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Todd Lyons, the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended his agency’s officers before Congress on Tuesday, standing behind their tactics and saying they would not be intimidated as they carry out the president’s mass deportation plans.

Lyons was one of the three heads of agencies implementing President Donald Trump's immigration agenda to testify in a hearing called after the shooting deaths of two Americans at the hands of federal officers. They faced fierce questioning from Democrats, and support from most Republicans, over how they are prosecuting immigration enforcement inside American cities.

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00:00We have seen state and local jurisdictions refuse to protect federal law enforcement officers.
00:04And obviously, we have now seen the deaths of two American citizens in Minnesota. This is all
00:10unacceptable and preventable. The safety of law enforcement and the communities they serve and
00:15protect must always come first. When officials or elected leaders rush to conclusions about law
00:22enforcement or their fellow Americans, public trust suffers. The President tasked us with mass
00:28deportation and we are fulfilling that mandate. Thanks to the resources provided by this Congress,
00:33we are ramping up detention capacities and removal flights daily. In the last year alone,
00:38we conducted over 475,000 removals. These attacks on federal law enforcement personnel are coordinated
00:45and well-funded. This is not peaceful protest. No law enforcement officer should be put at personal
00:51risk simply for doing the job that we have asked them to do. People are simply making valid observations
00:58about your tactics, which are un-American and outright fascist. So I have a simple suggestion.
01:08If you don't want to be called a fascist regime or secret police, then stop acting like one. The
01:17Constitution does not give your agency the right to hide their faces while they kill Americans.
01:23Will you commit, yes or no, to immediately unmasking every agent conducting immigration
01:29enforcement and requiring them to wear standard uniforms with identifiable badges? No.
01:36Well, that's a sad response. Your answer is completely unacceptable.
01:42People who are proud of what they do aren't hiding their identity.
01:52Women, who aren't hiding what夢 there is.
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