The killings of Renee Good, a mother of three, and Alex Pretti, a Veterans Affairs nurse, during the federal immigration surge in Minneapolis last winter became a flashpoint in the national debate over President Trump's aggressive deportation campaign. At least seven other people have been killed by federal immigration agents since Trump returned to office, according to tracking by The Trace.

Federal law enforcement officials have offered little indication that they are advancing investigations into those deaths. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment on the status of the probes.

With a majority in Congress, Democrats can now issue subpoenas to key architects of the mass deportation plan, including White House Border Czar Tom Homan, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, former Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. Lawmakers can also demand internal records such as use-of-force reports.

"They can dissect these individual shootings, and really unravel the story of what happened," said Naureen Shah, who leads the ACLU's immigration policy work.

Democrats have already held shadow hearings featuring family members and witnesses. Shah said formal congressional authority will allow them to press top decision-makers on what orders were given to officers in the field, what their training entailed, and who decided to portray Good and Pretti as threats — including calling Pretti a "would-be assassin" and a domestic terrorist — when video evidence contradicted those claims.

"It's like we can turn the faucet on and actually find out so much more," Shah said. "There's an aspect of this that is really about a kind of reckoning with how it's possible that things that seemed unthinkable could happen on American streets."

Democratic leaders have signaled that accountability is a priority. Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, expected to lead the House Judiciary Committee, said Congress will use "every tool" at its disposal to investigate ICE and that the agency must "start answering to the American people." California Rep. Robert Garcia, in line to lead the House Oversight Committee, vowed to take on DHS and ICE abuses with a two-word statement: "Lawyer Up."

Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, expected to chair the Homeland Security Committee, sent a letter Wednesday to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin demanding the agency "comply with all document preservation requirements." Illinois Rep. Delia Ramirez wrote on social media that Noem, Miller, Homan, Bovino and Mullin should "clear" their schedules.

DHS general counsel James Percival responded that Democrats are "more interested in political shenanigans than in governing" but said the agency is prepared to "deal with this nonsense." A White House spokesperson said that "if Democrats choose to pursue sham investigations and radical left policies, they are choosing to work against the American people," adding that the administration still controls the federal government and its powers.

But Congress has its own constitutional authority, including the power to compel testimony. Rachel Moran, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, noted that major policy changes such as clawing back ICE funding would require a veto-proof majority that Democrats do not have. Still, she said, a deeper probe could serve important purposes, such as making evidence available for states to use in their own criminal investigations.

Minnesota officials have been fighting the federal government to obtain evidence related to the Pretti and Good killings.

For the families, the renewed scrutiny carries profound personal weight. Brent Ganger, Renee Good's brother, said learning more about his sister's death will be difficult "but I think it's also super important for us to understand what happened that day. I don't want history to keep repeating itself."

Ganger, who describes himself as a moderate, said he was heartened by the election results. On election night, he saw a photo on Instagram of his sister's memorial covered in "I Voted" stickers.

"I was very grateful to see the repudiation of this administration from the country," he said. "It felt very supportive of my entire family."

The next morning, he got up and made biscuits and gravy — his sister's favorite breakfast.

In Minneapolis, community members have spent the week placing their own "I Voted" stickers at the memorials for Pretti and Good. Nicki Adams, who dated Pretti and remained a close friend for nearly 17 years, watched quietly as a woman added a sticker to a street lamp blanketed in the red decals.

"I wanted to see all the stickers. I just wanted to be here," she said. "It just means a lot to me. I think it would mean a lot to Alex, too."

Adams said the stickers and the election results send a clear message to Congress: "You work for us, and please carry on these values that we care about … We want to be seen and heard and taken care of and have our neighbors taken care of."