In his opening statement at the House Homeland Security Committee hearing, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson heavily criticized the Department of Homeland Security for “running roughshod over Americans’ rights.”
Thompson, who focused on the killings of two US citizens Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota last month, accused DHS of “threatening our very democracy,” adding that the federal government’s refusal to investigate Good’s shooting was akin to an admission of guilt.
What to know about the ICE hearing today:
– The leaders of three major immigration agencies are testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday for the first time since the administration‘s recent crackdown in Minneapolis.
– The witnesses at the hearing are Todd Lyons, the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Rodney Scott, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection; and Joseph Edlow, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Stanford University political scientist Tom Clark questioned the validity of the memo, which appears to directly conflict with the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution, which requires search warrants as a protection against “unreasonable searches and seizures.”
“So, here’s how the law works,” he wrote. “People on whom it imposes constraints don’t get to just write themselves a memo saying they don’t have to follow the law. Maybe I’ll write myself a memo saying that I don’t have to pay my taxes this year.”
The chief federal judge in Minnesota says the Trump administration has failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants and ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear before him Friday to explain why he shouldn‘t be held in contempt.
In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, must appear personally in court. Schlitz took the administration to task over its handling of bond hearings for immigrants it has detained.
“This Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result,” Schiltz continued.
The judge wrote that ICE and Homeland Security officials “have continually assured the Court that they recognize their obligation to comply with Court orders, and that they have taken steps to ensure that those orders will be honored going forward. Unfortunately, though, the violations continue.”
Federal immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge’s warrant, according to an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press, marking a sharp reversal of longstanding guidance meant to respect constitutional limits on government searches.