发布时间：2026年2月20日，美国东部时间上午5:00 / 来源：CNN
作者：安妮·格雷尔（Annie Grayer）、加布·科恩（Gabe Cohen）、埃文·佩雷斯（Evan Perez）
2小时前
联邦移民局特工在明尼苏达州明尼阿波利斯进行移民行动，2026年2月5日摄。
Seth Herald/Reuters
监督国土安全部的议员表示，该机构近几个月多次阻挠他们的信息查询请求，甚至有共和党议员称自己的电话无人接听，数据请求石沉大海。
随着国土安全部因移民特工的高调杀人事件及由此引发的激烈政策争议而陷入全国性争议，议员们表示他们已加大努力试图为公众寻求答案。但他们称，往往遭遇阻力，阻碍了他们追究责任的能力。
“我不会跪在这里祈祷有人回电话，”众议院监督国土安全部预算的共和党众议员马克·阿莫迪（Mark Amodei）告诉CNN，此前他请求与白宫边境问题负责人汤姆·霍曼（Tom Homan）通话，却多日未得到回应。
一名共和党工作人员告诉CNN，这种阻挠不仅涉及移民执法等棘手政策问题，还包括向联邦紧急事务管理局（FEMA）询问联邦灾难资金状况，以及询问联邦官员拘留人员可能涉及的犯罪问题，均被置之不理或回避回应。
该工作人员表示，结果不仅是共和党议员无法有效监督该机构，还无法帮助削弱民主党同僚可能发起的不公平攻击。
“国土安全部在数据共享上采取对抗姿态真是令人遗憾。在移民和边境等某些领域，他们本可以讲出一个好故事，而我们本可以帮助他们宣传。在FEMA等其他问题上，我们同样可以提供帮助。但他们选择单打独斗，这就需要他们独自辩护，而当没有人相信他们说的话或给出的数字时，这就很难了。现在双方之间没有信任，也没有验证的途径。”
与此同时，民主党议员称他们几乎未收到国土安全部对其询问的任何回应。众议院国土安全委员会一名民主党助手告诉CNN，至少有15封民主党议员致函该部门的信件要么被“幽灵回复”，要么仅收到敷衍的确认，要么干脆石沉大海。另一名民主党工作人员表示，当他们询问FEMA关于减灾项目、人员配置计划或各类新闻发布的具体更新时，也未得到任何回应。
国土安全部发言人告诉CNN，该部门通过“官方渠道”运作，“不会通过媒体与国会就双方关系展开争辩”。但发言人也驳斥了他们未与国会议员接触的说法。
“任何称国土安全部‘拒绝’与议员沟通的说法都是完全错误的，”发言人在声明中表示，“本届政府是历史上最透明的政府，过去一年已经清理了上届政府时期未回复的国会信件。”
部分共和党议员告诉CNN，他们能够利用与特朗普政府官员的私人关系获得问题解答，另一些人则称他们从国土安全部得到了快速回应——“我一直和他们保持沟通，”共和党众议员安迪·奥格尔斯（Andy Ogles）表示。但两名专门负责监督国土安全部的共和党高级议员表示他们遇到了问题。
众议院国土安全拨款小组委员会主席阿莫迪在联邦官员在明尼阿波利斯与亚历克斯·普雷蒂（Alex Pretti）发生致命冲突后，立即要求与霍曼就明尼阿波利斯的行动进行直接沟通，并了解政府驱逐行动的总体情况。
阿莫迪办公室于1月提出请求，却被转至白宫立法事务办公室主任詹姆斯·布雷德（James Braid）协调通话。请求被搁置10天后，内华达州共和党议员最终撤回了请求。
阿莫迪称，在他提出请求时，政府正专注于明尼阿波利斯的行动执行，“当时我们优先处理明尼阿波利斯的任务执行，”政府官员在被CNN问及该请求时表示，“现在我们愿意安排主席阿莫迪的简报会以及其他国会委员会的会议。”
但阿莫迪表示他有信心通过其他方式获取信息，认为这是尊重问题。“我希望他们能更专业地对待处理其预算的人员，”他在国会山办公室告诉CNN。
撤回最初请求后，阿莫迪最近已与布雷德就安排与霍曼的通话进行沟通。
另一名共和党主席——众议院国土安全委员会众议员安德鲁·加巴里诺（Andrew Garbarino）——曾试图安排国土安全部部长克里斯蒂·诺姆（Kristi Noem）在其小组的年度全球威胁听证会上作证，最终于12月请求白宫施压，使其同意确定日期，一名知情美国官员表示。
诺姆最终同意举行听证会，会上她因在移民、FEMA等问题上的处理方式遭到民主党议员猛烈抨击。政府官员拒绝评论与加巴里诺的协调情况，称不会讨论与议员的私人对话。
加巴里诺在12月的听证会上表示，他为诺姆的出席“做了大量安排”。
“这就是为什么听证会如此重要。国会必须听取行政部门的意见。监督并非不公平，提问并非无理。我们必须确保人民代表获得信息。”纽约共和党议员当时说道。
CNN已联系加巴里诺办公室寻求置评。
根据ProQuest国会数据公司汇编并提供给CNN的分析，2025年国土安全部官员在国会委员会的出席次数较往届政府第一年下降了28.7%。
众议院国土安全委员会最高民主党议员本尼·汤普森（Bennie Thompson）表示，他从未见过这种情况如此糟糕。
“除了去年两次在委员会面前作证外，我从未见过诺姆部长。自国土安全部成立以来，我在办公室或多次会议中与每任部长都有过会面，”密西西比州民主党议员称，“整整一年，我没有与移民和海关执法局（ICE）官员有过任何直接互动，直到本月初听证会前一天才见到该机构主任。听证会证人必须在听证会前一天向国会提交书面证词，但汤普森表示，ICE主任带着准备好的证词来到会面现场，称自己仍在修改。
“如果立法机构要正常运作，行政部门必须提供信息。如果他们不提供信息，立法部门基本上就无法为未来的成功制定路线图，因为我们无法获取数据。”汤普森表示。
（注：文中所有人名、机构名均为标准译名，保持原文排版结构与数据完整性。）
