Tensions flare as immigration battle runs hot

THE FIGHT OVER PRESIDENT TRUMP'S immigration policies is growing in intensity, with emotions running hot on both sides of the aisle.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused three Democratic lawmakers of committing “felonies” during a scuffle with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials at a detention facility in New Jersey last week. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) was arrested for trespassing during the encounter.

“It was a political stunt that put the safety of our law enforcement officers, our agents, our staff and our detainees at risk,” Noem said Wednesday at a hearing about the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget.

“There are proper protocols and there are procedures that must be abided by,” she added. “These congressional members and staff visit our facilities all of the time, and these members could follow the policies that have been in place.”

The New Jersey Democrats — Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Robert Menendez and LaMonica McIver — say they were there on official business and insist the ICE agents instigated the physical contact.

“Instead of launching an investigation into the incident, your Department lied to the press about the situation and threatened to arrest Members of Congress for doing their jobs,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson (Miss.), the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee.

DHS says it's reviewing video of the encounter and that the lawmakers could still be arrested.

Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), have warned that arresting the lawmakers would be an untenable escalation.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said House Republicans are weighing what actions to take.

“We’re having conversations — we had them this morning in the House Republican conference meeting this morning — about appropriate action that we need to take here to address that inappropriate behavior, the wildly inappropriate behavior,” Johnson said.

Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter (R-Ga.) introduced a resolution seeking to remove the three New Jersey Democrats from their committee posts.

It was a chaotic day on Capitol Hill, with nerves frayed after two House committees worked all night to mark up the GOP’s Trump agenda bill. A couple of lawmakers were spotted dozing in their seats during the markups in the early hours of the morning.

• Capitol Police on Wednesday removed protesters who disrupted the start of a Senate hearing with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which followed arrests on Tuesday of activists protesting cuts to Medicaid.

• At one point, several Republican members of the House Agriculture Committee were spotted running through the tunnel connecting the Capitol to House to defeat a Democratic motion to end a markup.

• A federal grand jury indicted Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan over allegations she helped an immigrant living in the country illegally to escape from immigration officers who were looking to arrest him.

• In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) proposed to stop enrolling low-income immigrants in the country illegally in the state-funded health care program beginning next year, citing budget issues. He also said California would need to begin charging those already in the program.