Chaos erupts at Noem hearing as anti-ICE protesters interrupt testimony: 'The power of Christ compels you!'

'The power of Christ compels you': Protester launches DHS hearing into pandemonium

An attendee interrupts DHS Sec. Kristi Noem within seconds of her opening remarks during a hearing titled, "Worldwide Threats to the Homeland," on Dec. 11, 2025.

No sooner had DHS Secretary Kristi Noem started briefing lawmakers on the greatest threats facing the U.S. on Thursday, two protesters launched into a disturbance that briefly held up the committee’s discussions.

"End deportations!" yelled the protester, who was dressed like a priest and carrying a crucifix. "The power of Christ compels you!"

The protester was briefly reminded that interruption of congressional business is a criminal offense, but the protester continued.

KRISTI NOEM FACES FIRST MAJOR HOMELAND SECURITY GRILLING AS LAWMAKERS PRESS HER ON TERROR THREATS

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies before the House Committee on Homeland Security in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, Dec. 11, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Security soon escorted the disrupter from the room, but before they had left the room, a second protester began shouting.

"Get ICE off our streets! Stop terrorizing your community!" the second disrupter said, standing and waving a sign.

Security also escorted him out of the room.

Noem brushed off the moment before continuing with her opening statement.

"Under President Trump's leadership, DHS is securing our borders. We're restoring the rule of law and we're protecting the homeland. DHS is eradicating transnational organized crime and the stopping of deadly drugs from continuing to be funneled into our communities. We're ending illegal immigration [and] returning sanity back to our immigration system," Noem said.

WALZ URGES NOEM TO 'REASSESS' IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT STRATEGY IN MINNESOTA AFTER ALLEGED CITIZEN ARRESTS

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. (Screenshot/"Pod Force One with Miranda Devine")

The House of Representatives’ hearing on Thursday, titled, "Worldwide Threats to the Homeland," provided lawmakers the opportunity to ask Noem and other administration officials about the country’s greatest security threats.

Noem, who has spearheaded the country’s efforts to secure the border, has said that one untracked illegal immigrants who entered the country under the Biden administration pose a major threat.

Other officials reinforced that belief on Thursday. 

"The No. 1 threat that we have right now, in my view, is the fact that we don't know who came into our country in the last four years of Biden's open borders," National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent told the committee.

NOEM SAYS ZOHRAN MAMDANI COULD BE 'VIOLATING THE CONSTITUTION' WITH ADVICE ON EVADING ICE AGENTS

ICE Houston deportation  (ICE Houston)

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Under the Trump administration, the U.S. has deported over two million illegal immigrants, according to DHS tracking.

Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.