（配图说明：左起：国家反恐中心主任约瑟夫·肯特（Joseph Kent）、国土安全部部长克里斯蒂·诺姆（Kristi Noem）、联邦调查局国家安全部门运营主任迈克尔·格拉斯亨（Michael Glasheen）于2025年12月11日作证。Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images）
Lawmakers say they’ve been stonewalled by DHS, undercutting attempts to hold Trump officials accountable
Published Feb 20, 2026, 5:00 AM ET / Source: CNN
By
[Annie Grayer]
,
[Gabe Cohen]
,
[Evan Perez]
2 hr ago
Federal immigration agents conduct immigration operations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on February 5.
Seth Herald/Reuters
Lawmakers who oversee the Department of Homeland Security say the agency has repeatedly stymied their requests for information in recent months, with even some Republicans alleging they’ve had phone calls go unanswered and data requests left to languish.
As the Department of Homeland Security has found itself embroiled in controversies across the country over high-profile killings by immigration agents and the resulting bitter policy disputes, lawmakers say they’ve stepped up their efforts to try to get answers for the public. But they’ve often been met with resistance, they said — thwarting their ability to hold anyone accountable.
“I’m not going to sit here on bended knee hoping to God that somebody returns the call,” GOP Rep. Mark Amodei, the Republican who oversees the DHS budget in the House told CNN, after his request to speak with White House Border Czar Tom Homan went unanswered for days.
One Republican staffer told CNN that the stonewalling extends beyond just thorny policy questions about immigration enforcement. Requests to the Federal Emergency Management Agency on the status of federal disaster funding and questions over potential crimes committed by those detained by federal officers have also been met with silence or evasiveness, the staffer said.
The result, the staffer said, is not only that GOP lawmakers can’t properly oversee the agency, they can’t help blunt possibly unfair attacks from their Democratic counterparts.
“It’s really a shame that DHS has taken such an adversarial posture on sharing data. In some areas, like on immigration and the border they have a great story to tell, and we could be helping them tell that story,” the staffer explained. “In other areas where the story is not so good, like FEMA, we could also help. But they choose to go at it alone, so it’s on them to defend, which is hard to do when no one believes a word they say or a number they put out. There is no trust and there is no way to verify.”
