Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) pressed ICE chief Todd Lyons on Tuesday to apologize to the families of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two U.S. citizens shot and killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis last month. Lyons refused during a Department of Homeland Security oversight hearing.
“Will you apologize to Renee Good for being called a domestic terrorist by the president and his leadership?” Swalwell asked Lyons, who was testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee alongside other senior DHS officials.
“No, sir,” Lyons replied.
Swalwell followed up: “Is she a domestic terrorist?”
Lyons declined to answer, saying he would not comment on a pending investigation. He acknowledged that President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had publicly described the victims as domestic terrorists, but would not say whether he agreed with those remarks.
“I welcome the opportunity to speak to the family in private, but I’m not going to comment on any active investigation,” Lyons said. He also declined to apologize to Pretti’s family.
The fatal shootings of Good and Pretti — which occurred during separate immigration operations in Minneapolis — fueled nationwide protests over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and helped prompt Tuesday’s high-profile hearing.
Democratic lawmakers used the hearing to press the administration for greater transparency and accountability in immigration enforcement. At the same time, they are pushing Republicans to agree to more training and accountability measures for ICE officers, and are using funding negotiations as leverage. Lyons’s comments suggested the administration is unlikely to shift course.
Also testifying were U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott and Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Negotiations over DHS funding remain underway. The White House sent a counterproposal Monday evening, but Democrats quickly rejected it, saying it did not meet key demands. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Tuesday called the GOP proposal “woefully inadequate,” raising the possibility of a partial government shutdown ahead of a Friday deadline.
