A masked agent with a vest partially noticeable through the buttons of his plain clothes shirt blocks the car in which Elle Neubauer was driving during her morning watch in Bloomington, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
Pennsylvania’s Democratic congressional delegation broadly agrees that investigations and accountability are needed for the aggressive tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis and across the country.
However, at this point, they have not landed on a common path forward.
Last week Democratic Illinois Republican Robin Kelly ANDthree introduced articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who defended the confrontational actions of ICE and Border Patrol agents. Kelly’s district includes an area of Chicago that saw weighty ICE deployment in the fall, and her submissions cite obstruction of Congress, violation of public trust and self-interest.
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Other Democrats have called for investigations and reforms, cutting funding for immigration enforcement or abolishing ICE altogether.
But so far, only two Pennsylvania Democrats have signed on to the effort to remove Noem from office. Rep. Summer Lee was an early co-sponsor of the impeachment articles, while Chris Deluzio, who represents the broader Pittsburgh area, has committed to adding his name to the co-sponsors, according to a spokesman.
More than a week ago, an ICE agent in Minneapolis shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old US citizen, as she tried to drive away from the agents.
Pa. legislator introduces a ban on civilian arrests near state buildings without an arrest warrant
Footage of the shooting and the moments leading up to it went viral, sparking outrage and focusing national attention on the Trump administration’s militarized deportation campaign. But views among lawmakers were largely divided on whether the agent who circled the car and fired the first shot confronted it, whether he acted in self-defense or used force without justification. The second and third shots were fired from the side of the vehicle.
The Capital-Star asked all eight Democrats in Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation how the House and Senate should respond to the shooting and the resulting unrest. The first emails were sent before the articles of impeachment were introduced last Wednesday, and subsequent emails were sent afterward.
While Capital-Star’s questions asked whether they supported impeachment, only Deluzio and Lee answered the question directly.
“DHS agencies have demonstrated a pattern of violence against those with little or no responsibility, emboldened by an administration that is acting with impunity and adding fuel to the fire,” Lee said in a statement before the articles of impeachment were introduced. “I would support articles of impeachment against this lawless administration.”
“It is time to abolish ICE once and for all,” Lee added.
“The murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis is a tragedy, and my heart goes out to her grieving family and community,” Deluzio said in a statement. From what I’ve seen so far, it’s outrageous and disturbing that the Trump administration immediately called this incident “domestic terrorism.” We need an independent investigation and Congress to provide real oversight and accountability of ICE and Secretary Noem’s failed leadership.”
Republicans in Congress have largely rallied around federal officials and defending DHS over the shooting.
The Capital-Star also contacted nine members of the Republican Party, but only one, Rep. Dan Meuser of Luzerne County, responded. The spokesman sent the Capital-Star a Interview with Fox News shortly after killing Good.
“I mean, law enforcement says, ‘Hey, stop, open the door, show me your ID,’ and then you not only run away, but you drive right into someone and they jump out of the car, you just try to run them over,” Meuser said. “A normal person wouldn’t do this to anyone, let alone law enforcement.”
President Donald Trump and the Department of Homeland Security claimed Good tried to hit the officer with her vehicle and he acted in self-defense. The administration has it too called Good’s a “domestic terrorist.”” Immediately after the shooting, Noem said it was good: “she used a weapon in her vehicle in an attempt to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them.”
But Open Source Intelligence analysts in the company New York Times, Bellingcat and Washington Post Office everyone concluded that Good appeared to be driving away from the officer when he shot at her.
In the days after the shooting, anti-ICE protests broke out across the country, including in Pennsylvania. DHS sent additional federal agents to Minneapolis, where daily life for residents, schools and businesses was disrupted.
Where other Democratic representatives in Pennsylvania stand
Many of Deluzio and Lee’s Pennsylvania Democratic colleagues have refrained from taking further action beyond calls for investigations and increased oversight. However, no one ruled out supporting impeachment.
Noem’s successful removal from office is unlikely. Impeachment would require a supermajority vote in the House, which Democrats do not support by a 218-213 majority. A two-thirds vote in the Senate to convict, which would require significant support from the Republican majority.
Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-05), who has experience advocating for immigration, agreed to an interview with the Capital-Star. She unequivocally condemned the shooting of Good and the exploit of force by ICE across the country under the Trump administration.
“The entire law enforcement operation involving armed and masked agents in American cities was dangerous from the beginning,” Scanlon said. “There have been multiple incidents in which ICE, Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents have drawn weapons on people on American streets. There appear to be serious questions about training, the conditions under which they should be interacting with people, and huge questions about who they are going after.”
Asked what she would support to stop the agency, including impeachment, Scanlon said effective measures would require a “democratic majority.”
“I think we constantly struggle with the discrepancy between what we should be doing and what we can do as a minority,” Scanlon said. The reality is that Congress cannot act without a majority, and currently Republicans in Congress are too afraid of Donald Trump to do what the country needs.”
She called for an investigation into the shooting and how ICE spends its money.
Scanlon, Lee and Deluzio were also among six of seven Democratic representatives in Pennsylvania who signed the deal letter to Noem, calling on DHS to “take immediate steps to preserve evidence, bring in impartial investigative partners such as the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and ensure that the officers involved fully comply with investigative orders.”
The letter also included detailed questions for DHS, including about the type of training the officers involved in the Good shooting received and what steps the agency is taking to prevent repeated violence against civilians.
Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-02) was the only Pennsylvania Democrat who did not sign the petition. He did it though call on Noem to resign in a post on X’s social media platform.
Boyle’s spokesman did not respond to numerous questions from the Capital-Star about steps the congressman would support to ensure oversight of immigration enforcement, including impeachment, but did refer to a post he made on social media.
“Kristi Noem is lying,” Boyle said. “We all saw the video. She must resign. And this heinous murder must be criminally investigated to the fullest extent of the law.”
A spokesman for Rep. Dwight Evans (D-03) referred the Capital-Star to the social media post.
“I condemn this brutal murder in Minneapolis by ICE agents,” Evans wrote. “There should be bipartisan outrage over this tragedy. The Republican majority in Congress must join with Democrats in demanding reform and accountability. This violence cannot and should not be normalized.”
Democratic Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-04) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-06) did not respond to questions from the Capital-Star, but both called for investigations on social media. Houlahan too called for a shooting an official who lied about the circumstances of the shooting.
Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman did not respond to the Capital-Star, but called the incident became a tragedy in statements to the press last week.
Since President Donald Trump’s signature domestic spending package passed last summer, ICE has become the nation’s best-funded federal law enforcement agency, with a $170 billion budget.
