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Now: Immigration Officials Testify Ahead Of DHS Funding Deadline; NBC: FBI To Release Image From Video At Nancy Guthrie's Home. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired February 10, 2026 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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DANA BASH, CNN HOST, INSIDE POLITICS: Right now, three of the men in charge of President Trump's immigration crackdown are on Capitol Hill, defending deportation operations in Minneapolis. Just a few weeks after federal agents shot and killed two American citizens who were protesting their actions.

You're looking at testimony from the heads of ICE and Customs and Border Patrol, they are on Capitol Hill along with the head of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which focuses on legal immigration. Acting ICE chief Todd Lyons told lawmakers that his agency deported nearly 500,000 people last year. And quote, we are only getting started. Let's listen in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They care about these American citizens, many of them who are young, have their entire lives ahead of them, didn't show up to a protest right, to obstruct federal law enforcement. They're just going about their daily lives, and they get victimized by people who aren't supposed to be here. Why do you think they don't care about American citizens?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cannot speculate. But when I look at the chaos that it creates and the corrosive nature that it creates. I go beyond the politics of the United States, and I look at our nation state adversaries like Iran, Russia and China, and their influence on social media to keep this negative discourse going. And I think this is a much bigger issue than we're actually admitting that it is in here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to tie this together to something that's very pertinent that's going to happen this week here in Congress, where the American people are going to see the book end of what's going on. We are going to attempt to pass the SAVE America Act, OK, which requires document -- documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, it imposes photo ID requirements to vote, and it penalizes officials who do not enforce these requirements.

And you won't see -- you won't see most of these folks over here on the other side that are demonizing you guys right now. You will not see them support it. So, they let millions and millions of illegal aliens into the country. They set up these sanctuary cities so you can't go enforce these federal laws. They're on the books that Congress has passed, and now they won't vote to stop these illegals from voting in our elections.

If you -- if the American people don't understand what this whole thing is about, it's about one word, and it always has been, and that is power. They want power, and they need these illegals to vote in our elections. That's why they don't care about the fraud either, because they need those votes as well. Thank you. I yield back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gentlemen, yields back. I now recognize the gentlelady from Illinois, Ms. Ramirez for five minutes of questions.

REP. DELIA RAMIREZ (D-IL): Thank you, Chairman. My mother, a Guatemalan immigrant and an American, taught me that I have a responsibility to look evil in the eye and to fight it back. Mr. Lyons, Mr. Scott, Mr. Edlow, you have used your power to perpetrate great evil. And it's about time you answered this committee for the lawlessness that you've empowered and defended in your testimony.

Mr. Lyons, I want to start with you, and I want to talk about ICE. Because under your leadership, ICE has shot and killed Silverio Villegas Gonzalez and Renee Good, violated nearly 100 court orders in January alone. You've used ban choke holds in more than 40 cases, engaged in warrantless arrest despite of a consent decree. And you used children as bait to put 3800 children in detention.

You created traps for people at immigration court who were following the law and doing it the legal way. And you broke the law by entering to people's homes without a judicial warrant, in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

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Now let's talk about you, Mr. Scott, and CBP next. Under your leadership, CBP has attempted to execute Marimar Martinez, shooting her five times and not releasing the footage that you should release, so that we can see the evidence, murdered Alex Pretti, used chemical agents dozens of times in Chicago after a judge ordered you to stop.

Conducted warrantless surveillance and racial profiling and acted with total disrespect and disregard for the law while engaging in roving patrols, plate switching, dangerous traffic maneuvers and observer intimidation. Again, criminals act with that total disregard for the law, and we continue to see it.

You would both have us talk about respect for your mission and your agents, but your agencies are unaccountable, paramilitary forces, and I have just as much respect for you as I do for the last white men who put on masks to terrorize communities of color. I have no respect for the inheritors of the clan hood and the slave patrol. Those activities were immoral then and criminal, and so are yours.

And that brings me to you, Mr. Edlow, and USCIS. Truly, USCIS is the most disappointing part of this whole panel for me. Mr. Edlow, let me ask you a question. Is USCIS's mission to uphold America's promise as a nation of welcome and possibility with fairness, integrity and respect for all we serve. Yes or no, is that the mission? JOSEPH EDLOW, DIRECTOR, THE UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES: Congresswoman, the mission is to administer the lawful immigration --

RAMIREZ: So, let me move on. So, it is not for the possibility of fairness, integrity and respect. I get that. I want to tell you about Mr. -- about Steven, my constituent, Mr. Edlow. Steven is a 14-year- old with autism who is seeking asylum. This child has spent 60 days in detention center after he was detained with his dad at a check in.

