect in the
National Guard attack.
Noem's department is under particular scrutiny because Congress in
July passed legislation giving it roughly $165 billion to carry out
its mass deportations agenda and secure the border. The department
is getting more money to hire 10,000 more deportation officers,
complete the wall between the U.S. and Mexico and increase detention
and removal of foreigners from the country.
The secretary's appearance also comes as a federal judge is
investigating whether she should face a contempt charge over flights
carrying migrants to El Salvador.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
