Democrats grill homeland security chief over immigration crackdown

But the vast immigration crackdown launched under Republican President Donald Trump has swept up veterans of the US military, their relatives, pregnant women, children and even some American citizens, Magaziner said.

"There are many problems with your leadership but the biggest problem is this: You don't seem to know how to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys," he told the House Homeland Security Committee hearing, which was interrupted by demonstrators on several occasions.

The panel's ranking Democrat Bennie Thompson said Noem has "diverted resources from critical Homeland Security agencies and programs to carry out an extreme immigration agenda."

"Black and brown Americans in particular, have been racially profiled, detained and locked up," Thompson said.

"So rather than sitting here and wasting your time and ours with more corruption, lies and lawlessness, I call on you to resign," he said.

While Democrats on the committee lambasted Noem and the Trump administration, Republicans praised her department for securing the US-Mexico border and rounding up undocumented migrants for deportation.

Noem defended the tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and accused the administration of Democrat Joe Biden of allowing "millions of people to come into our country illegally."

She denied US citizens have been detained although she said there have been occasions when they were held until their identity could be confirmed.

"We have never once detained or deported an American citizen," Noem said.

"(When) we are doing our targeted enforcement operations against criminal illegal aliens, individuals that are in that area may be detained until we verify who they are, and then they are released."

Trump ran for the White House promising to deport millions of undocumented migrants and Noem, as head of the Department of Homeland Security, oversees the operation.

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