Tag Archives: Kristi Noem

Daily Mail: DHS under fire for controversial staffer comments

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The Department of Homeland Security is defending the First Amendment rights of a staffer who has come under fire for posts and political commentary related to the Capitol riot. Before joining DHS, Eric Lendrum (pictured right) likened the political fallout conservatives faced from the January 6, 2021 rally to slavery and the Holocaust.

He slammed Democrats for ‘cowering’ under their desks as thousands of angry Americans descended on the Capitol that day. ‘There’s something so gratifying about seeing the images of these members of Congress — especially the Democrats — crouching under their chairs, putting on those stupid, like, bubble masks, those anti-gas bubble masks, and then taking selfies,’ Lendrum said on an episode of his podcast The Right Take just days after the riot.

He also said in a 2021 blog post on the conservative website American Greatness: ‘American conservatives are, right now, on a course for being every bit as ostracized and alienated from broader society as Jews were in the years leading up to Nazi Germany.’ The junior-level speechwriter at DHS also shared anti-immigrant rhetoric on multiple platforms before joining the second Donald Trump administration. In an October 2022 podcast episode, he endorsed the far-right ‘great replacement theory,’ which is a belief that nonwhite immigrants are diminishing the influence of white people across the world.

While a spokesperson for DHS declined to comment on the social media activity of a junior staffer before joining the agency, they instead sent the Daily Mail a link to the text of the First Amendment of the Constitution when asked for comment. Lnedrum did not respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment on the reports detailing his online activity. Lendrum published on American Greatness until March 2025.

n his post-riot rant in 2021, he said conservative Americans are facing oppression like that faced by enslaved black people in America and Holocaust victims. ‘It has been said that the most surefire way to create an authoritarian regime is to completely dehumanize a significant portion of the population, so that their subsequent enslavement by the state will not face any larger resistance. It was true during slavery, it was true during the Holocaust, and it is true now,’ he wrote.

Lendrum has a relatively low profile, his employer and previous social media activity was first reported by NOTUS on Monday. The last time Lendrum posted to his X account was on the president’s birthday on June 14 this year when he published an image of himself alongside Trump. Lendrum has only 449 followers on X as of time of publication and appears to mostly use it recently to repost messages from Trump cabinet officials and allies. But he has used his X account in the past to share anti-immigrant sentiments.

He expressed lament with a New York Post headline saying that veterans were kicked out of hotels to make way for providing shelter to illegal ‘migrants’ during President Joe Biden’s term. ‘They are not migrants. They are not ‘undocumented.’ They are an invading army. The largest invasion in American history,’ Lendrum wrote on May 13, 2023 in a post to X. He added: ‘And what are you supposed to do with an invading army? Crush it, by any means necessary.’ Lendrum also claimed that asylum seekers are ‘scum.’

Before joining DHS, Lendrum also had a short stint as a press assistant at the Department of the Interior during Trump’s first term. ‘If I could work more closely with him, that is the one case in which I would ever go back into government work. Government work is not fun,’ Lendrum said in December 2022. And now, he’s back in Washington, D.C. for Trump’s second term working for one of the largest and most influential agencies in the federal government. A DHS speechwriter is responsible for preparing a myriad of public content for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and her deputy. This includes ‘speeches, talking points, editorials, Congressional testimony, video scripts, web content and other written content,’ according to a description of the job.

DHS under fire for controversial staffer comments
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Mediaite: Hakeem Jeffries Promises Kristi Noem Will Be One of the First Dragged Before Congress When Dems Win Majority

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) promised that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem can expect to be one of the first officials made to answer for the Trump administration’s treatment of migrants during a recent podcast appearance.

Jeffries told The Bulwark‘s Tim Miller on Monday that judgment day will come after the 2026 elections.

“It’s my expectation that Kristi Noem will be one of the first people hauled up to Congress shortly after the gavels change hands to get a real understanding for the American people as to this conduct that has taken place. The lack of respect for due process, for the rule of law. The unleashing of masked agents on law-abiding immigrant communities, and the disappearing of people in some instances, to other countries without any real evidence that criminal behavior took place,” he said.

Jeffries said he’s all for deporting violent criminals and felons, “but not law-abiding immigrant families, including in some instances, U.S. citizen children who’ve been sent overseas to a place that they’ve never known.”

Jeffries added that “all of this is going to require aggressive oversight activity.”

If Noem’s former grilling by Democratic lawmakers is any indication, both sides are in for a fight.

