The House Committee on Homeland Security has formally requested the appearance of senior leaders of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for an oversight hearing amid intensifying scrutiny of border security operations and federal immigration enforcement across the United States.
In separate but identical letters dated January 24, 2026, the committee’s chairman, Representative Andrew R. Garbarino, invited ICE’s Senior Official Performing the Duties of Director, Todd M. Lyons, and CBP Commissioner Rodney S. Scott to testify before Congress at the earliest possible date. The correspondence marks a formal escalation of the committee’s oversight efforts at a time when immigration enforcement activities have drawn widespread public and political attention.
According to the letters, committee staff had initially extended the invitation to both agencies on January 15. The January 24 letters were issued to formally document, or “memorialize,” the request, underscoring the committee’s expectation of compliance.
The proposed hearing will focus on oversight of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) components tasked with border security and immigration enforcement. Garbarino requested that both officials confirm their availability for any of six potential hearing dates: February 10 or 24, March 4 or 5, or March 17 or 18. All sessions are scheduled to commence at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.
In the letters, the chairman cited Rules X and XI of the U.S. House of Representatives, which vest the Committee on Homeland Security with broad jurisdiction over homeland security matters. He emphasized the committee’s authority to oversee “all Government activities relating to homeland security, including the interaction of all departments and agencies with the Department of Homeland Security.”
Garbarino directed ICE and CBP leadership to coordinate with the committee’s majority staff to finalize arrangements for their testimony. While the correspondence did not outline specific questions or agenda items, the timing of the request coincides with mounting concern over the conduct of federal immigration enforcement operations and the use of force by federal agents in several U.S. cities.
The call for congressional oversight comes against the backdrop of a deadly incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where another U.S. citizen was shot and killed by federal agents over the weekend. Authorities confirmed that the shooting is the latest in a series of fatal encounters linked to President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement campaign in the city.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told reporters that the victim, a 37-year-old man, died in hospital on Saturday after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds. He confirmed that the deceased was a Minneapolis resident and a U.S. citizen.
The man was later identified by his parents as Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse. His death has sparked renewed outrage and intensified protests in Minneapolis, where federal immigration raids have been ongoing for weeks.
The killing occurred amid a sustained deployment of immigration enforcement and other federal agents to the city as part of President Trump’s renewed anti-immigration push. Minneapolis has witnessed daily protests following the January 7 shooting of another resident, 37-year-old Renee Good, who was killed after an ICE officer fired into her vehicle during a separate operation.
In addition to these incidents, U.S. security operatives also shot a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis last week, further deepening public concern over the conduct of federal agents and the escalation of force during immigration-related operations.
Reacting strongly to Saturday’s killing, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz described the federal presence in the state as a campaign of violence rather than legitimate law enforcement. Speaking at a news conference in Saint Paul, Walz said the situation had gone far beyond immigration enforcement.
“This long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement,” the governor said. “It’s a campaign of organised brutality against the people of our state. And today, that campaign claimed another life.”
Walz added that the state of Minnesota would take responsibility for investigating the circumstances surrounding Pretti’s death, signaling a potential jurisdictional clash with federal authorities.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, however, offered a sharply different account of the incident. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said a Border Patrol agent fired “defensive shots” after encountering a man who was allegedly armed with a handgun and resisted attempts to disarm him.
According to McLaughlin, the individual approached officers while holding a handgun and “violently resisted” when agents attempted to neutralize the threat. Federal officials stated that the agent involved in the shooting is an eight-year veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol.
President Trump also weighed in on the incident through social media, directing criticism at Governor Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Sharing images of a firearm that immigration officials said was recovered at the scene, Trump questioned the role of local law enforcement and accused city leaders of obstructing federal agents.
“What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers?” the president wrote.
Trump further accused the Democratic governor and mayor of “inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric,” escalating the political tension surrounding the incident.
However, bystander videos circulating widely online appear to contradict the official federal account. In the footage, Pretti is seen standing in the street filming federal agents with his mobile phone. One agent appears to deploy pepper spray toward Pretti and other protesters.
As Pretti attempts to block the spray and assist others nearby, several agents are seen wrestling him to the ground and striking him repeatedly on the head and body. While agents pin him to the ground, one officer draws a weapon and multiple shots are fired. Pretti’s body is later shown lying motionless in the street.
As public outrage grows and conflicting narratives emerge, the forthcoming congressional hearing is expected to place ICE and CBP leadership under intense scrutiny, with lawmakers seeking answers on the scope, conduct and accountability of federal immigration enforcement operations nationwide.
