WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) forcefully pressed Department of Homeland Security officials Thursday during a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing over a string of videos showing federal immigration agents using force during arrests — including the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis — asking bluntly whether what Americans had seen on camera reflected the standards ICE expects its agents to follow.
VIDEO: Watch the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing below:
“ICE code of conduct says, quote, ‘all ICE employees must behave professionally and must be a model for all to follow,’ ” Gallego told Todd Lyons, the senior official performing the duties of ICE director, as clips of chaotic stops and encounters were played for the committee. In one exchange, Gallego asked Lyons point-blank: “Director Lyons, yes or no, is the behavior you just witnessed a model you think agents should follow?”
The hearing featured raw, sometimes profane video audio that has become central to the outrage driving congressional oversight and local lawsuits. The clips prompted lawmakers to demand clearer rules and faster accountability.
“No, sir,” Lyons replied multiple times during the hearing when asked whether specific behaviors reflected training or policy. He repeatedly stressed that ICE and CBP officers are “held to a higher standard,” that agency investigators are reviewing incidents, and that he could not comment on the details of ongoing probes without jeopardizing them.
Gallego, a former Marine who has been among the most vocal Democratic critics of recent DHS operations, said the footage showed not isolated lapses but a pattern. “The fact that this is happening all the time means that you’ve created a space — a command structure — that has allowed this because these men feel there’s going to be no accountability,” he said, according to exchanges captured in the hearing record.
Gallego and other Democrats have cited the Minneapolis shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good as emblematic. Independent reporting of the video shows an agent filming with a phone while also handling a weapon as a vehicle begins to move; a shouted “Whoa!” is followed by three gunshots and the video jarring skyward. “In what world… have you ever been taught what the appropriate use of holding a weapon and at the same time recording on a camera phone?” Gallego asked Lyons.
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Lyons acknowledged agents have used personal phones to record — sometimes at the request of prosecutors — but said there has been no formal order to record on personal devices for social media or publicity. He defended training and discipline systems, telling senators that ICE had opened 37 investigations into excessive force from Jan. 25–26, with 18 closed, 19 pending and one referred for further action. “We do hold individuals accountable,” Lyons said.
He also described changes to ICE’s training pipeline: the classroom phase at the federal law enforcement training center was shortened from 75 days to 42, with the agency supplementing the reduction with on-the-job training (OJT) similar to a field training officer program. “So the OJT is happening in places like Minnesota,” Lyons said, arguing recruits receive real-world mentorship after basic instruction.
Republicans and some law enforcement supporters defended the need for flexibility and speed on the ground. Committee Chair Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) — while not absolving bad conduct — acknowledged Gallego’s questions as “good points” and urged a measured review of policy, while DHS and allied officials warned that premature public comments could skew criminal and administrative probes. Lyons told senators: “Any comments made publicly, privately, text, Instagram, is going to put a bias on the investigation.”
Still, critics say internal discipline and investigations have not been sufficient to deter problematic tactics. NPR reported that outside observers and former ICE personnel worry that a lack of transparency about disciplinary outcomes is eroding public trust. Thomas Warrick, a former deputy assistant secretary for counterterrorism policy at DHS, told reporters covering the Minneapolis case that deadly force did not appear required in that encounter — a line echoed by civil rights advocates and Minnesota prosecutors.
The political reaction was not strictly partisan. Several Republicans and Democrats pressed for answers, and even some senators who have supported stronger federal enforcement acknowledged the seriousness of the video evidence. At the same time, administration allies argue federal agents are operating in difficult, high-pressure environments and that reductions in classroom time have been offset by more intensive field training.
Gallego’s most pointed public comments outside the hearing have been blunt. In previous statements he has argued that ICE’s recent conduct indicates systemic failures; some outlets quoted him saying ICE “needs to be totally torn down.” That language has drawn sharp pushback from administration supporters who say wholesale dismantling would jeopardize immigration enforcement and public safety.
What lawmakers demanded Thursday was not partisan absolutes but accountability and clarity: clearer directives about use of force, prohibitions on dual-wielding weapons and personal cameras during stops, and public reporting on disciplinary outcomes. “I’m glad you’re doing investigations, to be clear,” Gallego told Lyons at one point. “But the fact that there are consistent mishandling of weapons, use of escalation of force that is above what is necessary, and there still hasn’t been any command decision and directive about how to actually fix this, is concerning.”
DHS officials insisted they were acting — but emphasized caution while criminal and administrative investigations continue. Lyons repeatedly declined to comment on specific incidents, saying doing so could bias inquiries, while offering to provide the committee with additional information behind closed doors.
The hearing underscored a rare point of convergence: lawmakers across the aisle want answers. How quickly DHS can produce clear directives, transparency about investigations, and demonstrable accountability may determine whether that bipartisan demand leads to meaningful policy changes — or continued public outrage.
