A group of US House Democrats plan on introducing articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday.
Joining 52 Democratic colleagues, US House Rep. Summer Lee (D-Allegheny) was the only Pennsylvania Democratic lawmaker to co-sponsor articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem.
Axios reports that US House Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Illinois) plans on introducing articles of impeachment against Noem on Wednesday, and the articles accuse Noem of obstruction of Congress, violation of public trust, and self-dealing.
“Right now, the Trump administration is commissioning the endangerment of the American public—DHS is hunting human beings down, tearing families apart, and shooting mothers in the face,” Lee said in a statement.
“We are in a crisis. This reckless and lawless enforcement is terrorizing our communities, and it’s past time to fire Kristi Noem.”
The death of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its ongoing coverup from President Donald Trump’s administration has sparked interest in impeaching Noem, who oversees ICE as DHS Secretary.
Noem has blocked members of Congress from visiting DHS facilities and withheld Congressionally-approved disaster relief funding, denied ICE detainees due process, violated their fourth and fifth amendment rights, and awarded over $200 million in contracts to a firm controlled by her top spokesperson’s husband.
Last year, Lee, along with US House Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), was denied entrance to the Moshannon Detention Center, where two immigrants died in ICE custody. The Congresswomen visited the center after hearing about mistreatment of detainees from their constituents.
Lee has also been critical of ICE agents covering their faces with masks and using unmarked vehicles while conducting immigration raids. In the summer, she compared ICE agents to acting like “secret police.”
“Federal agents under the Trump administration are operating like a secret police force on U.S. soil. These agents must identify themselves rather than cowardly concealing their identities behind masks,” Lee said in a letter to Noem.
“Every person—regardless of immigration status—has a constitutional right to due process and protection from unlawful searches and seizures. These state-sanctioned fear tactics are opening the door for vulnerable communities to be abused and must not become the norm”
