The leaders of three federal immigration agencies are set to testify at a Senate hearing on Thursday, while senators are locked in a dispute over new restrictions that would curb their operations.
The heads of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are expected to appear before the Senate’s Homeland Security Committee. The hearing comes two days after the officials repeatedly declined to answer questions from members of the House about the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis last month.
Thursday’s hearing will also take place as the Senate remains locked in a stalemate over whether to rein in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, a debate that has threatened a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security starting this weekend.
Senator Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican who leads the Senate’s homeland security panel, requested that the immigration officials testify days after Mr. Pretti’s killing. On Wednesday, Mr. Paul said that he thought there had been a “loss of public trust in ICE” and that the officials would be questioned about use of force standards and enforcement priorities.
Mr. Paul also said he would push back on the officials’ refusal to discuss the fatal shootings during their House hearing on Tuesday, when they repeatedly declined to answer questions because of continuing investigations. “We have at least four members of the administration who commented immediately,” Mr. Paul said during an interview with CBS on Wednesday.
Still, Mr. Paul said he thought there was “fault on both sides,” and the committee is also expected to hear testimony from several officials from Minnesota who will face questions about their cooperation with federal officials on immigration enforcement.
They are Representative Tom Emmer, the No. 3 House Republican; Keith Ellison, the state’s attorney general and a Democrat; Paul Schnell, the commissioner of the state’s Department of Corrections; and Harry Niska, a Republican state representative.
Thursday’s hearing comes more than two months after the Trump administration began its immigration enforcement blitz in Minnesota, which ICE has called its largest operation to date.
Tensions have escalated in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region as protesters have clashed with federal immigration officers. Mr. Pretti’s killing, which came about two weeks after Ms. Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer, drew bipartisan outrage last month and led Democrats to withdraw their support from a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
Democrats are demanding new restrictions on federal immigration agents as a condition of funding the department. Though Republicans sought greater congressional oversight after the shooting of Mr. Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, they have broadly rejected Democrats’ proposals as overly burdening the administration’s deportation crackdown.
Senate Democrats are now negotiating with the White House over what restrictions, if any, should be placed on immigration enforcement operations. But members of both parties have voiced skepticism that they will be able to reach an agreement that can win broad support in time to avoid a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security after midnight on Friday.
Several senators acknowledged that a deal appeared far from reach as of Wednesday night.
“It doesn’t look like we’re going to stick the landing by tomorrow,” said Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader.
Mr. Thune has urged Democrats to support a stopgap measure known as a continuing resolution, or C.R., that would keep the Homeland Security Department open and allow the negotiations to continue. But Democrats, including several who teamed up with Republicans to end the most recent government shutdown, have so far united in opposition to the idea.
Madeleine Ngo covers immigration and economic policy for The Times.
The post Immigration Officials Set to Testify Before Senate Panel appeared first on New York Times.
