Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) confronted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a tense Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, calling out the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for trampling constitutional rights and terrorizing Minnesota communities during “Operation Metro Surge.”
Klobuchar began by confirming that Noem oversaw the deployment of roughly 3,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents to Minnesota—a force that, she noted, outnumbered the combined sworn officers of Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments by three to one. Noem defended the surge as a targeted operation aimed at “criminal illegal aliens,” saying the large presence was necessary to ensure officer safety.
But Klobuchar pointed to the human toll. Two of her constituents, Renée Good and Alex Pretti, were killed during the operation. In a single month in Minneapolis, she said, two of three fatal shootings were carried out by federal agents.
The Minnesota Democrat stated that federal agents violated residents’ First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment rights—interfering with peaceful assembly, conducting warrantless entries, and denying due process. She also raised concerns about officials criticizing Pretti, who held a lawful permit to carry a firearm, despite the administration’s stated support for Second Amendment rights.
Klobuchar pressed Noem on how many agents remain in Minnesota. Noem said roughly 650 personnel, including investigators examining “unprecedented” Medicaid fraud in the state, were still deployed.
Klobuchar Presses Noem: ‘Are You Defending Stopping Off-Duty Police Officers Of Color and Dragging A Hmong Elder Out Of His Home?’
The hearing grew sharper as Klobuchar cited specific cases. She described federal agents breaking down the door of ChongLy Tao, an elderly Hmong and U.S. citizen with no criminal record, dragging him outside in winter conditions while he wore only Crocs and underwear. Dodging questions, Noem said she had seen the photos but could not speak to the specifics of the case or the status of any investigation.
When asked whether agents had a judicial warrant before forcing entry, Noem refused to directly answer the question and instead replied that officers “follow” established protocols and legal processes. Klobuchar further stated that Tao attempted to show identification proving his citizenship but agents refused to examine it, and that the individual they were actually seeking was already in prison. Klobuchar asked directly whether it was acceptable to drag an elderly man from his home in below-zero temperatures when agents had the wrong person. Noem refused to admit wrongdoing, reiterating instead that operations are targeted and conducted within “legal” authority.
Klobuchar also raised incidents involving off-duty police officers of color who were reportedly stopped by ICE agents with guns drawn and asked to prove their citizenship. She cited accounts from local police chiefs who said the stops were not isolated. Asked whether race played a role, Noem dodged the question once again and pivoted to broader enforcement goals, emphasizing the department’s focus on removing drug traffickers and violent criminals.
Throughout the exchange, Klobuchar framed the operation as an overreach that undermined federalism, damaged relationships with local law enforcement, and endangered innocent citizens. Noem responded by defending DHS’s mission and procedures, highlighting anti-fraud investigations and crime enforcement efforts while declining to concede wrongdoing in the specific incidents cited.
