Sen. Rand Paul, chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, called on three top immigration enforcement officials to testify before his panel in the wake of Saturday’s killing of a Minneapolis man by federal agents.
The Kentucky Republican sent letters Monday to Rodney Scott, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection; Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; and Todd Lyons, who is serving as acting director of ICE, requesting that the three men testify at a Feb. 12 hearing.
“As you know, the Department of Homeland Security has been provided an exceptional amount of funding to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws,” Paul said in the letters to the administration officials. “Congress has an obligation to conduct oversight of those tax dollars and ensure the funding is used to accomplish the mission, provide proper support for our law enforcement, and, most importantly, protect the American people.”
Paul’s letters don’t mention this weekend’s killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, which has sparked a wave of new scrutiny of the immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota ordered by President Donald Trump.
But the hearing would be the first chance senators will have to question Trump administration officials’ over the shooting and the president’s broader immigration and Homeland Security agenda.
Separately, Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) joined the growing ranks of Republicans raising questions about the shooting, saying he supports a “full and transparent investigation into the tragic event in Minneapolis.”
“Congress has requested testimony from ICE, CBP, and USCIS leaders in an open hearing, and they should testify soon,” said Young, who is not a member of Paul’s committee, in a statement to POLITICO. “Providing the American people with the full facts is an important part of maintaining public trust. We also need state and local officials to better cooperate with federal enforcement efforts.”
