ICE Director Todd Lyons was testifying on Tuesday before the House Homeland Security Committee.
You knew going in that it was going to be a wild hearing with Democrats trying to go off on him.
We already reported on the unhinged moment when Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver (NJ-10) asked him if he thought he was going to hell. She’s currently being prosecuted for her alleged actions outside an ICE facility in Newark.
Lyons was more than equal to the task.
READ MORE: Watch: Democrat Congresswoman Charged With Assaulting ICE Agents Goes Insane During Hearing
But it got worse from there, as our sister site Townhall reported.
They asked Lyons if he would stop his agents from wearing masks to protect themselves because of the unhinged threats from radical leftists. His answer was simple and definitive.
NEW: Rep. Tim Kennedy (D-NY) asks acting ICE Director Todd Lyons if he will require his agents to unmask and show ID.
“No,” Lyons responds.
Kennedy calls it a sad answer.
Lyons, who joined ICE in 2007, has said he prefers no masks, but will back his agents given threats.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) February 10, 2026
“No,” Lyons replied.
Democratic Rep. Tim Kennedy (NY- 26) called it a sad answer. On the contrary, Rep. Kennedy, it’s the answers from you Democrats that are sad. Instead of going after Lyons, whose people are trying to do their jobs under great threats, Democrats should be condemning the leftists threatening them. Democrats should themselves stop inciting by demonizing ICE. Yet they kept at it during the hearing.
Lyons handily dispatched with another Democrat, Rep. Lou Correa (CA-46), when he asked about the statistic that only 14 percent of those ICE is picking up are “violent” criminals.
Rep. Correa shares the misleading CBS report that 14% of those arrested by ICE have violent criminal records.
What that stat doesn’t include is those with rap sheets for “nonviolent crimes,” such as drug trafficking, distribution of child porn, solicitation of a minor, human… pic.twitter.com/TxuHog1PzU
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) February 10, 2026
Lyons explained that, actually, more than 60 percent have a pending charge or conviction on a criminal charge. What people are considered non-violent according to this rubric? Drug dealer, people with child porn, burglars, DUI, etc. These are all things that pose a threat.
READ MORE: Update: Another Nail Gets Hammered Into Media-Driven Talking Point About Arrests of Non-Violent Illegals
Of course, once Lyons laid that out there, Correa wanted to quickly move on.
Lyons laid out some of the things that they had achieved as well as the great threats they faced because of the Democrats’ demonizing.
🚨 JUST IN: ICE Director Todd Lyons says ICE has arrested OVER 7,000 gang members, and 1,400 known or suspected terrorists
But for some reason, Democrats are SUPER pissed off about it.
They want these people back on the streets.
Ain’t happening! ICE is here to stay. pic.twitter.com/m0kkVXb48S
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 10, 2026
But there were other Democrats who wanted to vie with McIver for the worst Democratic comments and keep up the demonizing.
How crazy is this? Rep. Delia Ramirez (IL-3) compared them to the KKK and slave patrols.
Rep. Delia Ramirez– whose parents are illegal aliens from Guatemala– tells ICE Director Todd Lyons and Border Patrol Commissioner Rodney Scott that they are worse than the KKK and slave patrols. pic.twitter.com/RuGK5r4GMM
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 10, 2026
Has she checked the history of Democrats on those two things? It’s an insane take. They act like President Donald Trump invented ICE yesterday to do his bidding, versus it being enacted by law and existing under multiple presidents. They’re playing this game now that suddenly it’s bad because it’s under Trump, when they didn’t give a darn about it, deporting people under Obama, for example.
One of the worst comments had to be from Rep. Shri Thanedar (MI-13), who threatened Customs and Border Patrol head Rodney Scott, who was also testifying, saying he had better “hope he gets pardoned.” Talk about political retribution, this sounds like what Thanedar is promising.
Warning for graphic language:
.@RepShriThanedar threatens @CBPCommissioner Rodney Scott:
“You better hope you get pardoned because you will be held accountable…”
What a despicable thing to say to a man who’s serving his country honorably, and saving countless American lives in the process. pic.twitter.com/48Ybl5KUWK
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 10, 2026
One of the best moments was when Lyons completely punctured that Democratic narrative about the 5-year-old boy, Liam Ramos. Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA-14), who is running for Governor of California, tried to pontificate, actually calling federal agents “killers bringing terror to our streets.” This is turning reality on its head; it’s ICE facing leftist attacks.
Rep. SWALWELL attempts to use the Liam Ramos’ story to ask acting ICE Director Todd Lyons: “Will you resign from ICE?”
Lyons responds: “No sir I will not .. because sir that child that you’re showing right there, the men and women of ICE took care of him when his father… pic.twitter.com/YqbRyU5G38
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) February 10, 2026
“Will you stand with the kids who you’re supposed to protect, or will you side with the killers bringing terror to our streets?” Swalwell said, pointing to a picture behind him of the little boy.
“Mr. Lyons, will you resign from ICE?”
Lyons replied, “No, sir, I won’t.”
“Why not?” Swalwell asked.
“Because, sir, that child that you’re showing right there, the men and women of ICE took care of him when his father abandoned him and ran from law enforcement,” Lyons said, for the smack down.
It was ICE who took care of him. Should they have left him in the street? Disgraceful to try to use the child as a political prop.
ICE did the right thing, yet Democrats and their acolytes in the media keep lying about this situation.
But Lyons stuck to his guns and didn’t let Swalwell get away with it.
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