Democrats, meanwhile, say they have received virtually no response from their inquiries to DHS. At least 15 letters sent by members of the party to the department have either been ghosted, received a cursory acknowledgement or were given a non-answer, a Homeland Security Committee Democratic aide told CNN. Another Democratic staffer told CNN that when they’ve asked for specific FEMA updates, whether it’s on mitigation projects, staffing plans or briefings on various press releases, they’ve gotten no response.
A DHS spokesperson told CNN the department works through “official channels” and would “not be litigating our relationship” with Capitol Hill through the press. But they also dismissed claims they’ve not engaged with members of Congress.
“Any suggestion that DHS has ‘refused’ to engage with lawmakers is simply false,” the spokesperson said in part, adding that “this administration has been the most transparent administration in history and has spent the last year clearing out congressional correspondence that went unanswered under the last administration.”
Some Republicans told CNN they’ve been able to leverage their personal relationships with Trump administration officials to get their questions answered and others said they had no issues getting quick responses from DHS – “I communicate with them all the time,” GOP Rep. Andy Ogles said. But two top Republican congressman specifically tasked with overseeing DHS are among those who say they’ve run into issues.
Amodei, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, sought to speak directly with Homan about the operation in Minneapolis shortly after federal officers’ fatal encounter with Alex Pretti there, as well as to receive a broader status update on the administration’s deportation efforts.
Tom Homan speaks during a press conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on February 4.
Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images
Amodei’s office put in the request in January and was redirected to White House Office of Legislative Affairs Director James Braid to coordinate the conversation. The request went unanswered for 10 days, prompting the Nevada Republican to eventually withdraw the request, Amodei said.
The administration was focused on executing the mission in Minneapolis at the time of Amodei’s request, an official said when asked by CNN about the request, adding that it could now be arranged.
“At the time, we were prioritizing the actual execution of the mission in Minneapolis,” the administration official said. “Now going forward, we’re happy to offer Chairman Amodei a briefing as well as other congressional committees.”
But Amodei, who projected confidence he’ll get the information another way, suggested it was a question of respect. “I wish they were more professional with how they dealt with the people who handled their budget,” he told CNN from his Capitol Hill office.
After withdrawing his initial request, Amodei has recently spoken with Braid about arranging a call with Homan, the congressman’s office told CNN.
Another Republican chairman — Rep. Andrew Garbarino of the House Homeland Security Committee — tried for weeks to schedule DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for testimony for the annual worldwide threats hearing before his panel, and eventually resorted to asking the White House in December to lean on her to agree on a date, according to a US official familiar with the discussions.
Noem finally agreed to a hearing, where she was excoriated by Democrats for her handling of immigration, FEMA and other issues. The administration official declined to comment on any coordination with Garbarino, saying they don’t discuss private conversations with members.
Garbarino said at the eventual December hearing that he made “numerous accommodations” for Noem’s appearance.
From left: Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Joseph Kent, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Operations Director of the National Security Branch at the Federal Bureau of Investigation Michael Glasheen testify on December 11, 2025.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
“This is why this hearing is so important. Congress must hear from the Executive. Oversight is not unfair. And asking questions is not unwarranted. We must ensure the people’s representatives are informed,” the New York Republican said at the time.
CNN has reached out to Garbarino’s office for comment.
According to a data analysis compiled by ProQuest Congressional Data and shared with CNN, there has been a 28.7% decline in appearances of DHS officials before congressional committees in 2025, compared to the first year of previous administrations.
Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said he’s never seen it this bad.
“I’ve never met Secretary Noem other than the two times she came before the committee last year. I’ve met every secretary since the department was created in my office or in a number of occasions,” Thompson said.
The Mississippi Democrat said that for a year, he had not had any direct interaction with an ICE official until he met the director the day before his scheduled hearing before the committee earlier this month. Witnesses before a hearing are required to submit their written testimony to Congress the day before a hearing, but Thompson said the ICE director came to his meeting with his prepared testimony in hand and said he was still working on it.
“If the legislative is to function, then the executive branch has to be forthcoming with the information. If they’re not forthcoming with the information, then it’s almost impossible for the legislative branch to basically provide any road maps for future success because we don’t have access to the data,” Thompson said.