Let me ask you this. What kind of agency would strip asylum protections from children, even those with pending asylum claims and deport minors without due process. You don't have to answer that. It's your agency, Mr. Edlow. You are doing that to Steven, my constituent, an eighth grader. You have abandoned the mission and allow USCIS to become a tool in DHS's abusive enforcement apparatus.

Mr. Edlow, it is shameful to see what USCIS has become. As I've said before, DHS, ICE and CBP, they're not really rogue. Congress designed DHS to violate our rights under the pretense of securing our safety. I'm going to say it loud and clear, and I'm proud to stand by what I say, DHS cannot be reformed. It must be dismantled and something new must take its place. Because if we let DHS persist, it will continue to be a weapon that can be pointed at anyone the government considers the public enemy.

And let me tell you, fascism always requires a public enemy, but the power of the people is stronger than the weapons they would wield against us. So, Mr. Lyons, Mr. Scott, Mr. Edlow, you have weaponized the government. You have supported a fascist enterprise at the expense of our constitutional rights. You have violated the law.

But let me remind you, you will not always be in power. One day, you will be held accountable for your role in this dark moment in America and our nation's history. I guarantee it. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gentlelady yields back. As I said, the issues we're debating here are important ones that members feel deeply about, while vigorous disagreement is part of the legislative process, members are reminded that we must adhere to established standards of decorum and debate.

Witnesses are here today voluntarily, and I will continue to remind members that while oversight is important, aggressively attacking witnesses personally is inappropriate and not in keeping with the best traditions of our committee. And I now recognize the gentleman from Oklahoma, Mr. Brecheen, for five minutes of questions.

REP. JOSH BRECHEEN (R-OK): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to the witnesses. I want to start with a display over my shoulders. And this is something that is not specific only to Oklahoma. This is something that every member of this committee, if you will go to the DHS website, every constituent of every member of Congress, if you're curious of really the dark days, I want you to go to the DHS website, and I want you to look at those not far from where you live, moms and dads, the arrest of the illegal aliens who are preying on minors.

Just because of a really intentional act by Kate Bryan my staff to go a couple of weeks ago and look just in eastern Oklahoma, on the right side of me here. Just in eastern Oklahoma, I represent almost all the entirety of eastern Oklahoma. These are just the individuals, heinous acts to include those with children.

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And yet, I want to read you in a wider to my left over here, what is happening in the state of Oklahoma. This person was picked up. Angel Nick, sexual exploitation of a minor. Written Andrew (Ph), molestation of a minor. Chan Truding (Ph) child fondling, (inaudible) Garcia, enticement of a minor.

BASH: OK. We're going to continue to monitor this hearing on Capitol Hill on immigration and ICE and CBP operations in the interior of this country that, of course, have been incredibly controversial. We're going to sneak in a quick break and monitor this as it happens. Stay with us.

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BASH: Welcome back. We have some breaking news in the search for Nancy Guthrie. I want to get straight to Tucson, Arizona. My colleague Jake Tapper is there with more. Jake, what are you learning?

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: We are expecting some news from law enforcement, specifically from the FBI to come any minute. And while we don't know exactly the nature of the news, we're under the impression that it is the first information, the first lead of any sort that has come, in this case, since Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her house right behind me outside Tucson early in the morning of Sunday, February 1, so about 10 days ago.

And this is -- we don't want to overstate it, because we haven't seen what the information is, but this is -- I think it's fair to say, potentially, the first glimmer of hope for information about this abduction. This tragedy for people who remember, like Nancy Guthrie was supposed to go to a friend's house two Sundays ago to watch a live stream of a church service. She never showed up.

And then she was reported missing, and information suggests she was abducted from this house. Her blood was found on the porch of this house, and really, there's been just so little information since then. So, that has been something that the family and law enforcement has had to deal with.

Let me bring in Ed Lavandera, who is also here on the scene in -- outside Tucson. And Ed, one of the things that was clear yesterday from the message from both -- from Savannah Guthrie and the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff, is that there were no real leads. And Savannah, with a very heartfelt, serious request made on social media, was asking the public whether or not they were close to the Tucson area for any information to be reported to law enforcement.

