Overview
- The hearing came one week after two National Guard members were shot in Washington, D.C., where Specialist Sarah Beckstrom died and another soldier was critically injured.
- Republicans presented statistics they said show a surge in threats and assaults, including DHS-cited reports of a more than 1,000% rise in attacks on ICE agents and a 63% increase in NYPD officer assaults over six years.
- Committee leaders said they plan to investigate organized groups and funding behind attacks and to scrutinize vetting tied to the D.C. suspect’s entry to the U.S.
- Law enforcement witnesses, including leaders from FLEOA, the Fraternal Order of Police, and the National Sheriffs’ Association, testified that dehumanizing rhetoric fuels hostility, worsens burnout, and harms recruitment.
- Democrats condemned violence but argued that ICE tactics such as masking and plainclothes operations raise the risk of confrontations, with proposals including a ban on agent masking.