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Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., unleashed a blistering attack on federal agents Tuesday, calling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers “thugs” and accusing them of criminal conduct during a heated House hearing.
The Democrat’s comments came during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) oversight.
“I have heard and seen enough. I’m just sick and tired of your agents running around in our cities, in our streets, causing illegal activities,” Thanedar told ICE acting director Todd Lyons.
“ICE and CBP thugs are roaming our streets, attacking our communities, using our children as bait, referring to people as bodies and numbers, targeting people for their accents and the color of their skin, and killing American citizens — all while showing zero remorse for their actions,” he continued.
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Lyons said ICE has made nearly 379,000 arrests, including 7,000 suspected gang members and 1,400 suspected terrorists.
Amid the enforcement, federal agents have faced a more than 8,000% increase in death threats.
Thanedar, who pushed legislation in January to abolish ICE, dug into Lyons and U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner Rodney Scott, accusing them of criminal behavior that could warrant a presidential pardon.
“Director Lyons and commissioner Scott, do you think President Trump will pardon you and your boss, Kristi Noem, before he leaves office — just like he has for insurrectionists and his political allies,” he said. “Do you believe President Trump will pardon you?”
Scott fired back, saying he was proud of his service.
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“I’m not going to speak on behalf of President Trump, but I’ll tell you, I signed up for this job to protect America,” he said. “I’m very proud of the service that I provide, and I don’t need a pardon from anybody.”
Fellow Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., also asked Lyons if he would resign during the hearing, citing his career in military service.
“I’ve read your background, you have a dedicated career. You served in the military… This is not the only job you can get,” Swalwell said. “But since you’ve been on this job, women have been dragged by their hair through our streets. A six-year-old child battling stage four cancer has been deported, and it turns out he was a US citizen. People are running through the fields where they work. People who’ve gone to the streets as allies have been shot and publicly executed.”
“It’s a decision to stay on at this point, and considering your honorable service in the past, and the dishonorable acts that those who have worked for you have conducted, and the disgraceful statements that the leadership above you have said, you now have a decision: will you stand with the kids who you’re supposed to protect, or will you side with the killers bringing terror to our streets. Mr. Lyons, will you resign from ICE?” Swalwell asked.
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Lyons simply responded, “No, sir, I won’t.”
When pressed further, he added, “Because, sir, that child that you’re showing right there, the men and women of ICE took care of him when his father abandoned him.”