And after she made that statement. The FBI issued a similar statement, and the Pima County Sheriff made it clear that despite reports of suspects and vehicles, they really had nothing serious to go on. So potentially, Ed, this is the first actual information we're going to get about whoever kidnapped 84-year-old, Nancy Guthrie.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Obviously, this is a great deal of anticipation, because we do know it has been incredibly difficult. If you have watched our reporting from this area over the course of the last week, it has been extremely difficult for investigators to find any kind of video surveillance from home, cameras, intersection cameras, convenience stores, wherever they might be, canvassing because of the nature of this neighborhood, you can see behind me, homes are very spread out. They're set back many of the homes, kind of inside this desert foliage.

So, a lot of the cameras on people's front doors don't have clear views of the streets, and this particular home where Nancy Guthrie lives, it was rather deep into her neighborhood. So there are many ways to enter and leave and also get out to an interstate whatever it is that the culprit here might be wanting to do, but it's required a great deal of manpower to be able to track down some of any kind of video clue or photographic clue as to who might have been behind this.

And also, Jake, there's a large period of time that -- where she was -- from the moment she was last seen, which is around 9:45 pm last Saturday night, until, you know, almost 12, 14, hours later, when everybody starts realizing what is going on. And we do know that authorities are pretty convinced that she was abducted sometime between 1:45 and 2:30 am because of the activity, the digital activity they were able to -- they've been able to capture inside the home.

But obviously a great deal of time -- they have to look at all of those hours from the moment she was left here at her home by a family member, all the way to the next morning, you know. So, we're talking about a great deal of time. And we do also know that over the last few days, there have been, really, I think, intensified efforts to canvas and re-canvas.

We've talked to many neighbors and residents around here who say FBI agents, local authorities have been coming back, re asking them questions, asking the check again, the video systems they have in their homes. If they've seen anything suspicious, have they seen any suspicious vehicles? And it's not just happening here, where Nancy Guthrie lives on the street where she lives, but in the homes around her and in the expanding area.

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So, we know a lot of this work has been taking part -- in other parts of the city as well. So, it will be interesting to see if this is indeed what's going to happen here, and what we're going to be witnessing, where exactly these video images are coming from. And obviously, and I can tell you, in talking to residents, a lot of people have taken these efforts really seriously.

You know, they feel like they're part of this investigation, trying to help out the Guthrie family in any way they possibly can. The neighborhood organization has been urging people to keep looking and keep spreading the word about the clues. You know, many people around here kind of feel that same sense of urgency, not as intensely, obviously, as the Guthrie family, but they feel like they're doing whatever they can to help them out at this moment.

TAPPER: Absolutely, and Nancy Guthrie is a beloved member of this community and all of Arizona, not just Tucson, is proud of Savannah Guthrie and the impressive individual that she has become, both as a broadcast journalist and just as a human.

And you're right to describe the foliage here, Ed, because until I came here this morning, you can't really understand it, especially if you're somebody like I am from an urban environment, and you don't necessarily understand, you know, why there aren't images? How do they know that Nancy Guthrie disappeared from the house between one and 2:45, Sunday morning, February 1, but they don't have any images.

Well, the information about her pacemaker disconnecting from her phone, that's how they know about that time, and also some alerts that the security system in her house got around that time. But I'm just -- I'm looking at the house across the street here, and I'm just standing in the road right in front of Nancy Guthrie's house, and I can barely see any of the house across the street. There are just all these gnarly trees and cacti blocking the view. And I guess that's, you know, that is, obviously one of the appeals of this community is that it allows a certain sense of privacy.

Dana, I'm going to throw it back to you, and obviously, we're going to be standing by for this information when it comes from the FBI. And I know I speak for you, and I speak for everybody at CNN that we are hoping and praying that this does lead to the return of Nancy Guthrie safely to her home and into the bosom of her family who loves her so much. So, I'll talk to you as soon as we get that information from the FBI, Dana. Thanks.

BASH: Yeah, obviously. And needless to say, don't go too far. We are waiting for that information. Thank you so much for being there, Jake and Ed. Now I want to bring in former FBI Deputy Director, Andrew McCabe, and former FBI agent and CNN's very own Josh Campbell.

And just to kind of recap what Jake was reporting there. What we are hearing, this is from NBC News, is that the FBI will soon release a new image from a camera at Nancy Guthrie's house showing a person who appears to be wearing a mask and carrying a backpack or tools. Andy, I'm going to go to you on that first.

ANDREW MCCABE, FORMER FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR: Yeah. This could be the moment that turns this incredibly excruciating investigation around. You know, it takes me back to April 18, 2013, when we sat in director Muller's office and decided to release the photographs of the Boston Marathon bombers to the public. We had the photographs for about 24 hours and tried to figure out every way that we could progress the administration while keeping those photographs covert.

