Ximena Bustillo

Representative Sheree Thanadar asked if she would comply with court orders, and here's how Noem responded.

The administration has consistently clashed with judges this year, especially on issues related to immigration.

Democrats raised numerous examples about how they believe the administration has overstepped its authority.

Present in the audience were family members of people who had been deported or put in detention, invited there by Democrats as examples of the impact of immigration enforcement.

Noam at one point turned to a man present at the hearing, and she said she would look into the case of his wife, an Irish woman who is detained.

Democrats argue that she is in the U.S.

legally, and her only criminal record is writing a $25 bad check against

10 years ago.

The administration has said it wants to remove anyone with a criminal record.

Noem and Republicans doubled down on the administration's policies.

Noem said she believed that the biggest threat to national security are the immigrants who entered the U.S.

under former President Biden.

Her department is reopening the cases of refugees who were admitted under Biden and is calling for a review of asylum applications during that time too.

So we're seeing enforcement focus on those here illegally and some legal categories

Thank you.

Lawyers for Abrego Garcia confirmed to NPR he was released this afternoon from the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

This comes after a federal judge ordered his release earlier in the day.

The White House has said that it will appeal the order but didn't do so in time to block the release.

Abrego Garcia has become one of the symbols of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown this year.

He was deported to El Salvador in March, contrary to a judge's order,