U.S. Rep. Summer Lee has joined a longshot effort by a group of Democrats in the House to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“Right now, the Trump administration is commissioning the endangerment of the American public — (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is hunting human beings down, tearing families apart and shooting mothers in the face,” Lee, D-Swissvale, said in a statement supporting a resolution introducing three articles of impeachment against Noem.
“This reckless and lawless enforcement is terrorizing our communities, and it’s past time to fire Kristi Noem,” Lee added.
The Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts have faced increased scrutiny from Democrats following last week’s fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE agent. More than 2,000 federal agents were sent to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area last week to conduct what ICE called its “largest operation to date.”
Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, defended its immigration enforcement efforts.
“DHS is a law enforcement agency — enforcing the rule of law passed by Congress. If members don’t like the law, it is quite literally their job to change it,” the department said in a statement.
“As ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them, politicians are more focused on showmanship and fundraising clicks than actually removing criminals from our streets. We hope these members get serious about doing their job to protect American people, which is what this Department is doing under Secretary Noem,” the department added.
Lee and 69 other Democratic lawmakers had signed onto the proposal from U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill.
Southwestern Pennsylvania’s other Democratic congressman, U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio of Fox Chapel, had not signed on to cosponsor the resolution as of late Wednesday afternoon. A message seeking comment from Deluzio was not immediately returned.
One proposed article of impeachment accuses Noem of obstructing members of Congress from entering facilities used for detaining undocumented immigrants in eight states, including Pennsylvania, where Lee said she was not allowed into the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County.
Another proposed article accused Noem of violating the public trust by directing immigration enforcement efforts that have resulted in warrantless arrests and violence against U.S. citizens and others in the country lawfully, including the shooting death of Nicole Good in Minneapolis.
The third proposed article said Noem has misused her position for personal gain. It said $200 million in federal funding was used to pay for an ICE recruitment ad campaign. The firm handling the campaign was awarded a contract without going through a competitive bidding process and is run by the husband of a senior Homeland Security official who is a close friend of Noem’s, according to the proposed article.
In its statement, Homeland Security provided headshots and summaries of nearly two dozen people convicted of crimes including homicide, rape, child sexual abuse and other violent offenses who were in the country illegally.
“These are the criminals DHS law enforcement under Secretary Noem’s leadership have arrested,” the department said.
