“Reign of Terror”: Lawmakers File Articles of Impeachment Against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Amid Accusations of Murder, Corruption, and “Dictatorship” Tactics

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The halls of Congress rang with fury this week as a coalition of Democratic lawmakers announced the filing of articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. In a press conference that painted a dystopian picture of life in America’s cities, Representatives Robin Kelly, Adriano Espaillat, Maxine Dexter, and Nydia Velázquez detailed a litany of abuses they claim amount to a “reign of terror.”

The charges are severe: obstruction of Congress, violation of public trust, and blatant self-dealing. But beyond the legal terminology lies a far darker narrative—one of “rogue” agents rappelling from helicopters, US citizens being snatched from their beds, and a federal agency allegedly weaponized to punish political enemies.

The “Reign of Terror” in American Cities

“Secretary Noem has brought her reign of terror to the Chicagoland area, LA, New Orleans, Charlotte, Durham… and communities north to south,” declared Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL), who is leading the impeachment effort.

Kelly’s opening salvo set the tone for the proceedings. She described a DHS operating without guardrails, citing the “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago where 614 people were arrested. According to Kelly, despite Noem’s claims of targeting violent criminals, “none of the 614 people arrested… have been charged or convicted of murder or rape.”

Instead, Kelly described scenes reminiscent of a war zone: “Federal agents rappelled from Blackhawk helicopters and burst through an apartment in the South Shore of Chicago… they dragged people, US citizens and immigrants alike, out of bed in the middle of the night.”

This militarized approach, she argued, has lethal consequences. The name of Renee Nicole Good, a woman recently shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, was invoked repeatedly as the tragic proof of Noem’s failed leadership.

“Renee Nicole Good is dead because Secretary Noem allowed her DHS agents to run amok,” Kelly stated. “This is not a movie. This is real life and real people are being hurt and killed.”

The Three Articles of Impeachment

The impeachment articles filed against Secretary Noem focus on three specific areas of alleged misconduct:

Obstruction of Congress: Lawmakers claim Noem has systematically denied them access to ICE detention facilities, despite them following the required 7-day notice protocols. “It is our constitutional duty to find out what’s happening in these centers where inhumane conditions continue to be reported,” Kelly said.

Violation of Public Trust: This article centers on the use of excessive force, warrantless arrests, and the violation of due process rights for both immigrants and US citizens.

Self-Dealing: Perhaps the most traditional corruption charge involves allegations that Noem steered a federal contract to a firm run by a friend and spent $200 million of taxpayer money on a “propaganda campaign” to recruit ICE agents—a campaign Kelly likened to a “movie trailer.”

“The Trump Dictatorship”

Representative Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, escalated the rhetoric, explicitly labeling the current administration’s actions as those of a dictatorship.

“This is the Trump dictatorship,” Espaillat said. “Do you think that a dictatorship knocks on your door and gives you a dozen roses when you open it? A dictatorship takes away your rights… it creeps up behind you and it assaults you. Eventually, it knocks on your door and shoots you.”

Espaillat shared harrowing accounts of his recent trip to Monterrey, Mexico, where he met with four US-born children—American citizens—who had been deported with their parents. Among them was a young girl with a “chronic cancer condition in her brain” who was in desperate need of medical attention available in Houston, Texas.

“This is a human rights violation,” he asserted. “A blatant human rights violation… only seen in aggressive dictatorships.”

He also corroborated the obstruction charges, describing a recent visit to an ICE facility at 26 Federal Plaza. After fighting in court to gain entry, Espaillat and his colleagues found staff “mopping the floors” and cleaning up to hide the reality of “30 men in a room with two toilets, one of them broken.”

A Pattern of Violence

Newly sworn-in Congresswoman Maxine Dexter (D-OR) connected the national narrative to violence in her own district.

“Last week ICE murdered Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. The very next day, federal agents shot two people in East Portland in my district,” Dexter revealed. “These are not isolated events. This is part of a pattern of abuse by brazen, militarized federal agents.”

Dexter, a physician, expressed a moral imperative to act. She described the detention of four US citizen children from her district in a “windowless cell at the border near Canada for weeks.” Her testimony underscored the indiscriminate nature of the current enforcement surge—it is not just undocumented immigrants being caught in the net, but American citizens and children.

“Willing Executioner”

Veteran Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) delivered the most stinging personal rebuke of Secretary Noem. referencing Noem’s controversial memoir in which she detailed killing her own dog.

“When she bragged about shooting her own dog, she wasn’t just telling a story,” Velázquez said. “She was showing us her character and how she might run a government agency.”

Velázquez accused Noem of treating the Constitution “like a suggestion” and acting as Donald Trump’s “willing executioner” in a political war against cities that didn’t vote for him.

“In my city, ICE is no longer a law enforcement agency. It is a rogue operation,” Velázquez said. She described agents “abducting high school students,” snatching parents outside immigration courts, and “smashing windows to pull people out of their cars.”

She also slammed Noem’s response to the Renee Nicole Good shooting. Instead of ordering an investigation, Velázquez noted, Noem “went on national television and smeared a dead American as a domestic terrorist.”

“We Are Watching You”

The press conference concluded with a direct warning to Secretary Noem. Rep. Kelly, responding to Noem’s dismissal of the impeachment efforts as “silly,” looked directly into the cameras.

“Secretary Noem, you have violated your oath of office and there will be consequences,” Kelly warned. “I am watching you. Members of Congress are watching you… If you believe impeachment is silly, then you are not taking your job or our Constitution seriously.”

As the articles of impeachment move forward, the question remains whether they will gain traction in a polarized Congress. However, the testimony provided by these four representatives paints a picture of a federal agency that has slipped the leash of oversight, operating with a level of aggression and impunity that has left communities—and the lawmakers who represent them—in a state of fear and outrage.

With allegations of corruption, human rights abuses, and the targeting of US citizens on the table, the “Reign of Terror” described by Rep. Kelly is set to become the central battleground of the coming legislative session.