You know, you always want to work silently and quietly if you can. But the fact was we were at an end point. There was no -- there were no other leads to pursue. And I think that's very telling for what you're seeing in this case. They are at the point where they really need the, you know, they need the power of crowdsourcing this identity.

We don't know if the person in that image is the actual kidnapper, but boy, it's a pretty good lead, and it's definitely good enough to get every set of eyeballs you can on that photograph and alert out in the world to bring you to that person so you can sit down and have a conversation with them to figure out how they might be involved.

BASH: Yeah, absolutely. Josh, your take.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know up to now, law enforcement has been working to try to access the camera footage that was there at the home. They even went so far as to work with the third-party camera company that manufactured those devices, to try to see if they could, in any way, try to pull any images from the subscription or the cloud, if you will. You know that is often available on these cameras.

And so, as Andy said, this is a critical development, because up to this point, investigators have essentially been appealing to the public in the abstract, asking people, look if you know anything, if you see anything, please come forward that. And essentially, you know puts it on members of the public to try to, you know, recall anything that they may have seen.

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This is going to be perhaps very pivotal. If they actually show an image and say, do you know who this person is? Did you see this actual person, someone who may have been in and around that area or even in the days, you know, since someone who may resemble that person.

Also note, Dana, and this is important that, you know, I've talked to law enforcement who say that they've been quite frustrated in this investigation by so much of the speculation. And I can tell you, you have watched other networks who, you know, have speculated about all kinds of things, like, you know, she was spirited into Mexico, where this was an inside job by the family. So many different theories out there.

And what I continue to hear from law enforcement is that that can actually profoundly negatively impact the investigation itself, because people out there listening might get tunnel vision and start to actually run their own, you know, what they may have seen through the theories that they're now hearing. Authorities want people to keep an open mind, again this will be critical to actually show potential imagery that someone you know may have seen this person.

BASH: Yeah. And you, Josh mentioned, you know, the FBI, or both of you mentioned the FBI, asking for information, crowd sourcing. It's not just the FBI. It's Savannah Guthrie, and the fact that she did for the first time, and by the way, speaking of crowdsourcing. On our screen, you do see the numbers for both Pima County, the Sheriff's Department, as well as the FBI, 1-800 call FBI.

But as I was saying, Savannah did for the first time, certainly in recent days, a solo video, not with her siblings, and she was pleading for help. I mean, she was asking people, even if they're not living in and around Tucson, anywhere in the country, anywhere at all to keep your eyes and ears open.

I mean, this is a very familiar, beloved face, somebody who is in people's living rooms and kitchens in the morning. And you know the fact that that she did that in her own way, as obviously, as a daughter, but also as a public figure, was really interesting. Andy, what did you take away from that?

MCCABE: Yeah. Remarkably strong and direct appeal for the public's help. And now, of course, knowing that we're going to have this image, you know, in the near future, it was likely coordinated with the upcoming release of the image. I mean, we don't know that for a fact, but it's a fair guess at this point.

So, with Savannah releasing that video yesterday, really drew the public's attention back to this part of the investigation. So much time and efforts been talked about these letters that went to media outlets, and the follow up letter and the deadlines and those sorts of things. What Savannah did yesterday was focus the attention of the public on calling in with information that might help. And to do that right before the image comes out, I think it could be very powerful.

She is fortunate to have a massive platform. So many millions of people know who she is, follow her on social media and will listen and respond to those things that I think it elevates the chances that you could have some, some really positive impact here on the investigation.

Now, let's remember it will not come without a cost. You've run the risk of, we used to say, you know, de doxing (Ph) ourselves that you know, you get such an overwhelming response that sometimes it can be hard to sort out the one or two very important leads from the many thousands you get, but that might also explain why you saw a the FBI discuss yesterday surging additional resources to the Tucson area.

They're going to -- they're expecting and hoping to have more leads to investigate, so they need more boots on the ground to carry, to knock on those doors, to find these people that have called in or written in or sent videos or what have you, to run down each and every one of them, they will have hundreds of analysts maintaining and reviewing everything that comes in over the internet feeds, over the telephone, through our sieges compound out in West Virginia. So, it's a huge effort, but at this point, that's where you want to go all in.

BASH: Yeah. I mean, 10 days in. And we're going to sneak in a quick break, but just as we wait for this image, just a reminder of what NBC News is reporting about it. That it is an image that we're going to see, showing a person who appears to be wearing a mask and carrying a backpack or tools. Again, we're going to sneak in a quick break. We're all waiting for that image. Jake is in Tucson with Ed Lavandera. We have our law enforcement experts. Don't go anywhere.

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