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After Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., attempted to embarrass Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem by asking a handful of legal immigrants arrested by ICE to stand up during a Capitol Hill hearing, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., sarcastically requested all the Americans killed by illegal immigrants to stand up before noting that they can't because their lives have been snuffed out.
The backfired stunt came during a Tuesday hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee and Noem, who was grilled by both Republicans and Democrats over her time leading DHS's work, with a particular emphasis on the agency's role in supporting President Donald Trump's border security and deportation directives.
"Madam Secretary, for a year, you maintain that no U.S. citizens have been arrested or detained by ICE or CBP after hearings that I conducted in the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation, as the ranking member. You admitted, finally, in a letter written to me, just last month, that, in fact, U.S. citizens have been detained and arrested," Blumenthal said when it was his turn to grill Noem.
"You put the number at 38," he continued, "Far more American citizens have been arrested by ICE and CBP, probably in the hundreds, perhaps the thousands. Have you met with any of the American citizens who have been detained or arrested by your agency?"
Noem shot back that the individuals Blumenthal was speaking of may have been folks that were obstructing law enforcement, but Blumenthal seemingly ignored Noem's response and continued unabated.
"I'd like to introduce you to three of them – Leo, Javier and Marimar, would you please stand?" Blumenthal asked before launching into the details of their false arrests. "Wouldn't you agree with me that no U.S. citizen simply working lawfully should be arrested?"
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Noem repeated her rationale, but Blumenthal wasn't having it.
"It's a simple yes, or no," he demanded.
During the back-and-forth, Noem suggested that Blumenthal was ignoring all those who have been victims of crime committed by the scores of illegal immigrants that have been allowed into the country, a point Senator Schmitt emphasized once it was his turn to talk.
"Since we're having folks stand up, I would have Laken Riley stand up, I would have Kayla Hamilton stand up, I would have Jocelyn Nungaray stand up, I would have Rachel Morin stand up, I would have the beautiful sons and daughters who were murdered by illegal immigrants stand up, but they can't because they're dead. They were murdered by illegal immigrants that were let into this country by Joe Biden," Schmitt said.
"I think it's important to set the stage since we're having this oversight hearing, to set the stage of how we got here."
While Noem got some backup from a Republican lawmaker at the hearing after Blumenthal's jab, she also faced criticism from some Republicans, including Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and John Kennedy, R-La., over her tenure so far leading DHS.
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