- Acting ICE director Todd Lyons and other top immigration officials, including CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott and USCIS Director Joseph Edlow, deflected questions on accountability and killings by ICE officers during a 3-hour testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security on February 10, 2026.
- The officials claimed ICE agents were under attack, citing "paid agitators" without evidence, despite data showing no ICE agents have been killed by an immigrant in its over two-decade history, with Covid-19 and cancers being the leading causes of death, according to Noah Lanard's review of ICE's own data.
- Trump's immigration officials expressed support for body cameras, with Lyons stating "I'm committed to full transparency" and promising to release body camera footage, but experts like Garrett Graff argue that this does not guarantee transparency or accountability, and that Congress must halt funding to address the issue.
JUSTICE MATTERS
PBS NewsHour's coverage of the hearing focuses on the officials' defense of their tactics, using phrases such as "defend officers and tactics" and "public backlash grows", which frames the issue as a public relations problem rather than a matter of accountability for alleged misconduct. In contrast, Mother Jones highlights the officials' evasiveness and lack of transparency, quoting acting ICE director Todd Lyons' refusal to comment on personnel actions and active investigations. By omitting details about the officials' evasiveness and the context of ICE agents' actions, PBS NewsHour's coverage obscures the systemic issues and critiques of ICE's practices, such as the use of force and the characterization of protesters as "paid agitators".
Cross-referenced with: PBS NewsHour
