U.S. Representative Terri Sewell, a Democrat from Alabama, announced Thursday that she has joined an effort to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The resolution to impeach Noem, led by U.S. Representative Robin Kelly, a Democrat from Illinois, has grown from 52 to more than 100 House Democratic cosigners since it was first filed on January 14.
Sewell released a statement on social media accusing Noem of breaking the law during her tenure and arguing the secretary has weaponized Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents against American communities.
“While I support secure borders and humane immigration enforcement, the Trump Administration under Secretary Noem has transformed ICE into a rogue, untrained police force with no respect for our laws or the people they are meant to protect,” Sewell wrote. “Our country is not made safer when masked agents can terrorize our communities, target human beings based on their skin color, and kill with impunity. Secretary Noem has violated the law, obstructed Congress, and betrayed the public trust.”
Sewell added: “For the same reasons, I will be voting no on the DHS appropriations bill. I cannot support providing additional funding to ICE as they continue their campaign of cruelty.”
The articles of impeachment filed against Noem allege that the DHS secretary broke federal law by denying members of Congress oversight visits to DHS detention facilities.
The resolution accuses Noem of violating the Immigration and Nationality Act and the First and Fourth Amendments “by directing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to make widespread warrantless arrests, forgo due process, and use violence against United States citizens, lawful residents, and other individuals.”
The resolution also accuses Noem of misusing $200 million in taxpayer funds when implementing an ad campaign to recruit ICE agents by foregoing the competitive grant process and awarding government contracts to her associates.
“Kristi Lynn Arnold Noem used the ‘national emergency’ declared at the southern border to bypass the normal contract process, which included competitive bidding, to award multimillion-dollar contracts to Republican-led ad agencies,” the resolution reads.
“One such contractor, which was formed days prior to the award, subcontracted with the Strategy Group, a company run by the husband of senior DHS official Tricia McLaughlin and a close friend of Noem,” the document continues.
Despite the surge in support, Kelly’s impeachment attempt—which has little chance of passing in a Republican-controlled House—has also drawn criticism from some House Democrats as impractical.
The House voted to pass the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill following Sewell’s announcement Thursday, with seven Democratic lawmakers voting in its favor.
The vote follows controversy among Democrats regarding the DHS funding legislation. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, alongside the majority of House Democrats, argued the legislation does too little to rein in ICE agents following the killing of Renee Nicole Good and clashes between enforcement agents and demonstrators against ICE in Minneapolis.
Representative Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Texas and the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, urged Democrats to vote for the funding bill, citing concessions made to Democrats in the legislation.
The bill leaves ICE’s overall budget flat with its fiscal 2025 rate at $10 billion, while including provisions aimed at attracting Democratic voters, including reducing enforcement and removal operation funding by $115 million and cutting 5,500 detention beds. The bill also includes a $20 million provision to equip agents with body camera equipment.
