February 10, 2026 03:17 PM UTC

Evans Doesn’t Deliver on Promise to Grill ICE at House Hearing

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• by: Casey Quinlan

(You’re not actually surprised, are you? — Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Originally posted at the Colorado Times Recorder

At a U.S. House hearing today on oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, Colorado Rep. Gabe Evans tried to shift the blame from immigration agents to “sanctuary cities” for the violence between federal law enforcement and communities.

Before today’s hearing, Denver’s CBS affiliate reported that Evans “says he plans to grill ICE on how its agents have been conducting some raids,” and quoted the congressman as saying, “I do have a lot of heartburn over ICE saying that they don’t need a judicial warrant to go into somebody’s private home.”

When it was Evans’ turn to ask ICE questions at the hearing, he did not, in fact, grill ICE.

With 23 seconds left, he said he had “many questions about the memo saying you don’t need a warrant to go into the house.” He asked ICE Director Lyons if he would agree to talk about it later.

Evans also asked acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd Lyons, “Is ICE’s priority the apprehension and removal of criminal noncitizens rather than the broader population of illegally present individuals?”

“Yes, sir, ICE’s focus is on the criminal aliens in neighborhoods,” Lyons said.

Evans also questioned immigration officials about the dangers of “sanctuary cities,” or cities that limit cooperation with immigration enforcement.

Evans then asked Lyons, “Do these sanctuary policies that release criminals back into the community increase or decrease ICE’s presence in the community and the temperature of the interactions ICE has with the community?”

He replied, “Sir, when we deal with sanctuary jurisdictions, we do have to have more law enforcement officers on the street … .”

Evans, who’s widely considered to be one of the most vulnerable House Republicans in November’s midterm election, ran for Congress supporting Trump’s mass deportation plan and voted for legislation that funded the massive effort.

He’s mostly maintained his hardline stance in Congress, voting for legislation to fund the mass deportation effort and defending ICE, but recently took largely symbolic steps in support of immigrants. For example, he signed a letter saying he wanted criminal immigrants arrested first and he co-sponsored legislation, which has little chance of passing, that would grant work permits to some undocumented immigrants, leading critics to say that he’s trying to have it “both ways” on the immigration issue.

The Colorado Times Recorder asked Evans through email if he still supports, as he said last month, 100% of ICE arrests, whether he wants agents to no longer wear masks in the field, and whether he trusts the Trump administration to run the country’s immigration enforcement. His team did not respond to these requests.

Rep. Austin Pfluger (R-TX), an Air Force Academy graduate and the chair of the U.S. Air Force Academy Board of Visitors, was also present at the hearing. He spoke to reporters about immigration enforcement activity and said constituents “want law and order to be enforced.”

When the Colorado Times Recorder asked Pfluger about the use of judicial warrants, he said, “No, I don’t believe in judicial warrants. I believe the law reads exactly as it. … If we want to change the law, then change the law. They have been given notice to appear, and a court has told them this is the date you will appear, and you’re not appearing, you’re breaking the law.”

When asked whether he supports agents coming into people’s homes without judicial warrants, he said, “That is another conversation to have.”

The hearing took place amid a shift in public opinion about immigration enforcement actions and other activity from immigration officers in communities, which has included the removal of U.S. citizens from their homes without a warrant. Thirty-two people died in ICE custody last year, its deadliest year for deaths in ICE custody in decades, according to The Guardian. Between Sept. 2025 and Jan. 28, immigration officers shot 13 people, NBC News reported.

A poll conducted in late January, after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by immigration officers, found that 65% of Americans think ICE has gone too far in its enforcement of immigration laws, compared to 54% in June 2025.

The escalation of violence from immigration officers in the past few weeks, including the killings of Good and Pretti, has resulted in calls from Democrats and some Republicans for measures to increase oversight and accountability for immigration enforcement.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) is one of a few Republicans who have called for an investigation into immigration enforcement activity. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Senators Susan Collins, Bill Cassidy, and Lisa Murkowski have also called for some accountability and investigation of Department of Homeland Security agents, according to the Associated Press.

The Colorado Times Recorder approached McCaul outside of the hearing and asked if he believes 100% of ICE arrests are justified. McCaul did not answer.

At the beginning of the hearing, Garbarino highlighted what he said were threats against immigration officials — and also mentioned the killings of Good and Pretti by immigration officers. Speaking of the Trump administration’s ramped-up immigration enforcement, he said, “The credibility of these successes is on the line.”

He added, “We must take the temperature down and look at the record of enforcement actions to rationalize. We have seen an increase in violent rhetoric and agitation. We have seen an increase in attacks on federal law enforcement and them and the number of threats facing them and their families …We have seen state and local jurisdictions fail to support law enforcement officers, and obviously we have now seen the deaths of two American citizens in Minnesota. This is all unacceptable and preventable.”

Garbarino questioned Lyons and Rodney Scott, commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, about changes in training for officers.

They described very few changes in training and said immigration agents had less lethal weapons such as tasers, when they are out in the field.

Before questioning immigration officials, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said of Good, “She should be alive today” and added, “Ever since, the Trump administration has devoted the full resources of the federal government to blocking a legitimate investigation into Ms. Good’s killing.”

When Thompson asked officials how many agents had cameras when out in the field, Lyons said 3,000 of 13,000 agents in the field had body cameras. Scott said 10,000 cameras had been purchased and that 20,000 border patrol agents were out in the field, but did not specify how many agents in the field had cameras.

Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) asked officials whether Pretti deserved to die at the hands of agents.

Scott responded, “I’m not going to comment on an ongoing investigation, sir, before it is concluded and all of the facts are available.”

Jason Salzman and Erik Maulbetsch contributed to this article.