Omar, Dems demand Noem impeachment, paint Minnesota woman shot by ICE as 'poet' who chose 'love'
Several Democratic lawmakers gathered on Wednesday, one week after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, for a news conference in which they slammed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and called for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The conference was orchestrated by Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and included several high-profile Democrats.
On Jan. 7, Good was fatally shot during an interaction with an ICE agent. The incident sparked nationwide outrage and protests against federal immigration enforcement.
"Renee Good was a mother of three children. She was a wife, a writer, a poet, a devoted Christian and a U.S. citizen," Thompson said at the opening of the news conference.
The ranking member then said that the Trump administration's actions following the shooting had been "hateful" and "harmful." He singled out Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in particular, accusing her of telling "lies" about the situation. Thompson claimed that Noem's "disgusting response set the stage for a brazenly political federal investigation," decrying the alleged exclusion of state and local officials from the probe, saying it was "clearly intended to shield the shooter from prosecution."
MINNESOTA SUES TRUMP ADMIN OVER SWEEPING IMMIGRATION RAIDS IN TWIN CITIES
"Kristi Noem has plainly tried to signal to ICE that they are free to act with impunity, to personally manufacture and escalate confrontations and even execute whomever they please," Thompson said. "She has unleashed ICE and other federal law enforcement officers upon American communities, not to protect them, but to attack them and to sow fear violence and chaos."
While Thompson did not go so far as to call for Noem's impeachment, other lawmakers at the news conference were not shy about the matter. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was one of the lawmakers who explicitly called for Noem to be impeached.
"ICE's reckless actions have taken a mother from three children, a partner from a wife and inflicted unfathomable pain on our community... We will not stop fighting until we achieve real justice and accountability. That must begin with impeaching Kristi Noem and ensuring no federal agent can act as a judge, jury and executioner on our streets. It must also include full and transparent investigation and legal action against ICE," Omar said on Wednesday.
JD VANCE, ICE FLIP SCRIPT ON SANCTUARY CITY LEADERS AS 'CHAOS' ERUPTS ACROSS MN: 'THIS IS DANGEROUS'
Rather than speak about the circumstances that led to the shooting, Omar instead said that Good died "because she chose love and solidarity over fear."
Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., called for an "immediate and independent investigation, including the release of all video footage" of the fatal shooting. She also said that the lawmakers were calling on ICE to suspend operations in Minnesota "to de-escalate the situation," referring to protests that have erupted in the wake of the deadly shooting.
During the news conference, Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., not only called for Noem's impeachment but also abolition of ICE.
REP RO KHANNA DEMANDS PROSECUTION OF ICE AGENT IN MINNEAPOLIS FATAL SHOOTING
Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., took to the microphone to address Noem personally, taking swipes at the secretary.
"You are terrible at doing your job. You are incompetent. You are shameless. But most of all, you are cruel," McIver said. "The American people do not want you. We do not want you. And we will do whatever we need to do to make sure you will not hold that post soon. God will judge you and Democrats are going to remove you from office that you never deserved to hold in the first place."
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stood by the agent's conduct and labeled Good a "domestic terrorist."
"Today, ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them—an act of domestic terrorism," DHS wrote on X. "An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots. He used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers."
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other members of the administration have made statements backing the ICE officer involved in the shooting.
Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment.