We're now getting into the questions.

Each lawmaker will have five minutes to speak and questions the witnesses from the Department of Homeland Security.

First up to ask questions is Chairman Garbarino, a Republican.

He asks if standard procedures were followed in the investigations of the deaths of US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota.

Lyons and Scott reply yes they were - and both agree to share the findings of the investigations before the committee when they become available.

Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is now up.

He says ICE agents have been empowered to do their job and remove "illegal aliens and criminals from our communities".

He says he must address the situation in Minnesota and the "dangers that ICE agents and officers face" nationwide.

Agents are facing the "deadliest operating environment" in the agency's history, he says, adding that his agents are being characterised as the gestapo or secret police.

"Let me send a message to anyone who thinks they can intimidate us. You will fail," he says. "We are only getting started," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

President Trump has a busy schedule today - but it is unclear if we will hear from him on today's hearings at all.

This afternoon, President Trump has "signing time" on his schedule at 1630e/2130g, followed by a policy meeting an hour later.

He is also slated to attend a "private dinner" in the evening - although we still do not know who that is with.

Both of these are listed as closed press. This mean that the White House press pool - which today includes the BBC - will not be allowed in.

However, similarly closed events often open up at the last minute.

We're more likely to hear the White House's reaction to the hearings from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at her briefing scheduled for 1300e/1800g.

Joseph Edlow, the director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), is now giving his opening statement.

He says USCIS has conducted extensive fraud checks on migrants - and are checking social media to see if immigrants are using "anti-American" sentiment in their posts.

Image source, Getty Images

We're now hearing from today's first witness, Rodney Scott, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

In his opening statements he says that border security is "national security", and the CBP has spent the last year rebuilding what was an "intentionally broken border" during the Biden administration.

He says under Trump, the CBP has imposed consequences for those that break its laws and have implemented a "comprehensive approach" to border control.

"The numbers speak for themselves", he says adding that the US has seen record low illegal crossing under Trump.

"Border patrol apprehensions along the southwest border totalled over 90,000 for the entire year, that's a number that used to represent a single month," he says.

He adds that 617,000 pounds (279,866 kg) of illegal drugs have been seized, which he says is an 8% increase over the previous year.

Image source, Getty Images

The hearing watches a clip from an interview from the CBS programme 60 Minutes, which shows Marimar Martinez, a Chicago resident who was shot five times by border patrol agents.

She shows the gunshot wounds in her arms and legs.

Next, Thompson speaks about Liam Ramos, a five year old Minnesota child who was taken by ICE and sent to a detention centre in Texas with his father.

Thompson says Ramos was used as "bait" to lure out and arrest his family members who were here legally. He displays a large image of Ramos from the day he was taken.

Image source, Getty Images

This post has been updated with the correct name of Marimar Martinez

The Department of Homeland Security has been under a lot of scrutiny after its agents shot and killed two US citizens during immigration operations in Minneapolis last month. After Rep Bennie Thompson's opening remarks, here's a reminder about how two Americans were killed in Minneapolis.

Renee Nicole Good

The 37-year-old mother of three was shot dead by an ICE agent on 7 January.

Several state leaders have said that Good was at the scene of an ICE raid in south Minneapolis as a legal observer - a volunteer who monitors police and security forces at protests and operations. But White House officials, including President Donald Trump, have said Good was not simply observing, but also interfering in the officers' work.

It sparked mass peaceful protests, and calls for ICE to be removed from the city. On Tuesday, her brothers told US lawmakers the impact her death has had on their family.

Alex Pretti

On 24 January, the 37-year-old intensive care nurse was shot dead by a Border Patrol agent.

Videos have emerged showing a scuffle between Border Patrol agents and Pretti just before the shooting. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the agents fired in self-defence after Pretti, who they say had a handgun, resisted their attempts to disarm him.

Eyewitnesses, local officials and the victim's family have challenged that account, pointing out he had a phone in his hand, not a weapon.

Again, it sparked intense movements protesting against ICE, and since then, operations have been scaled down.

Thompson now turns to the death of Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis in January.

A staffer holds up an image of Pretti behind Thompson, who says that Americans watched footage of Pretti's shooting in "horror".

"Yet once again, Secretary Noem gaslit the public, made up a demonstrably false story and Mr Pretti and blamed the victim for his own death," he says.