In the spring, Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) shamed Noem for incorrectly defining a basic tenant of U.S. constitutional protections.

“Habeas corpus is a constitutional right the president has to be able to remove people from this country,” Noem said, causing Hassan to fire back, “Excuse me, that’s incorrect…habeas corpus is the legal principal that requires that the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people. If not for that protection, the government could simply arrest people, including American citizens, and hold them indefinitely.”

“I also recognize that the president of the United States has the authority under the Constitution to decide if it should be suspended or not,” Noem said of habeas corpus.

“It has never been done without approval of Congress,” Hassan answered back. “Even Abraham Lincoln got retroactive approval from Congress.”

Hakeem Jeffries Promises Kristi Noem Will Be One of the First Dragged Before Congress When Dems Win Majority
Hakeem Jeffries promised that DHS chief Kristi Noem can expect to be one of the first officials made to answer for the treatment of migrants.
Hakeem Jeffries Promises Kristi Noem Will Be One of the First Dragged Before Congress When Dems Win Majority

Boing Boing: ICE claims success recruiting “teens and seniors”

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A recent decision to relax age restrictions has resulted in a “surge in applications” to join U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), it claims. The federal government’s force of masked goons, often seen violently detaining those it wants to deport, will soon include teenagers and seniors. Previously, applicants had to be between 21 and 40 years old. Now they can be between 18 and 65.

You’ll [“Bimbo #2”] Noem when you see ’em.

[Kristi] [“Bimbo #2”] Noem’s defense of ICE raids, which she claims target “murderers, rapists, and child pedophiles” based on “reasonable suspicion,” has been contradicted by incidents like the detention of U.S. citizen Andrea Velez in Los Angeles, who alleged racial profiling, as we previously reported.

White House border czar Tom Homan’s statement on Fox & Friends, suggesting physical appearances can justify detentions, further fueled accusations of discriminatory practices, per Yahoo News.

Another way of looking at it is that ICE couldn’t meet recruitment goals despite a vastly-enlarged budget. Why are teens and seniors signing up? Consider what happens when all this is over. Old folks won’t need another job and might appreciate free housing. Teenagers, on the other sand, don’t see consequences coming at all.

ICE claims success recruiting “teens and seniors”
Previously, applicants had to be between 21 and 40 years old. Now they can be between 18 and 65.
ICE claims success recruiting “teens and seniors”

Miami Herald: FEMA’s $64 Million Cut to NYC Sparks Fury

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Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has condemned the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s $64 million cut to New York City’s security funding following a Manhattan shooting. Washington, D.C. has experienced a 44% reduction in funding, as cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles are also facing funding cuts. NYC Mayor Eric Adams is reportedly working to maximize federal resources amid the Trump administration’s widespread cuts to federal agency budgets.

Schumer stated that President Donald Trump “treats NY like his personal punching bag in an attempt to settle political scores — and failing to release NY’s critical anti-terrorism funds is stooping to a new low.”

New York Mayor Eric Adams’ spokesperson Liz Garcia said, “We are committed to securing every federal dollar that New Yorkers deserve.”

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) plans to question Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, warning that political motives may risk public safety. She stated, “I would ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the funding cuts, adding that it is possible the agency is risking New Yorkers’ safety as a political power move.”

Amid the fight for security funding, NYC Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has come under fire for reportedly spending over $33,000 on private security throughout his campaign. Critics condemned the spending, citing his 2020 calls to defund the police.

In 2020, Mamdani wrote, “We don’t need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti‑queer & a major threat to public safety. What we need is to #DefundTheNYPD. But your compromise uses budget tricks to keep as many cops as possible on the beat. NO to fake cuts – defund the police.” He added, “We need a socialist city council to defund the police.”

Mamdani added, “The New York City Council tried to make the NYPD reduce its overtime budget by half. They simply refused. There is no negotiating with an institution this wicked & corrupt. Defund it. Dismantle it. End the cycle of violence.”

FEMA’s $64 Million Cut to NYC Sparks Fury

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fema-s-64-million-cut-to-nyc-sparks-fury/ss-AA1KyL6W

Slingshot News: ‘He Has The Authority’: Sec. Kristi Noem Talks Down To Senator Maggie Hassan Over Illegal Violations Of Habeas Corpus In Senate Hearing

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Kristi “Bimbo #2” Noem is as stupid and ignorant as they come!

