Swalwell’s Gotcha Question Backfires After ICE Director Drops a Truth Bomb on Him

Rep. Eric Swalwell thought he had the perfect gotcha moment Tuesday. He demanded that ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons resign during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing. Instead, Lyons shut him down cold with a killer fact-check that exposed the California Democrat's phony outrage.

The leaders of three major immigration agencies faced questions from the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday, marking their first appearance on Capitol Hill since the Trump administration’s recent immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

In addition to Lyons, Rodney Scott, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, and Joseph Edlow, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, also appeared before the committee.

As you could have predicted, Democrats were heavy on rhetoric and smears but light on facts, including Swalwell, who’s also running for governor of California.

During the hearing, he questioned Lyons about his decision to remain director of ICE. "Mr. Lyons, your staying on to lead ICE is a decision," Swalwell said before rattling off a series of allegations of ICE abuses. Throughout the accusations, behind him was a picture of Liam Ramos, the young boy whose father abandoned while evading arrest last month. Democrats have falsely accused ICE of arresting and detaining Ramos.

"Considering your honorable service in the past, and the dishonorable acts that those who have worked for you have conducted, and the disgraceful statements that the leadership above you have said — you now have a decision," Swalwell lectured. He framed it as a choice: "Will you stand with the kids who you're supposed to protect, or will you side with the killers bringing terror to our streets?" Then the big question: "Mr. Lyons, will you resign from ICE?"

Lyons didn't flinch. "No, sir, I won't," he replied flat out.

"Why not?" Swalwell pressed.

That's when Lyons dropped the hammer. "Because, sir, that child that you're showing right there, the men and women of ICE took care of him when his father abandoned him and ran from law enforcement," he said, pointing to the photo of Ramos behind Swalwell.

Rep. Eric Swalwell asks Todd Lyons if he will resign from ICE:

"No, sir, I won't." pic.twitter.com/nB3i0NMf7x
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 10, 2026

Boom! Swalwell's narrative crumbled. Reports confirm that Ramos, a 5-year-old, got left behind when his illegal alien dad bolted from ICE agents in Minneapolis. Officers stayed with the kid in the bitter cold to keep him safe until the family could take over. No hair-dragging. No public executions. Just agents doing their jobs against criminals who ditch their own kids to dodge the law.

“While other officers apprehended his father after conducting the arrest, my officers stayed with the child,” Marcos Charles, executive assistant director of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), explained last month. “They cared for him, took him to get something to eat from a drive-thru restaurant, and spent hours ensuring he was taken care of. Again. My officers did that, not his father. My officers did everything they could to reunite him with his family.“

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