Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) on Wednesday introduced articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, citing the secretary’s handling of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Kelly outlined three impeachment articles against the secretary, accusing Noem of obstruction of Congress, “violation of public trust” and “self-dealing.”
“Secretary Noem has brought her reign of terror to the Chicagoland area, L.A., New Orleans, Charlotte, Durham, and communities north to south to east to west,” Kelly said at the press conference. “She needs to be held accountable for her actions.”
The first impeachment article alleges Noem denied Kelly and other members of Congress “oversight of ICE detention facilities,” the congresswoman said at her presser.
Kelly explained the second article, which accuses Noem of violating public trust, by saying Noem “directed DHS agents to arrest people without warrants, use tear gas against citizens, and ignore due process.”
Kelly said Noem frequently says “she’s taking murderers and rapists off our streets, but none of the 614 people arrested during Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago has been charged or convicted of murder or rape.”
On the third impeachment article, which accuses the secretary of self-dealing, Kelly said Noem “abused her power for personal benefit,” and “steered a federal contract to a new firm run by a friend.”
Kelly, who is running for the Senate in Illinois, announced her intention to file the impeachment articles last week, after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis.
“Renee Nicole Good is dead because Secretary Noem allowed her DHS agents to run amok,” Kelly said at the press conference Wednesday. “Families are forever torn apart.”
“I want to tell her right now: Secretary Noem, you have violated your oath of office, and there will be consequences. I am watching you, members of Congress are watching you, the American people most importantly are watching you. And most of all, we are not liking what we’re seeing,” Kelly said.
While the effort is unlikely to go anywhere in the GOP-controled House, the congresswoman said that as of Wednesday morning the measure has the support of almost 70 members of Congress, and she expects more to sign on.
“We’re trying to build more sponsors of the legislation,” she said, when asked at the press conference if she expects to get a majority of House Democrats on board. “I mean, people joined on quickly when I put it out there, people contacted me almost immediately, and it’s been growing and growing as people find out about it.”
She said she has spoken to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) about the effort but would not say directly whether he supports it.
“You’ll have to answer to Jeffries, but I would not be standing here if I was told not to,” she said.
Former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last year became the first Cabinet official in recent history to be impeached by the House when Republicans secured a narrow 214-213 vote.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) brushed off the impeachment effort as “silly.”
“How silly during a serious time. As ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them, Rep. Kelly is more focused on showmanship and fundraising clicks than actually cleaning up her crime-ridden Chicago district,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to The Hill.
“We hope she would get serious about doing her job to protect American people, which is what this Department is doing under Secretary Noem.”