U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem allegedly appeared before Congress and testified that Republicans voted to allow the employment of people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to be employed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a rumor that spread on the internet in June 2025.
Users shared the claim across social media platforms, where it was particularly popular on Facebook (archived, archived, archived), X (archived) and Threads (archived).
The posts typically included an image of Noem on a ride along with ICE agents along with the text, "Kristi Noem, head of homeland security, admitted, UNDER OATH, that Republicans voted to allow January 6th rioters to serve in ICE roles. Including the ones who assaulted police officers during the attack."
The posts also said, "Explains a lot about why ICE officers are wearing masks and refusing to show ID."
The rumor spread on social media following Noem's appearances before various committees to discuss the budget of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which are discussed in further detail below. However, there was no evidence that Noem testified to Congress that Republicans voted to allow Jan. 6 rioters to be employed by ICE, and as a result we've rated the claim that she did false.
Instead, the rumor appeared to have its origin in an amendment Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Ill., proposed on April 30, 2025, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing discussing budget resolutions for fiscal year 2025.
During the hearing, a number of Democratic representatives introduced amendments to limit the ways in which the budget would be allowed to facilitate the operation of ICE.
Among the presented additions was Kamlager-Dove's amendment that proposed the approved funds "may not be used to hire any personnel who participated in the January 6, 2021, insurrection and attack on the U.S. Capitol, even if such individual was pardoned for a crime associated with their participation in such insurrection and attack."
A full video of the House Judiciary Committee is available to view on YouTube. Kamlager-Dove introduces the amendment in question around 5 hours and 50 minutes in.
However, Kamlager-Dove's amendment failed in a 15-17 vote, with 15 votes of "aye" coming from Democrats and 17 votes of "no" coming from Republicans.
Eight Republicans and four Democrats abstained from voting altogether. It's likely this vote is where the language in the claim that reads, "Republicans voted to allow January 6th rioters to serve in ICE roles" originated — though it remains false that Noem said as much during her appearances before Congress.
The rumor also made its way into a letter to the editor published in the Arizona Daily Star, which read in part, "Kristi Noem told Congress that they were using Jan. 6 traitors as ICE personnel. They are criminals themselves, racist fascists. I suspected #47 was forming his own secret police. Noem is just a puppet."
Snopes reached out to DHS and ICE for comment on these claims and will update this article should we receive a response. We also attempted to contact the author of the letter but were unsuccessful.
Noem's statements to Congress on DHS budget
In May 2025, Noem appeared at multiple hearings to address the DHS budget for fiscal year 2026.
On May 8, she testified before the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations for the subcommittee hearing, "A Review of the President's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security."
The full hearing is available to view on YouTube. It includes no mention of the attack on the U.S. Capitol that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021.
Then, on May 14, Noem appeared before the Homeland Security Committee for the meeting "A New Era of Homeland Security: A Review of the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security." The full hearing is available to view on YouTube.
The only mention of the Capitol riots occurred around 23 minutes in, when Rep. Bennie Thompson addressed National Police Week — observed May 11 through May 17 — in honor of law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6. There was no mention of any allegations that Republicans voted to allow ICE to employ Jan. 6 rioters.
Finally, Noem last spoke on the DHS budget before the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on May 20. The full committee hearing, "The Department of Homeland Security's Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2026," is available to view in full on YouTube. Noem made headlines during the same hearing when she was unable to correctly define habeas corpus.
There was one mention of Jan. 6 during the May 20 hearing, which occurred when Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., addressed alleged civil liberty violations against United States citizens, including an alleged air marshal whose "wife might've been at January 6 or something."
While we cannot definitively say there are no Jan. 6 rioters currently deputized or otherwise working for ICE as of this writing, and Republicans did indeed vote down an amendment intended to prohibit funding being used to hire Jan. 6 rioters for DHS, it is false to say that Noem testified as much to Congress.