Rep. Tony Gonzales to DHS Leaders: Protect Law Enforcement, Transparency is Key

WASHINGTON, D.C. - During today's House Committee on Homeland Security hearing, Congressman Tony Gonzales (TX-23) questioned Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leadership on the safety of America's federal law enforcement. In the hearing, Congressman Gonzales discussed his new bill, the Bulletproof Law Enforcement Vehicles Act,with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott. Congressman Gonzales also received confirmation from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons that the Trump administration is committed to releasing body camera footage from ICE agents.

For highlights from today's hearing, see below. Click hereto watch Congressman Gonzales' full questioning.

Transcript lightly edited for clarity:

Congressman Gonzales: "Thank you, Chairman, and thank you, gentlemen, for your service to our great country. I was speaking to some agents who were deployed from Texas to Minnesota, just asking for the ground truth of what was happening. And one of the things that stood out to me is one of the agents said, Tony, it reminds me a lot of Fallujah. Having someone that served in Fallujah, that caught my attention. And so, my question, first, is to you, Commissioner Scott, is on the safety of our agents. In particular, I see that these task forces work, these anti-gang, these anti-terrorism task forces. But thinking of Fallujah reminds me, we were fighting a war that was the Persian Gulf when the world had changed. And so, my question is, is there a way we can protect our law enforcement, our federal law enforcement agents? I've got a bill, in particular, through bulletproof glass or ballistic windshields. Is that something you think could help protect the law enforcement officers who are on the front lines?"

Commissioner Scott: "I think that can help protect the officers on the front lines, but it goes much farther than that, because things have changed. So, the tactical infrastructure at the border, the bulletproof vests, all of that helps tremendously, but we're fighting a different fight now. The reason you saw so many people surge into LA at one point, and then now into Minneapolis, was because we had to surge additional resources into protect the ICE agents that were literally just going to try to make a lawful arrest. So, we had to put in two teams, one to do the arrest and another one to deal with the protesters. Luckily, CBP, well, not luckily, unfortunately, CBP has had to build out this capability over the years because we had been dealing with increased protests at the border, mass incursions, so we trained our people how to do crowd control. But let's not miss the fact that we have coordinated, well-funded, and I think insurgencies or terrorist organizations, however you want to call it, literally trying to prevent legal laws from being enforced in the United States. That is a dramatic change. That's why we've had to shift. So, we've got to figure out how to protect our officers and agents more holistically, on social media. How do we keep them from being doxed? When somebody goes to, like they did to Director Lyons, they follow his kid home and then have protests in his front yard and then put it out live on video. That needs to be a crime. I don't want to violate anybody's right to free speech, but going into your front yard and harassing your family just because you're a law enforcement officer, that should not be a protected action."

Congressman Gonzales: "The world has changed, and we need to change with it to make sure our federal law enforcement officers and their families are protected. My next question is for Director Lyons. Body cameras have been deployed in Minnesota. I think transparency helps regain public trust. Is there any plan to release any of the footage to the public?"

Acting Director Lyons: "100%, sir, that's one thing that I'm committed to, is full transparency, and I fully welcome body cameras all across the spectrum and all of our law enforcement activities. It is, sir. Body cam footage will be released."

Congressman Gonzales: "I agree with you completely. Everyone assumes this body camera footage is bad footage. In so many cases, it's the exact opposite, and we get a show from the officer's lens of what exactly they're dealing with on a daily basis, not just a 15-second clip we see on TikTok or whatever it may be. I'm very pleased to hear the releasing of more public footage. My next question is for you, Commissioner Scott. The question is really for all of us. As a member of Congress, what can I do to make sure what happened in Minnesota doesn't happen in my community?"

Commissioner Scott: "Put laws in place that protect our officers and agents so they can go out and do their job confidently and know they really, truly have the backing, and then got to plug it. Actually fund the programs. So when body cameras got rolled out to CBP, the technical capability, the camera got rolled out, but the funding for the personnel to support the programs and the data, that can drain basically all your other operations. So, fund the entire program so that we can be transparent and that we can make sure America knows what we're doing, because that trust is critically important."

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