This Is Not Fox News!': Hearing on ICE Deaths Spirals So Fast the Chairman Has to Step In After Mullin Keeps Snapping at Congresswoman Who Won't Budge

A contentious House Appropriations Committee hearing on ICE deaths turned chaotic as DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Rep. Lauren Underwood clashed repeatedly, prompting Chairman Mark Amodei to warn he could shut the session down entirely. The hearing took place on Thursday as Underwood, a three-term Democrat from Illinois, described conditions she said she witnessed at a Miami Correctional Facility in Indiana, where detainees told her medication refills can take months. Underwood said, “More detainees died in ICE custody in 2025 than ever before,” and pressed Mullin on whether DHS has internal goals or policies to reduce deaths in custody. Mullin responded that Underwood’s figures were “not accurate,” and the exchange escalated to direct crosstalk. When questioning resumed, Underwood highlighted an acting director’s sworn admission that ICE “hopes that there will be no deaths in custody” but lacks a specific policy, and said ICE had not updated figures since April 28. She also cited a Human Rights Watch report documenting 52 deaths during Trump’s second term.