Senate Hearing Reveals 37 ICE Use‑of‑Force Misconduct Probes and Truncated Training After Minneapolis Killings
At a Senate hearing, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons disclosed that ICE opened 37 use‑of‑force investigations over the past year (18 closed, 19 pending or referred) and that the agency’s basic academy was cut from 75 days to 42 days, meaning some recruits with minimal weapons experience can be deployed after the shortened curriculum. Those revelations — paired with limited body‑cam coverage (roughly 3,000 of ~13,000 ICE agents equipped, with more cameras being rolled out), Lyons’ pledge to release Minnesota footage when available, and the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti — intensified Democratic demands for statutory ICE reforms (body cameras, bans on masks, visible IDs, warrant rules) and sharpened a partisan standoff over DHS funding that briefly contributed to a partial government shutdown.
📌 Key Facts
- Congress narrowly separated Homeland Security funding from a larger spending package and approved a short stopgap that keeps DHS funded for about two weeks (through Feb. 13) while lawmakers negotiate ICE and immigration‑enforcement reforms; the partial shutdown that began over the weekend was expected to be brief as House leaders moved to consider a revised package.
- Democrats are demanding statutory ICE and DHS reforms as a condition for backing full funding, including mandatory body‑worn cameras, bans on face coverings/masks for agents, visible identifying information on uniforms, limits on roving patrols and enforcement near schools/medical/child‑care facilities and churches, and shifts toward judicial warrants rather than administrative home entries.
- The killings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renée (Renee) Good by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis sparked public outrage, prompted the administration to de‑escalate operations in the city, and became the central catalyst for the congressional oversight push and funding standoff.
- A joint House oversight hearing featured ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott and USCIS Director Joseph Edlow; testimony was contentious, with leaders refusing to discuss ongoing investigations into the Minneapolis shootings, facing sharp criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, and enduring calls for resignations and legal accountability.
- Lyons told lawmakers ICE opened 37 use‑of‑force misconduct investigations over the past year — 18 closed and 19 pending or referred for further review — but he did not say whether any resulted in terminations; lawmakers did not obtain comparable CBP misconduct totals at the hearing.
- Lyons disclosed that ICE’s basic academy training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center was shortened from 75 days to 42 days for new recruits, with greater reliance on on‑the‑job training, and acknowledged recruits could be deployed to operations after those 42 days.
- Officials reported partial body‑camera deployment: roughly 3,000 of about 13,000 ICE agents have cameras (with another ~6,000 cameras being deployed), and roughly 10,000 of ~20,000 Border Patrol/CBP agents are equipped; Lyons said ICE body‑camera footage from Minnesota would be released but did not confirm whether cameras captured the Pretti and Good shootings.
- Political disagreement persists: some Republicans signaled openness to limited reforms (e.g., body cams, ending roving patrols) while opposing mask bans and warrant changes; DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and allies warned that constraining ICE funding would disrupt TSA, FEMA, Coast Guard and other DHS missions and framed Democrats’ demands as holding DHS 'hostage.'
- Oversight hearings and reporting highlighted additional alleged misconduct and civil‑liberties concerns — including incidents in Chicago (claims of wrongful stops, dropped charges after video contradicted agents, and an allegation that agents sprayed pepper spray into a moving car injuring an infant) — underscoring broader worries about enforcement practices even as ICE/CBP operate with expanded funding from last year’s spending measures.
📰 Source Timeline (23)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
February 13, 2026
11:52 AM
Minnesota immigration crackdown will end, border czar says. And, DHS funding to expire
New information:
- NPR notes that the 37 use‑of‑force misconduct investigations and 18 closed / 19 pending figure from Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons was given in a Senate hearing the day before this article, and underscores that he did not say whether any cases led to terminations.
- NPR adds that lawmakers at that hearing did not ask CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott how many CBP officers are under review, leaving a gap in oversight compared with ICE.
February 12, 2026
8:38 PM
ICE conducted 37 investigations into officer misconduct in last year
New information:
- Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons testified that ICE conducted 37 investigations into officers’ use of force in the last year, with 18 cases closed and 19 still pending or referred for further investigation.
