If he thinks its hot now, just wait...

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who chaired the subcommittee on Thursday, is the sponsor of a bill, the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act of 2019, that seeks to address these problems. The measure would heighten standards for ICE facilities, increase inspections, grant more robust rights to detainees, and phase out ICE’s use of private prisons. It has 130 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, all Democrats. Jayapal sought to use the hearing to explore the cruelty inflicted on ICE’s victims. Witnesses included Selene Saavedra Roman, a Dreamer wrongfully detained by ICE for six weeks; Denis Davydov, a gay HIV-positive immigrant wrongfully detained by ICE while seeking asylum from Russia; and Blanche Engochan, a Cameroon refugee subjected to horrific mistreatment in ICE detention.

These survivors had important and heartbreaking stories to tell about the trauma they suffered at the hand of ICE officers. Yet Homan repeatedly hijacked the hearing to express his outrage about the real victims of all this, himself and the agency he used to lead. He shrieked at congressional Democrats, accusing them of making “inaccurate and disgusting” attacks on his agency. He praised ICE detention facilities, insisting that they “have the highest standards in the industry” and the “best facilities in the world.” In fact, Homan suggested that the U.S. spends too much money taking care of ICE detainees, declaring: “I think a lot of taxpayers would be insulted on the amount of money we spend on such a high standards.” And he charged Democrats with “grandstanding political theater to attack our president and this administration and the men and women who serve in this administration.”

The most indelible moment arrived when Homan’s time expired—and he refused to stop speaking. Jayapal attempted to gavel him down, but he continued to insult her. His rant ended with a moment of rage as he lectured Jayapal: “I’m a taxpayer, you work for me!”