Garbarino tells immigration officials to investigate killings thoroughly

WASHINGTON — Rep. Andrew Garbarino urged top immigration officials to conduct "a complete and impartial investigation" into the fatal shootings of two American civilians in Minnesota last month, during a Tuesday hearing he led on the Trump Administration’s mass deportation campaign.

"We sit here today at an inflection point — an opportunity to assess and reinforce the integrity of immigration enforcement and to strengthen public trust," Garbarino said at the start of the more than three-hour hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee.

Garbarino (R-Bayport) chairs the committee and has faced growing calls from congressional Democrats for increased oversight of the administration’s immigration policies. He invited U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Todd Lyons; Rodney Scott, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection; and Joseph Edlow, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, to testify before the committee and face questions from lawmakers under oath.

The session came as congressional leaders and the White House continue to negotiate a spending bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security before federal funding runs out for the agency on Friday.

The panelists defended the work of their agencies and President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, as Democrats questioned them about the killings of civilians Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota last month, the detention of children, the use of masks among agents and their confidence in Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

"Our officers continue to execute their mission with unwavering resolve, and we are only getting started," Lyons said.

Republicans on the committee largely offered praise for the mass deportation effort, arguing that President Joe Biden did little to curb illegal border crossings, as Democrats engaged in fiery exchanges with Lyons and Scott.

"How do you think Judgment Day will work for you with so much blood on your hands?" Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) asked Lyons during one tense exchange. Lyons responded that he was "not going to entertain that question."

Garbarino asked Lyons and Scott to commit to providing the committee with the findings of the federal investigations into the killings of Pretti and Good in Minnesota last month. Both officials pledged they would provide the findings once the investigations conclude.

 Democrats, who have denounced the Trump Administration for blocking Minnesota law enforcement officials from conducting their own investigations into the pair of shootings, repeatedly asked the panel if the families of Good and Pretti were owed an apology after Noem and other top Trump aides initially described them as domestic terrorists after the shootings.

Lyons said he could not comment on an active investigation.

Body cameras

The committee also questioned the panel about body cameras, which most immigration agents don't wear.

Asked how many agents were currently fitted with body cameras, Lyons said about 3,000 of 13,000 ICE agents have cameras, and Scott said about 10,000 of 67,000 Border Patrol officers have the cameras.

"We’re building that program out as we speak," Scott said.

The discussion about body cameras occurred as negotiations over the spending bill are centered on increased oversight of agents and their tactics. Democrats are calling for body cameras on all immigration agents, a ban on officers using face concealing masks, and ensuring judicial warrants are used to search homes and arrest immigrants.

Republican leaders have opposed some of the measures, arguing officers should be allowed to wear masks to avoid facing public threats and the White House is reportedly pushing back on the warrant requirements.

Need for masks?

Lyons and Scott told lawmakers that federal agents were facing increased threats, and family members were also being harassed, once their identities are revealed in online videos and photos.

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-Manhattan), told the officials that as a former federal prosecutor who worked with law enforcement officers who investigated the mob and violent criminals, none "wore a mask to conceal their identity."

"The explanation that your agents are wearing masks because of fear of assaults or doxing is outright bogus," Goldman told Lyons. "You and your untrained, unqualified, unfettered, unidentified agents are intentionally terrorizing our cities and communities all over this country to avoid accountability for their excessive force and their lawless actions. That is why you're wearing masks, so no one can hold you accountable."

 Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the ranking member of the committee, said during opening remarks that the hearing "is just the start of a reckoning for the Trump administration and its weaponization of [the Department of Homeland Security] against American citizens and the principles our country stands for."

Garbarino, speaking to Newsday after the hearing, said he hoped the meeting helped clarify some of the conflicting statements put out by the administration in the immediate wake of the Minnesota shootings and helped ease some of the public outcry.

"I think hopefully this will do a lot of good in clearing the air and answering a lot of people's questions and calming the public down while the White House and the Democrats negotiate over funding," Garbarino said.

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.