He says Pretti was a law abiding citizen and a nurse who dedicated his career to "caring for our veterans".

Thompson says Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem must be "held accountable" for a "lawless" immigration operation in Minnesota.

He too mentions Renee Good, pushing back on the Trump administration's previous assertions that the 37-year-old was a "domestic terrorist" and attempts to portray her as such "gaslight" Americans.

He also says the Trump administration has blocked an investigation into her shooting.

Good was a wife, mother and US citizen who "did not deserve to die at the hands of her own government", Thompson says.

Image source, Getty Images

The top Democrat on the Committee Bennie Thompson asks that Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, a fellow Democrat from Texas, also sits on the Committee and is able to ask questions.

He says Escobar has a vested interest the proceedings due to her district being on the US border with Mexico.

Garabino objects, and says the hearing is only for members of the committee.

Thompson addresses Escobar, and asks her to pass on any questions she has and he will ask them for her.

Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino, a Republican, is now giving his opening remarks. He says we must take the temperature down on immigration discussions in the US and look at things through a "rational" lens.

He describes what he says are increased threats toward law enforcement - and mentions the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota. All of these are unacceptable, he says.

"Public trust and public safety go hand in hand," he adds. "We cannot have one or the other."

The Congressional hearing is now under way, with Chairman Gabarino gavelling in the session.

After opening statements from the committee heads and from the leaders of the US's top immigration agencies, the three witnesses will face questions from lawmakers.

You can follow along here for the most important lines or click Watch live above to stream the proceedings.

Image source, Getty Images

We’ll be hearing testimony from the leaders of three agencies within DHS today.

Image source, Getty Images

Todd Lyons

As the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Lyons leads the federal law enforcement agency with over 27,400 personnel, an annual budget of nearly $10bn and over $74bn in funding from Trump’s One Big Beautiful Act. Previously, Lyons was the executive associate director of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations directorate, where he led missions to arrest undocumented immigrants and remove them from the country.

Last month, a Minnesota judge ordered Lyons to appear in court over his agency’s violations of court orders. Under Lyons’ leadership, ICE “likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence”, the judge said. Lyons’ contempt hearing was later cancelled.

Image source, Getty Images

Rodney Scott

Scott is in charge of Customs and Border Protection, a federal law enforcement agency with over 67,000 employees and a budget of more than $19bn.

Scott is a veteran of the Border Patrol, first joining the agency in 1993, according to his official biography.

Image source, Bloomberg via Getty Images

Joseph Edlow

Edlow was appointed in July 2025 as director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the federal agency that oversees immigration processing and services. Unlike CBP and ICE, USCIS is not an enforcement agency.

Previously, Edlow has served as USCIS’s deputy director for policy and chief counsel as well as a deputy assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice.

Andrew Garbarino, a Republican, leads the House Committee on Homeland Security.

The committee, first created in 2002 to help protect the US from terrorist attacks, focuses on national security legislation and oversight of the Department of Homeland Security.

There are 17 Republican members on the committee and 15 Democratic members from various states and Puerto Rico - a US territory.

The ranking Democratic member of the committee is Bennie Thompson, who said ahead of a House vote on government funding last week that Congress "must not give ICE another dollar while they are killing Americans".

For his part, Garbarino has not spoken out against the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown. In calling for today’s hearing, he said his "top priority remains keeping Americans safe and ensuring the Department of Homeland Security can accomplish its core mission".

Grace Eliza Goodwin
US reporter

Today, key leaders from agencies within the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will be testifying before the House Committee on Homeland Security.

We’ll be hearing from:

• Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
• Rodney Scott, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
• Joseph Edlow, the director of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino, a Republican from New York, called for the hearing last month amid growing scrutiny from both lawmakers and the public around DHS’ immigration crackdown in Minnesota, during which federal agents killed two US citizens.

"Congress has an important responsibility to ensure the safety of law enforcement and the people they serve and protect," Garbarino said in a press release, adding that he's committed to ensuring ICE, CBP, and USCIS have the resources they need.

"Transparency and communication are needed to turn the temperature down," he said in another press release.

We’ll be monitoring the hearing today and will keep you updated here with all the latest news and analysis.

You'll also be able to watch the hearing live via the link at the top of this page.

Stick with us.