The ranking Democratic members of two congressional oversight committees announced on Monday that they had started an investigation into reports of misconduct by federal agents during immigration arrests across the country, focusing on the detainment of American citizens.
The investigation, a joint effort between the House Oversight Committee and the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, will inquire how long American citizens have been held and whether they were allowed to call a lawyer.
Representative Robert Garcia, a Democrat who represents a portion of Los Angeles County and is the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, said on Monday that the inquiry would review every report of “brutal misconduct” committed by immigration officials in Los Angeles.
The start of the investigation comes as immigration raids continue across the United States, with a focus on Democratic-led cities with sanctuary policies, such as Los Angeles and Chicago. The raids have drawn criticism and prompted demonstrations from protesters who have said that some of the arrests have been overly aggressive.
Mr. Garcia and Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, who serves as the ranking member on the Senate subcommittee, can begin an inquiry on their own but cannot subpoena anyone without the support of a majority of Republicans. They sent a letter on Monday to Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, asking for several pieces of information, including how many American citizens were detained by agencies under her control this year.
Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles, who led a news conference on Monday to support the investigation, said she was alarmed by reports that citizens had been detained by federal immigration officials. She was likewise concerned about reports that immigrants with legal status had also been detained.
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