{"id":122284,"date":"2026-01-14T03:25:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T03:25:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/122284\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T03:25:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T03:25:19","slug":"ice-shooting-fuels-rep-escobars-demand-for-kristi-noem-impeachment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/122284\/","title":{"rendered":"ICE shooting fuels Rep. Escobar\u2019s demand for Kristi Noem impeachment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Updated Jan. 13, 2026, 3:33 p.m. MT<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_gl gnt_em__el\" href=\"http:\/\/www.elpasotimes.com\/picture-gallery\/news\/2025\/08\/19\/homeland-security-secretary-noem-visits-santa-teresa-border-wall\/85732697007\/\" data-t-l=\"\u2691g:l|l|c|view gallery:inline promo\" aria-label=\"View Gallery - Border wall painted black as Homeland Security Secretary Noem speaks in Santa Teresa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img class=\"gnt_em_gl_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/85732921007-08192025-secretary-noem-presser-santa-teresa-26.jpg\" elementtiming=\"ar-lead-image\"  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"372\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar is joining the growing chorus of voices pushing for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Noem became the focus of Democrat ire following the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elpasotimes.com\/story\/news\/immigration\/2026\/01\/07\/us-rep-escobar-condemns-ice-shooting-of-woman-in-minneapolis\/88069261007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">ICE shooting of Renee Good<\/a> in Minneapolis. U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Matteson, was the first to call for Noem&#8217;s ouster \u2014 since then, the push has gained steam among House Democrats.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;The entirety of Kristi Noem\u2019s tenure at DHS has (been) marred by the trampling of the department\u2019s stated values of &#8216;integrity, vigilance, and respect,'&#8221; Escobar, D-El Paso, wrote in a statement Tuesday, Jan. 13.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" style=\"height:440px\" fetchpriority=\"high\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/85732918007-08192025-secretary-noem-presser-santa-teresa-23.jpg\" data-gl- decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference at the border wall in Santa Teresa, N.M., on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. Noem announced the entire steel structure will be painted black.\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Escobar laid out a litany of gripes against Noem, most notably the militarization of ICE and the Border Patrol that has led to state-sanctioned violence in American cities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;Americans across the country have witnessed ICE and Border Patrol Agents in masks racially profiling Americans, using aggressive and often violent tactics against communities, destroying property, and violating people&#8217;s civil rights,&#8221; she wrote. &#8220;Guns have been pointed at protestors, and under Sec. Noem\u2019s &#8216;leadership,&#8217;\u00a0eight people have been shot by DHS, (five) of whom were U.S. citizens, and two were killed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Escobar criticized Noem specifically for the shooting in Minneapolis, which found the Homeland Security secretary \u2014 along with others in President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration \u2014 working to defend the actions of an ICE agent who shot an unarmed woman and refused to render aid.<\/p>\n<p>More: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elpasotimes.com\/story\/news\/immigration\/2026\/01\/10\/el-paso-protest-ice-outside-immigration-and-customs-enforcement-center\/88122369007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-t-l=\":b|e|spike click:9|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_sp_a\">Indivisible the 915 holds peaceful protest against ICE in El Paso<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;Instead of ensuring accountability and transparency would be at the center of a joint investigation with state officials,&#8221; Escobar wrote. &#8220;Noem immediately defended the agent, lied about what Americans saw for themselves, and attacked the victim.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The congresswoman also took Noem to task over her role in proliferating immigrant detention facilities and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elpasotimes.com\/story\/news\/immigration\/2025\/12\/09\/us-rep-escobar-joins-legislation-to-improve-conditions-at-ice-facilities\/87669919007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">denying members of Congress access and oversight.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;Her agency has been slow and frequently unwilling to respond to casework inquiries, and she has established a pattern of ignoring Congress\u00a0in order to obscure what is happening within her agency from\u00a0the American public,&#8221; Escobar wrote.\u00a0&#8220;In 2025, 32 people died in ICE detention while she flew around the country for photo ops.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" style=\"height:440px\" fetchpriority=\"high\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/85714710007-180820256-d-8-a-6521.jpg\" data-gl- decoding=\"async\" alt=\"U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, addresses the press at the entrance of the East Montana ICE detention facility on Aug. 18, 2025. The new ICE facility opened on Aug. 17 and sits on Fort Bliss.\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">While it&#8217;s unclear if, when or how articles of impeachment might be filed in the House, it&#8217;s unlikely the move would survive either chamber of Congress before the November midterm election. And unless Democrats secure significant wins, including control of both the House and Senate, it&#8217;s unlikely the impeachment push would move anywhere.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Still, Escobar is voicing concerns that continue to grow among Democrats as ICE hostility continues to irk communities across the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;Secretary Noem has weaponized a powerful federal law enforcement agency to create an environment of fear and intimidation across communities in America,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;She has been untruthful, created a poisonous culture inside DHS, and made America less safe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;Americans should not have to live in fear of their own government,&#8221; Escobar concluded. &#8220;I support the impeachment of Kristi Noem.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated Jan. 13, 2026, 3:33 p.m. MT U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar is joining the growing chorus of voices&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":122285,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[203,138,140,139,204,205,5247,213,211,6316,687,5244,573,221,217,220,572,5245,22833,564,571,36],"class_list":["post-122284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-accessmetered","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news","tag-sstsnewspolitics","tag-sstsnpolitics","tag-tagcongress","tag-tagdemocratic-party","tag-tagdonald-trump","tag-tagexecutive-branch","tag-taggovernment","tag-tagkristi-noem","tag-taglaw-enforcement","tag-taglegislative-branch","tag-tagoverall-negative","tag-tagpolitics","tag-tagsocial-issues-advocacy","tag-tagu-s-congress","tag-tagu-s-house-of-representatives","tag-tagu-s-immigration-and-customs-enforcement","tag-tagvisa-immigration","tag-typestory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}