California Democrats push for Noem impeachment and halt of immigration funding
California House Democrats on Tuesday continued to press for the impeachment of Department of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem and a halt to immigration enforcement funding.
The demands come as federal immigration officials face heightened public scrutiny in the aftermath of another death of a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis. President Donald Trump and some Republican lawmakers have even signaled a potential messaging pivot.
“I think a lot of the public, even those that voted for President Trump, are looking at a shocking video,” Rep. Ami Bera said at a Tuesday night press conference in Elk Grove.
Bera said he would be signing on to an impeachment resolution for Noem on Wednesday. The impeachment proposal, led by Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Illinois, was co-sponsored by more than three-quarters of the House Democratic caucus as of Tuesday. It likely faces long odds in the Republican-run chamber.
“I certainly hope she gets fired before that,” Bera said.
His press conference followed a closed-door meeting with several Sacramento County farmers and agricultural leaders. Among the topics discussed were the increased costs stemming from Trump’s tariff policies, wolf management and the potential return of the farmworker modernization act.
That bipartisan bill, an attempt at widespread immigration reform, has passed twice in the U.S. House but never came to a vote in the Senate.
“It’s a difficult environment with President Trump’s approach, but it is one thing that we can do,” Bera said. “And you hear the president, every once in a while, say ‘hey, we need these workers.’”
Immigration remained a focal point of the discussion, though farmers noted that the Central Valley agricultural industry has largely been spared of immigration enforcement efforts thus far.
“Personally, I have not been affected yet,” said Ken Oneto, a local farmer and member of the Sacramento County Farm Bureau Board of Directors. “So I’m hoping that’s true again for next year or this coming year, because I need 80 or 90 people out picking cherries.”
Democratic Reps. Doris Matsui and Mike Thompson held their own Tuesday press conference outside the John Moss E. Federal Building to call for accountability of federal immigration enforcement. The building, which is where ICE operates in Sacramento, has become a frequent location for protests in the last few months.
Protesters and community organizations have repeatedly alleged unlawful use of force and violations of free speech rights by law enforcement.
“When federal agents are killing people in the street and detaining children, we are well beyond anything that’s defensible.... From Sacramento to Minneapolis, we are seeing the same dangerous pattern: more force, less transparency and no accountability from DHS and ICE,” Matsui said.
Matsui noted that Tuesday was the fifth time in recent months that she had visited the federal building seeking answers from a “rogue agency.” She made multiple visits in the fall following reports that ICE had kept individuals overnight with limited water, little access to restrooms and no air conditioning.
The two lawmakers also reiterated their opposition to providing more federal funding for immigration enforcement and support of the impeachment resolution.
Senate Democrat’s resistance to funding DHS in one spending bill poses a threat to keeping some government agencies open past this week, when funding for those agencies will expire. The House passed legislation last week to fund the agencies through the end of the fiscal year.
Noem “needs to go,” Thompson said. “Funding needs to stop and, until they are completely done, they need to act like every other law enforcement agency in the United States of America.”
Thompson planned to continue his public impeachment campaign Wednesday with a “Fire Noem” day of action in Woodland.
