Kristi Noem faces calls to be fired, has ‘blood on her hands,’ Democrats say

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is facing growing calls to resign from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle as the Trump administration confronts opposition to its anti-immigration push.

From Democratic Party leaders to some of Congress’ centrist lawmakers, many are calling for Noem to step aside after two American citizens were shot dead by ICE agents in Minneapolis while protesting immigration enforcement’s deportation policy.

What began as a long-shot effort by Democratic lawmakers — led by Illinois Rep. Robin Kelly — to impeach Noem earlier this month has since gained momentum in the Republican-held House.

1:59 Minneapolis ICE shooting: DHS Noem doubles down on defence of officer who killed Renee Good

“What she’s done in Minnesota should be disqualifying. She should be out of a job,” Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, said.

“I think the president needs to look at who he has in place as a Secretary of Homeland Security,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, said. “It probably is time for her to step down.”

Noem’s comments in the aftermath of the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good — where she suggested that Pretti “attacked” officers and portrayed the events leading up to Good’s death as an “act of domestic terrorism” — have been viewed as irreparable and contradicted by witness accounts.

Meanwhile, her alliance with border patrol commander Greg Bovino, who was removed from Minnesota on Tuesday and replaced by border czar Tom Homan, has left her with little support, though President Donald Trump has not joined the ranks of leaders calling for her removal.

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Asked by reporters on Tuesday whether Noem is going to step down, he simply said, “No.”

Later, during a Fox News interview, he told reporters he had confidence in Noem.

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“Who closed up the border? She did,” Trump said, “With Tom Homan, with the whole group. I mean, they’ve closed up the border. The border is a tremendous success.”

Republican leaders in charge of a committee overseeing DHS operations are demanding that Noem appear before a panel to face questions about her department’s brazen conduct, including the detention of a five-year-old Minnesota boy and several other children from his school district.

“Obviously, this is an inflection point and an opportunity to evaluate and to really assess the policies and procedures and how they are being implemented and put into practice,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, said.

2:05 ICE detains 5-year-old Minnesota boy arriving home from school

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Noem is a “liar” and called for her removal.

“The country is disgusted by what the Department of Homeland Security has done,” top House Democratic representatives Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Pete Aguilar of California said in a joint statement.

“Kristi Noem should be fired immediately,” they said, “or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.”

As of Tuesday, Kelly had gained 162 co-sponsors for her impeachment articles against Noem, “but we need the majority of Congress to open their eyes to her brutality and unconstitutional actions,” she said in a statement.

“The Members of Congress supporting impeachment of Secretary Noem represent swing to deep blue districts. After Alex Pretti was shot and killed in Minneapolis by an ICE agent, 50 Members joined as cosponsors,” she added, accusing Noem of having “blood on her hands.”

3:10 Minneapolis mourns U.S. citizen killed by federal agents as officials dispute DHS account

At least six people have been killed by ICE agents under her watch, Kelly said.

“Each time, Secretary Noem lied to our faces and tried to justify the murder of innocent lives. People are disgusted by her.”

Kelly also said Noem is guilty of wrongfully awarding a $200-million ad contract to her friend and using taxpayer dollars to recruit new ICE agents.

Earlier this week, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told reporters that subsidies to Americans’ health care are being cut and given to ICE.

“Understand how these dots connect. You get screwed over to pay a bunch of thugs in the street that are shooting mothers in the face,” she said.

The Trump administration is also facing opposition to a sweeping funding bill that would allocate US$64.4 billion for the Department of Homeland Security and $10 billion to ICE, according to the New York Times.

Senate Democrats have vowed not to provide the votes to pass the bill.

— With files from The Associated Press