A tense exchange unfolded on Capitol Hill as Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee challenged Attorney General Pam Bondi over the Trump administration’s Justice Department priorities during a combative congressional hearing, as reported by Fox News.

The hearing focused in part on the Justice Department’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, but the discussion shifted to immigration enforcement and crime statistics as Cohen addressed Bondi directly.

"We need people working on the front lines and local law enforcement to protect our citizens from the worst of the worst," Cohen said.

"The worst of the worst are not the immigrants. The worst are the worst, records show, are native-born Americans, and they are committing crimes that hurt our citizens and our cities."

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Cohen continued by criticizing federal efforts to recruit local officers to assist with immigration enforcement.

"And you're working against it," he added.

"And thank you for that, but by trying to get our local law enforcement, where we have an undercount of officers in Memphis, to leave Memphis and go to work for ICE to deport people is a wrong priority."

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The Trump administration has stated that approximately 70% of the illegal immigrants targeted by federal immigration authorities have criminal records, including for violent offenses.

Officials have pointed to those figures in defending stepped-up enforcement actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Democrats have countered that most illegal immigrants have not committed crimes beyond entering the United States unlawfully.

Bondi responded by arguing that law enforcement agencies at every level require adequate staffing and resources.

"I've seen some of the worst of the worst, violent criminals, violent criminals who were in this country illegally," she said. "We both know that."

The exchange escalated further when Cohen accused federal immigration authorities of misconduct in Minneapolis.

He told Bondi that ICE was "running rampant" and claimed that Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti were "executed" by federal authorities as they allegedly impeded law enforcement operations.

"They were executed like (Homeland Security Secretary) Krisit Noem executed her dog, and that was wrong," Cohen said.

"And you should investigate those people. And you should investigate anybody that uses a weapon as a federal official or not, for civil rights violations."

The comments drew attention to broader disagreements between Democrats and the Trump administration over immigration enforcement, federal-state cooperation, and public safety strategies.

The hearing underscored ongoing partisan divisions over how the Justice Department allocates resources and prioritizes investigations, particularly in cases involving immigration enforcement and alleged civil rights violations.

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