While the first session of the new GOP-led House Committee on the Judiciary “re-examines” the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Ranking Member of the Committee, U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD), asked the Department of Homeland Security if any of the approximately 1,600 Jan6ers who were pardoned by President Trump are now armed and working for the federal government’s ICE agency.
In a letter to DHS, Raskin noted that no one would know if there is crossover between the ICE agents and the pardoned Jan6ers as the identities of ICE officers are hidden behind face coverings. To determine if such crossover exists, and at what levels, Raskin asked the Department of Homeland Security for a list of employees, requesting a response before January 26.
CBS News correspondent Scott McFarlane said he asked DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin about Raskin’s inquiry and shared her written response on social media. As McFarlane said in the report below, “The answer didn’t answer the question.”
DAY AHEAD: Questions mount about whether convicted Jan 6 rioters are now working for ICE in Minneapolishttps://t.co/A0eIvhLbKg pic.twitter.com/zRvDQUyxTU
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) January 16, 2026
McLaughlin’s response reads: “Rep. Raskin’s letter is reckless, disgusting, and unhinged. Enforcing the laws passed by Congress is not a dog whistle, and he knows it. He is deliberately undermining federal law enforcement for political theater. What is dangerous is an elected official falsely casting law enforcement as villains while ICE officers are being targeted, threatened, and doxxed simply for doing their jobs.”
I asked the US Dept of Homeland Security about Rep. Jamie Raskin’s inquiry into whether pardoned Jan 6 rioters are now working for ICE
Below is Tricia McLaughlin’s response.
The statement does not specifically answer if any Jan 6 rioters are… working for ICE ===> pic.twitter.com/3nf6EsILez
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) January 15, 2026
She added: “Ice officers wear face coverings for one reason: to protect themselves and their families from real-world threats fueled by thug activist intimidation campaigns. That danger is not hypothetical. Public databases and online ‘lists’ have been created to expose officers’ identities, and the threat environment is getting worse.”
McLaughlin accused Raskin of “choosing to side with the mob, recycle false smears, and chase headlines.”
Raskin replied to McLaughlin’s response by repeating his request: “Answer the question, @TriciaOhio. Which pardoned insurrectionists are working for ICE now?”
Raskin’s inquiry concerns ICE’s longstanding prohibition on the hiring of employees who have committed a felony, notably agents whose job will entail carrying a firearm.
According to the DOJ, “The 1968 Gun Control Act and subsequent amendments codified at 18 U.S.C. § 921 et seq. prohibit anyone convicted of a felony and anyone subject to a domestic violence protective order from possessing a firearm. The intended effect of this new legislation is to extend the firearms ban to anyone convicted of a ‘misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.’”
This is relevant because, as Kopp Law explains, “A presidential pardon can restore citizens’ rights to where they were before the conviction and end any sentence they were serving. Still, it does not expunge the individual’s record. For example, in the case of a felony conviction, the individual receiving the pardon would still have a felony on their record.”