MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, is answering lawmakers' questions for the first time since immigration officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minnesota. Some functions of DHS are shut down because of an impasse over changes that Democrats demand for immigration enforcement. Noem answered questions from senators on Tuesday. She will be in front of the House today. NPR immigration policy correspondent Ximena Bustillo is with us now for more. Good morning, Ximena.
XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So the Department of Homeland Security is in the third week of this shutdown. Did Noem talk about Democrats' demands?
BUSTILLO: Democrats and Republicans want to mandate immigration officers wear body cameras - right? - for more accountability. Even Noem said that she wants Congress to provide more money to the body-worn camera programs. But Democrats also brought up some of their other demands, like wanting that immigration officers only used judicial warrants to enter homes. These are warrants that are signed by a judge, and in contrast to administrative warrants that the agency has been using, that the agency can just sign itself. Now, Noem said that change isn't necessary. She said administrative warrants are used regularly. They've been used over 400,000 times to detain people who are in the U.S. illegally, but only 28 times to enter homes. So you can see that there's still a lot of daylight between the parties on some of these specific negotiation asks and very few visible signs of progress still. Meanwhile, Noem confirmed about 100,000 people are furloughed at the agency. Others, such as workers with the Transportation Security Administration and the airports, are working without pay.
MARTIN: So the hearing yesterday was scheduled immediately after the death of Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis back in January. Many people will remember this terrible incident. How did the senators talk about that?
BUSTILLO: Several Republicans did bring up this shooting. Here is Committee chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CHUCK GRASSLEY: Mistakes have been made. Let's make it clear. One death is too many, but officers should never be threatened or harmed while enforcing our laws.
BUSTILLO: Most notably, there was a lot of bipartisan pushback on Noem's characterization that Pretti and Renee Macklin Good, another U.S. citizen who was killed, were, quote, "domestic terrorists." Noem said she received that information from agents on the ground in Minneapolis, but senators generally didn't seem to buy that answer. Republican Thom Tillis lambasted Noem and pushed for further investigation into the deaths.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
THOM TILLIS: The fact that you can't admit to a mistake, which looks like under investigation is going to prove that Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti probably should not have been shot in the face and in the back, law enforcement needs to learn from that. You don't protect them by not looking after the facts.
MARTIN: It sounds like that was really heated. What other concerns did senators raise?
BUSTILLO: Well, Senator Richard Blumenthal asked questions about how U.S. citizens could be detained or engage with immigration officers.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
KRISTI NOEM: In law enforcement operations across the country, there are times when U.S. citizens...
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL: It's a simple yes or no.
NOEM: ...May be arrested or detained until their identity...
BLUMENTHAL: Would you agree with me, Madam Secretary...
NOEM: ...Is confirmed and that they haven't committed a crime.
BLUMENTHAL: ...That U.S. citizens...
BUSTILLO: Now, the Trump administration isn't the first one to have mistakenly arrested or detained U.S. citizens, but critics of the administration warn they're moving so quickly, more mistakes are likely.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Ximena Bustillo. Ximena, thank you.
BUSTILLO: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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