Progressive House Democrats are going after Kristi Noem with everything they’ve got. On Wednesday, Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) introduced three articles of impeachment against the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, backed by nearly 70 of her colleagues.
WHAT’S GOING ON: The charges against Noem are serious.
- Article one: obstruction of Congress, for blocking lawmakers from accessing ICE detention facilities.
- Article two: violating public trust, for directing agents to arrest people without warrants and ignoring due process.
- Article three: self-dealing, for secretly steering a federal contract to a company run by her buddy.
Kelly pulled no punches at the press conference, calling out Noem’s “reign of terror” in cities across the country. “Secretary Noem has called my impeachment effort ‘silly,'” Kelly said. “I want to tell her right now, Secretary Noem, you have violated your oath of office, and there will be consequences.”
Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) was even more direct: “The most fundamental principle and value for the American people is fairness and humane policies, not beating the shit out of people.”
OF COURSE: The math isn’t on Democrats’ side—Republicans control the House, so this would need some GOP defectors to actually go anywhere. Kelly knows this but isn’t backing down: “If we do nothing, nothing will happen.”
This comes after an ICE agent murdered an American citizen in Minneapolis, fueling widespread outrage over DHS tactics. Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.) said she held a town hall over the weekend where constituents delivered “standing, perpetual applause for impeaching Kristi Noem.”
THE DETAILS: Democrats are throwing everything at the wall right now—and not everyone’s on the same page.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus announced they’ll oppose any new DHS funding until “meaningful” reforms happen. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is working on legislation that would ban ICE agents from wearing masks and keep Border Patrol at the actual border. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) wants to redirect $75 billion from ICE to local law enforcement.
And some Democrats are ready to go nuclear. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) announced plans to introduce a bill to abolish ICE entirely. “ICE is beyond reform. ICE is totally out of control,” he said. “We need to make ICE go away.”
Public opinion is shifting too. Recent polling shows more Americans now support abolishing ICE than before Trump took office again—a major change in just six months.
BOTTOM LINE: Will Noem actually get impeached? Almost certainly not with Republicans running the House. But that’s not entirely the point. Democrats are putting the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown on the record, forcing votes, and making clear where they stand as ICE violence escalates. Asked if abolishing ICE is on the table, Kelly didn’t rule it out: “All options are on the table.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, is taking a slower approach—talking about visiting communities, collecting testimony, looking at the data. When asked about the impeachment push, he said some lawmakers “have already reached a decision” but the committee is focused on “accountability.”
Whether Democrats can unite behind a single strategy remains to be seen. But one thing’s clear: the pressure on Noem is mounting.