WATCH LIVE: Noem testifies about global security threats to the United States at a House hearing

WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who heads the agency central to President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda, is expected to face fierce questioning from Democrats Thursday as the public face of the Republican administration’s hard-line approach to immigration.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is expected to testify before the House Homeland Security Committee at 10 a.m. EST. Watch the live stream in our video player above.

It’s been months since Noem last appeared in Congress in May. Since then, immigration enforcement operations, especially in Los Angeles and Chicago, have become increasingly controversial, with federal agents and activists repeatedly clashing over their management tactics.

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Noem is testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee to discuss “Global Threats to the Homeland,” which in past years has focused on issues such as cybersecurity, terrorism, China and border security. With Noem making only a handful of appearances before Congress when she leads Trump’s signature policy arena, her Thursday appearance will likely focus largely on immigration.

Trump returned to power last January with what he described as a mandate to reshape immigration in the United States, claiming that the country was being invaded.

In the months that followed, the number of people detained in immigration detention centers rose dramatically; The administration continued to deport immigrants to countries where they did not belong; In the wake of an Afghan national being charged with shooting two National Guard soldiers, the Noem administration has dramatically stepped up searches and screenings of immigrants in the United States.

The Global Threats Hearing, typically held annually, is an opportunity for members of Congress to question leaders of the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center about the threats facing the United States and what their agencies are doing to address them.

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Noem’s administration is under special scrutiny because Congress in July passed legislation giving her nearly $165 billion to pursue her mass deportation and border security agenda. The department is getting more money to hire 10,000 more deportation officers, complete the wall between the United States and Mexico and increase the detention and removal of foreigners from the country.

The secretary’s appearance also comes as a federal judge investigates whether she should face contempt charges over flights carrying migrants to El Salvador.

Noem will also likely have to respond to criticism from Democrats who accuse immigration enforcement agents of wrongly detaining and arresting US citizens in their rush to deport as many people as possible in the country illegally. The Department of Homeland Security says agents conducting immigration enforcement operations do not target or arrest U.S. citizens on immigration grounds, although they say they have arrested Americans for allegedly interfering with law enforcement operations.

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Several Democratic members of the committee are part of a lawsuit accusing Noem and the administration of limiting their access to Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities.

Also attending Thursday’s hearing are Joseph Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, and Michael Glasheen, director of operations for the FBI’s National Security Branch.

Previous hearings have included questions about cybersecurity, China, chemical security and drones. Under President Joe Biden, in times of heavy migration at the southern border, Republicans have often focused their questions on his Democratic administration’s handling of border security.

When the hearing was announced in September, the Republican committee chairman said that in addition to Noem and Kent, FBI Director Cash Patel would also attend. But instead the FBI is represented by Glasheen.