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House committee debates oversight access after Delaney Hall incident; Noem condemns protesters who entered facility
Summary
Republican and Democratic members clashed over an incident in which members of Congress and protesters entered Delaney Hall detention facility. Secretary Noem described the event as an assault on law enforcement; other members said they were conducting oversight. Committee accepted related materials into the record and signaled further review.
Secretary Kristi Noem and multiple members of the House Homeland Security Committee sparred over an event at Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, where several members of Congress and accompanying protesters entered a facility on May 9.
Noem told the committee the entry was “not oversight” but “a political stunt” that “put the safety of our law enforcement officers, our agents, our staff, and our detainees at risk.” She said footage shows members “slamming their bodies into our law enforcement officers, shoving them, screaming profanities in their faces” and described the behavior as “lawlessness.” Noem said the department still offered a facility tour after the incident and that the facility “meets deferral standards” with required permits.
Other members disputed Noem’s framing. Representative Goldman and several Democrats said members and staff were exercising a statutory inspection right and that videos and reporting raise serious questions about how DHS and ICE handled the encounter. At least one documents and news articles describing the Delaney Hall incident were entered into the hearing record by unanimous consent.
Several members warned that physical confrontations with federal law enforcement risk escalating violence against officers; others argued that oversight should be allowed without interference. Committee members discussed public safety, the statutory right of members to access facilities, and whether departmental responses — including public statements by DHS officials — were appropriate.
No formal enforcement or referral action was taken by the committee during the hearing. Members on both sides said they plan additional oversight and document requests; the committee accepted media and agency statements into the record for further review.
