Grassley Questions Noem at DHS Oversight Hearing

Grassley Questions Noem at DHS Oversight Hearing

WASHINGTON - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) questioned Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem at today's DHS oversight hearing.

Grassley pressed Noem on DHS's efforts to combat Iranian terrorist cells in the United States, locate unaccompanied migrant children and address the Biden administration's failures to properly vet Afghan evacuees. Grassley also questioned Noem about airport security upgrades, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) use of administrative warrants, allegations that Noem and other political appointees were improperly surveilled and DHS's use of Special Government Employees (SGE).

Video and a transcript of Grassley and Noem's exchange follow. Grassley's opening statement can be found HERE.

VIDEO

Monitoring and combating Iranian terrorist cells in the United States:

GRASSLEY: "The previous administration's open border policy brought millions of people into this country. We don't know everyone's background or true intent for entering, but we know many of these [individuals] have ill intent.

"Given the Iran conflict, what steps has Homeland Security taken to protect against potential Iranian sleeper cells and related terrorism?"

NOEM: "[DHS] work[s] every single day with our intelligence agencies and law enforcement partners to make sure that we are investigating and finding any threats to the homeland here within our borders. We work with the FBI often, and Homeland Security Investigations specializes in this kind of work.

"We're going back and re-vetting some of the individuals and some of the programs that we may have concerns about. [We're] looking at social media [and] going through the interviews… We know that we had many dangerous individuals that came in [the country] unvetted, and we are working every single day to find them and to make sure that we're preventing the next attack."

Unaccompanied migrant children:

GRASSLEY: "As I said in my opening, the Trump administration has located over 145,000 children that the previous administration lost. Your department is also performing welfare checks on these children.

"Describe the ongoing efforts that your department is taking to find children who've yet to be located, and how recent welfare checks have exposed previous vetting failures."

NOEM: "[DHS has] located about 145,000 [unaccompanied migrant children], and we've done that through the investigative work of our Homeland Security Investigations team…

"Under the Biden administration, the government paid sponsors in HHS to host these children… we found instances where they trafficked these children themselves. So, under that administration, we not only had children that were in this country as a part of a [government] program, [but the] government was paying individuals that were knowingly trafficking them and abusing them. That has stopped.

"We have gone through and found these children and put them back with their families…. even in one case, we have other countries [that] we've been working with to get their children back home, where we've been prevented from returning these families and helping them to be reunified by activist judges. We will continue to work to ensure that these individuals and these children that were abused… have the opportunity to be brought back to their families and to their loved ones."

Afghan evacuee vetting:

GRASSLEY: "Regarding Afghan evacuee oversight of mine, you informed my office that thousands of Afghan parolees were potential national security risks. Nearly 1,000 [cases] were reported to me on August 12 last year.

"What steps have you taken with interagency partners to investigate these parolees? What, if any, national security concerns still exist because of the previous administration's failures to vet [them]?"

NOEM: "Some of the things that [DHS has] implemented under President Trump's administration is to go back and look at those individuals who came in under Operation Allies Welcome and make sure that we're re-vetting [them], especially those that have come in [during] the last four years under the Biden administration. [We] recognize that [the Biden administration] wasn't tracking, necessarily, their biometrics or their social media presence …

"There's a requirement, under that program, to come back every single year and do an interview to discuss with them… what they're doing in the United States and how they're transitioning to the United States under that program. That was not being done. So, we're going back and re-vetting all of those individuals and making sure that we know, if someone is here in this country, that they love America, they want to be a part of our way of life and they don't wish to do us harm."

Airport security upgrades:

GRASSLEY: "As you heard in my opening statement about the Inspector General's report on airport security screening, after Congress had been told of the report, you announced $1 billion in airport security upgrades. Press reports have sources attacking you for changing the shoe-removal policy at security checkpoints.

"Does the $1 billion investment relate to issues in the Inspector General report?

"What steps has DHS taken to resolve these questions and have they been communicated to the Inspector General?"

NOEM: "I will tell you that all the recommendations that the Inspector General had in that report have already been implemented, and that there was flawed data included in [the report]. What I will tell you is that the $1 billion investment is necessary at our TSA security checkpoints, because it's been over a decade since a significant upgrade has happened… The number one priority of TSA is security…

"There's nothing preventing the [Inspector General] from coming and briefing members of Congress, and he's free to do that. We just need to remember it's a classified document and use those protocols to ensure it remains classified."

Administrative warrants:

GRASSLEY: "I want to bring up administrative warrants. There's been questions raised about your department's use of them. Immigration laws include complex and specialized legal processes. For the record today, I'd like you to briefly discuss how an administrative warrant works and how often they're used."

NOEM: "An administrative warrant is utilized on a regular basis, because it's the process that Congress has given us… to ensure that someone is returned back to their home country… In the 400,000 cases [where] ICE has used these administrative warrants, only 28 times have they been used to enter a home. So, it is the legal process that [DHS has], that we follow, as given to us by Congress, and it's been affirmed by the Supreme Court as the correct way to follow the law. We will continue using this tool as it's important in the duties that the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for."

Improper surveillance of Noem and DHS political appointees:

GRASSLEY: "You stated that the Department of Government Efficiency found software on your government devices that was used to improperly surveil you and other political officials.

"What's the status of the investigation into this matter and has any disciplinary action been taken?"

NOEM: "Yes, sir. There was software that was doing surveillance on political appointees at the Department of Homeland Security. There were measures put in place where some people were removed from their positions and accountability measures put in place. We continue to monitor our systems. As the agency that is trusted with cybersecurity and ensuring that our critical infrastructure is protected from hacking attempts from foreign nationals who wish to do us harm, or individuals within this country, we take seriously the amount of software surveillance and work that we do within the department as well."

Special government employees:

GRASSLEY: "Under both Democrat and Republican presidents, I've conducted oversight of employees called Special Government Employees (SGE). By law, these employees are limited to 130 days a year of government work, and it's been understood that a partial day is one day of work.

"Have you ensured SGE personnel follow all laws, rules and regulations as intended?"

NOEM: "Yes, sir. [We] have career officials at the Department of Homeland Security that track that data, and they've all followed the laws and the rules regarding Special Government Employees."

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