- Lyons disclosed that ICE’s basic academy curriculum at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia has been cut from 75 days to 42 days for new recruits, with more emphasis on on‑the‑job training.
- Lyons acknowledged under questioning that a new recruit who had never before handled a weapon could be deployed to a state like Minnesota after just those 42 days of training.
- NPR notes DHS rarely releases internal misconduct numbers and that Lyons did not say whether any of the 37 cases resulted in terminations.
6:13 PM
Rep. Steve Cohen tells Pam Bondi that 'worst of the worst' are native-born Americans, not immigrants
New information:
- Rep. Steve Cohen, at a separate House hearing with Attorney General Pam Bondi, argued that 'the worst of the worst' criminals are native‑born Americans, not immigrants, directly challenging the administration’s justification for aggressive ICE operations.
- Cohen accused ICE of 'running rampant' and described the killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis as 'executions' by federal authorities, explicitly likening them to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s controversial killing of her dog.
- He urged Bondi to investigate any federal officials who use weapons in such incidents for potential civil‑rights violations, framing DOJ’s role as needing to police ICE and Border Patrol shootings.
February 11, 2026
5:04 PM
ICE director refuses to resign under pressure from Eric Swalwell not to 'side with killers'
New information:
- Rep. Eric Swalwell explicitly told Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons he should resign rather than 'side with the killers,' calling Lyons 'otherwise employable' and framing staying in the job as a moral choice.
- Lyons refused to resign and pushed back on Swalwell’s use of a poster of 5‑year‑old Liam Conejo Ramos, arguing ICE officers 'took care of him when his father abandoned him and ran from law enforcement.'
- Swalwell confronted Lyons over earlier comments likening ICE operational efficiency to Amazon Prime and jabbed, 'How many times has Amazon Prime shot a mom three times in the face?,' referencing the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis; Lyons responded that his analogy was about tech and efficiency and that he had explicitly said ICE couldn't be like Amazon because it deals with humans.
February 10, 2026
11:53 PM
Dem lawmaker compares ICE agents to Nazis and Gestapo during fiery House hearing on enforcement
New information:
- Rep. Dan Goldman pressed ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons on whether ICE agents have been asking people on the street to show proof of U.S. citizenship, explicitly comparing that practice to Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
- Goldman accused ICE of using 'un‑American and outright fascist' tactics and said, 'If you don't want to be called a fascist regime or secret police, then stop acting like one.'
- Lyons responded that such comparisons are inappropriate, noted that agents have been labeled 'Gestapo or secret police,' and pointed to the Holocaust Museum in Washington when rejecting the Nazi analogy.
- Rep. Bennie Thompson referenced a Border Patrol commander who had 'styled himself in Nazi attire' while criticizing masked and unidentifiable agents in Minnesota operations.
- The Fox piece underscores that a central oversight line of the hearing was whether agents are operating masked or in unmarked gear, how often U.S. citizens are swept up, and how limited body‑camera deployment hampers accountability in the Renee Good and Alex Pretti shootings.
11:16 PM
House Dem explodes on top Trump immigration official, says he ‘better hope’ for pardon from president
New information:
- Rep. Shri Thanedar called ICE officers 'thugs' and said he is 'sick and tired' of agents 'running around in our cities' and 'using our children as bait.'
- Thanedar told CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott, 'You better hope you get pardoned,' and asked both Scott and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons if they believe President Trump will pardon them and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
- Scott replied that he is proud of his service and does not need a pardon from anybody.
- Thanedar reiterated on the record that he has introduced a bill to abolish ICE and co‑sponsored a bill to impeach DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, framing ICE and CBP as having 'lost the trust of the American people.'
9:37 PM
Top 5 takeaways from the House immigration oversight hearing
New information:
- NPR explicitly notes this was the first time immigration‑agency leaders appeared before Congress since DHS officers killed U.S. citizens Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
- Committee Chair Rep. Andrew Garbarino, a Republican, called the deaths 'unacceptable and preventable' and urged a 'complete' investigation, framing them as undermining public trust when officials 'rush to conclusions.'
- Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told lawmakers he would not comment on the shootings because investigations are ongoing, defended Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s 'domestic terrorist' label for Pretti as their 'right' as officials, and insisted U.S. citizens 'should not be concerned about being deported or detained'—while conceding they can be arrested.
- Lyons drew a distinction between being 'arrested' and being 'detained' on a longer basis, even as NPR reminded listeners it has documented multiple cases of U.S. citizens in Minnesota being questioned or held by immigration agents under Operation Metro Surge.
- The article underscores that, given the deep partisan divide over ICE conduct and reform, the hearing signaled Congress is more likely to pass another short‑term DHS funding bill than a broader enforcement overhaul.
7:49 PM
ICE director grilled over Trump's immigration crackdown
New information:
- Confirms this was the first joint oversight hearing with Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott and USCIS Director Joseph Edlow.
- Details that lawmakers questioned the chiefs about the Chicago shooting of U.S. citizen Miramar Martinez, whose obstruction charges were dropped after video evidence contradicted agents’ claims.
- Reveals an incident where Border Patrol agents allegedly threw pepper spray into a moving car in Chicago, injuring an infant.
- Reports that multiple members pressed the chiefs on protocols to avoid stopping or detaining U.S. citizens and lawful residents over immigration status, in the context of active lawsuits.
- Provides updated body‑camera deployment numbers: Lyons says ~3,000 of ~13,000 ICE agents now have cameras; Scott says about 10,000 CBP agents are equipped.
- Includes Lyons’ on‑record defense that 'men and women of ICE... are following the law as it’s written' and his refusal, along with Scott’s, to discuss the Renee Good and Alex Pretti killings because of ongoing investigations.
- Captures partisan framing from Rep. Seth Magaziner accusing ICE of 'unnecessarily violent' tactics and from Rep. Eli Crane asking why current enforcement is provoking 'riots' when past deportation waves did not.
6:46 PM
ICE acting director says Minnesota bodycam footage will be released amid transparency push
New information:
- ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons told the House Homeland Security Committee he is '100%' committed to transparency and that 'body camera footage will be released' from ICE operations in Minnesota.
- Lyons disclosed that about 3,000 of roughly 13,000 ICE agents currently have body cameras, with another 6,000 cameras in the process of being deployed, leaving a minority of agents outfitted so far.
- CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said about 10,000 of roughly 20,000 Border Patrol agents now have body cameras, though Rep. Bennie Thompson questioned the precision of that figure and asked for follow‑up documentation.
- Lyons did not specify whether body‑camera footage exists from the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, noting prior recordings relied on a personal phone and bystander video.
5:29 PM
WATCH LIVE: White House holds news briefing as shutdown looms over DHS funding
New information:
- Confirms the White House will hold a televised briefing at 1 p.m. ET Tuesday, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressing the looming DHS deadline and immigration‑enforcement controversy.
- Restates that DHS funding runs out Friday night and that Democrats are explicitly threatening to allow a partial DHS shutdown unless Republicans agree to new statutory limits on ICE and Border Patrol tactics.
- Highlights that agency heads are "flush with cash" from Trump’s new tax‑and‑spending law even as public support for enforcement is sliding, sharpening the political optics of the funding fight.
2:43 PM
WATCH LIVE: Heads of ICE, immigration agencies testify as funding deadline looms
New information:
- PBS/AP piece provides the scheduled start time of the hearing (10 a.m. EST) and offers a live stream.
- It emphasizes that Lyons, Scott and Edlow will be questioned broadly on how they are "prosecuting immigration enforcement inside American cities" under Trump’s mass‑deportation agenda.
- The article reiterates that public support for ICE/CBP’s conduct has fallen even as the agencies are "flush with cash" from last year’s spending bill that expanded enforcement capacity.
- It restates that Lyons’ memo explicitly told ICE officers they did not need a judge’s warrant to forcibly enter homes to arrest deportees, framing this as a core oversight flashpoint.
2:24 PM
ICE chief goes before Congress as DHS funding deadline looms
New information:
- MS NOW confirms the same witness lineup — ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott and USCIS Director Joseph Edlow — and reconfirms the hearing is Tuesday morning.
- It highlights that Lyons personally is expected to face especially intense questioning from Democrats over “aggressive tactics” in Minnesota tied to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
- It reiterates that Democrats are explicitly threatening to block or hold up DHS funding unless Republicans and the Trump administration agree to 'substantial reforms' to ICE.
11:00 AM
ICE chief, immigration officials set to testify to House panel today
New information:
- Confirms the House Homeland Security hearing with ICE acting director Todd Lyons, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott, and USCIS Director Joseph Edlow is set for 10 a.m. today and will be livestreamed.
- Details that the committee first invited the three agency heads on Jan. 15, and that Chair Rep. Andrew Garbarino re‑formalized those invitations on Jan. 24, the day Alex Pretti was killed.
- Includes new on‑the‑record comments from Rep. Tony Gonzales saying he wants to press the agency heads on cooperation with local governments, criticizing Minneapolis‑style breakdowns and claiming municipal non‑cooperation leads to cities 'burning.'
- Quotes Garbarino thanking DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for making the witnesses available and framing the session as ensuring 'historic resources' are used to strengthen public safety.
10:00 AM
Immigration officials to testify before House as DHS funding deadline approaches
New information:
- Top officials from ICE (Todd Lyons), CBP (Rodney Scott) and USCIS (Joseph Edlow) will testify before the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday and again before the Senate on Thursday.
- House Homeland Security Chair Andrew Garbarino requested the hearings following the killing of Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers and framed them as necessary for 'transparency and communication' to 'turn the temperature down.'
- Republicans have delivered an initial written counterproposal on ICE reforms to Democrats and the White House; Jeffries and Schumer publicly dismissed it as an 'incomplete and insufficient' outline lacking legislative text.
- NPR details specific Democratic asks: codifying body‑camera use, banning face coverings, requiring visible identifying information on agents’ uniforms, and prohibiting enforcement near schools, medical and child‑care facilities, and churches.
- The article notes Republicans argue a mask ban would increase doxxing risks, while Jeffries counters that other U.S. law‑enforcement agencies do not routinely wear masks.
February 09, 2026
4:58 PM
WATCH LIVE: House gavels in as deadline for Homeland Security funding nears
New information:
- PBS/AP piece focuses on one key sticking point in the DHS talks: Democratic demands to ban masks on federal immigration officers and require body‑worn cameras as a 'hard red line' for funding.
- It quotes National Sheriffs’ Association CEO Justin Smith warning that fully masked federal agents erode public comfort and accountability, adding expert law‑enforcement concern about the practice.
- It highlights ICE’s own public justification that officers 'wear masks to prevent doxing' and notes the Trump tax‑cut law poured about $170 billion into DHS, helping ICE double its ranks to 22,000 with $50,000 signing bonuses.
- Sen. Thom Tillis is cited as an example of Republicans rejecting Democrats’ unmasking demand on the grounds of officer safety in the current political climate.
February 08, 2026
8:32 PM
Lawmakers in standoff over ICE reforms as DHS funding deadline approaches
New information:
- Confirms Congress passed a broader funding package that reopened most of the government after a four‑day partial shutdown, while DHS was left on a stopgap through Feb. 13.
- Details that Senate Democrats have given Republicans draft DHS funding bill text and a formal list of 'guardrail' demands, but Jeffries says they have not heard back from the White House or GOP leaders.
- Jeffries explicitly frames the choice for Republicans as either agreeing to 'dramatically reform' ICE and other DHS enforcement behavior or 'shut down the Coast Guard, shut down FEMA and shut down TSA.'
- Article notes some Republicans are open to certain reforms (mandatory body cameras, ending roving patrols), while treating other demands—like mask bans and judicial‑warrant requirements—as GOP red lines.
- Clarifies that even if DHS appropriations lapse, ICE and CBP enforcement would continue because they received an influx of funds under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
February 06, 2026
6:30 PM
Noem rips Dems for using families as ‘political weapons’ as DHS funding fight threatens life beyond ICE
New information:
- Kristi Noem tells Fox that Democrats’ DHS stance is 'using families as political weapons' and amounts to a 'direct attack on the security of our country.'
- She stresses that ICE accounts for about 11% of DHS’s budget and warns that a funding lapse driven by ICE demands would drag the other 89% — including TSA, FEMA, Coast Guard, Secret Service and CISA — into disruption.
- Noem specifies that without full-year DHS funding, TSA has no other money 'to fall back on,' FEMA’s continuity‑of‑government functions and Coast Guard support staff could be strained, and cyber and protective missions could feel ripple effects.
- She frames Democrats’ 10‑point ICE reform list as effectively 'holding DHS hostage' and says President Trump 'fully backs' her in the standoff, according to Fox’s sourcing.
February 02, 2026
10:48 PM
DHS funding at center of government budget talks; Noem says feds in Minneapolis getting bodycams
New information:
- CBS adds that Democrats are specifically demanding statutory reforms to how ICE and other DHS immigration‑enforcement components operate as a condition of backing the funding package.
- The segment reports that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem says all federal officers in Minneapolis will be getting body cameras, tying a concrete operational change to the political fight over DHS funding.
- It underscores that the House is now considering a 'revised funding package' to end the partial shutdown that began over the weekend, indicating active negotiations rather than a static standoff.
11:50 AM
Where things stand with the government shutdown, and how soon it could end
New information:
- Speaker Mike Johnson told NBC’s "Meet the Press" he is "confident" Congress will end the partial shutdown "at least by Tuesday" if the House can move the Senate bill.
- Johnson said he expects to have to "pass a rule and probably do this mostly on our own" after a conversation with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, signaling Democrats will not supply procedural votes.
- House Rules Committee is scheduled to consider the Senate funding bill on Monday, with a full House rule vote and final‑passage vote to follow.
- Jeffries told ABC the Senate bill is a "meaningful step" but reiterated that DHS must be "dramatically reformed," while Rep. Ro Khanna flatly opposed giving "more money to ICE agents as they're violating our Constitutional rights."
February 01, 2026
12:47 AM
House Democrats mutiny Schumer’s deal with White House, threatening longer shutdown
New information:
- Four House GOP sources tell Fox that Hakeem Jeffries has informed Speaker Mike Johnson Democrats will not provide the two‑thirds support needed to pass the Senate–White House package under suspension of the rules Monday night.
- Because Democrats will not go along with fast‑tracking, Johnson must instead run the package through the House Rules Committee and a party‑line rule vote, leaning on his slim GOP majority and pushing final passage to at least Tuesday.
- Some House Republicans, including Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, are demanding add‑ons—such as a proof‑of‑citizenship voter‑registration measure—in exchange for their votes, while others are uneasy about negotiating any immigration limits as part of the compromise.
January 31, 2026
7:23 PM
Here's what to know about the partial government shutdown and its impact
New information:
- Clarifies that the shutdown began Saturday but is expected to be brief, since the House plans to return Monday to vote on the Senate‑passed five‑bill funding package.
- Details that Congress has already enacted half of this year’s appropriations, so major programs like nutrition assistance should be unaffected through September.
- Specifies that the lapse in funding currently covers the Pentagon, DHS and the Transportation Department, while FEMA is expected to have $7–8 billion left in its disaster fund to handle the ongoing winter storm, barring a prolonged shutdown.
- Reiterates that the Minneapolis killings of Alex Pretti and Renée Good by federal agents triggered Democrats’ insistence on stripping DHS from the larger package and adding immigration‑enforcement reforms such as a code of conduct and visible identification for officers.
6:43 PM
Government shutdown may be short, but with immigration enforcement talks ahead
New information:
- Shutdown is expected to be brief, with both parties working to prevent broader disruption and to keep most agencies funded.
- Senate deal formally separates DHS funding from the rest of the package, extending DHS money for two weeks to allow negotiations over immigration tactics.
- Democrats’ specific demands include ending roving patrols, requiring body cameras, banning masks for agents, and shifting to judge‑signed search warrants instead of administrative ones; Republicans signal openness to some ideas.
- Pretti’s killing is identified as the second this month of a U.S. citizen with no criminal record involving immigration agents, and the article notes the administration has begun to de‑escalate operations in Minneapolis in response to public outrage.
- Compared with the record 43‑day shutdown last fall over healthcare, this shutdown is being framed as a short, targeted gap largely to buy time for the DHS/immigration fight.