‘He Has The Authority’: Sec. Kristi Noem Talks Down To Senator Maggie Hassan Over Illegal Violations Of Habeas Corpus In Senate Hearing
Secretary Kristi Noem talked down to Senator Maggie Hassan during a recent hearing, claiming falsely that President Donald Trump has the authority to suspend Habeas Corpus and hurt Americans without due process.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/he-has-the-authority-sec-kristi-noem-talks-down-to-senator-maggie-hassan-over-illegal-violations-of-habeas-corpus-in-senate-hearing/vi-AA1KJvGM

Slingshot News: ‘Their Boats Are Faster’: Secretary Kristi Noem Reveals Trump Provided Boats Worse Than The Cartels’ To Coast Guard In Senate Hearing

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‘Their Boats Are Faster’: Secretary Kristi Noem Reveals Trump Provided Boats Worse Than The Cartels’ To Coast Guard In Senate Hearing
Secretary Kristi Noem revealed that President DOnald Trump provided the Coast Guard with boats that are inadequate, and worse than those owned by the cartels.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/their-boats-are-faster-secretary-kristi-noem-reveals-trump-provided-boats-worse-than-the-cartels-to-coast-guard-in-senate-hearing/vi-AA1KJqVr

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer: ICE Detains 16 Hmong, Laotian Immigrants

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained 16 Hmong and Laotian immigrants in Michigan, transferring them to facilities in Louisiana and Texas. Advocates have criticized the agency’s aggressive tactics, citing some detainees’ longstanding residence in the U.S. Deportations to Laos are reportedly underway following the acquisition of travel documents.

DHS said, “This operation resulted in the arrest of multiple criminal illegal aliens, including child sex abusers, drug traffickers, a known gang member who obstructed a murder investigation, and other Laotian nationals with extensive criminal histories.”

ICE reported that 15 individuals were arrested following summonses to its Detroit field office, including one later arrest at a Lansing workplace. The group reportedly included a known gang member, child sex offenders, and drug traffickers.

Authorities noted that Laos and Thailand have accepted more deportees following U.S. pressure under President Donald Trump. More than two dozen Michigan lawmakers and a Detroit council member urged Field Office Director Kevin Raycraft to release the detainees.

Families have said several detainees arrived as children or were born in refugee camps. Supporters have highlighted that many serve caregiving roles, while ICE has emphasized that the individuals have felony convictions and active judicial removal orders.

Advocates have argued that arrests at scheduled meetings may erode trust with immigrant communities. ICE asserted that it will execute final removal orders once travel documents are finalized.

Rep. Donovan McKinney (D-MI) wrote, “It’s cruel, it’s wrong, it’s unjust, and it must end. We are calling for their release. Families belong together, not torn apart in secrecy. We also call for transparency and accountability so these horrific events stop happening. Deportation doesn’t just impact one person; it tears at the fabric of entire communities.”

Authorities noted that Laos and Thailand have accepted more deportees following U.S. pressure under President Donald Trump. More than two dozen Michigan lawmakers and a Detroit council member urged Field Office Director Kevin Raycraft to release the detainees.

Families have said several detainees arrived as children or were born in refugee camps. Supporters have highlighted that many serve caregiving roles, while ICE has emphasized that the individuals have felony convictions and active judicial removal orders.

Advocates have argued that arrests at scheduled meetings may erode trust with immigrant communities. ICE asserted that it will execute final removal orders once travel documents are finalized.

Rep. Donovan McKinney (D-MI) wrote, “It’s cruel, it’s wrong, it’s unjust, and it must end. We are calling for their release. Families belong together, not torn apart in secrecy. We also call for transparency and accountability so these horrific events stop happening. Deportation doesn’t just impact one person; it tears at the fabric of entire communities.”

McKinney added, “We’re talking about small businesses losing a valued employee, elders losing caregivers, children losing a parent or grandparent. … These individuals are our neighbors, our coworkers, our friends, our fellow Michiganders.”

ICE Detains 16 Hmong, Laotian Immigrants

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ice-detains-16-hmong-laotian-immigrants/ss-AA1KHlJ6

Salon: Maher roasts ICE recruitment campaign: “Take America back from the people we stole it from”

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The “Real Time” lampooned the agency with a series of fake posters

HBO’s other late-night political comedian also had something to say about Immigration and Customs Enforcement this week.

“Real Time” host Bill Maher tore into the Department of Homeland Security‘s ICE recruitment campaign on Friday, sharing a series of fake posters that mocked new, lax standards at the agency carrying out President Donald Trump‘s mass deportation agenda.

“If you can read this, you’re already qualified,” one poster in the form of an eye test read. “Also, if you can’t read this.”

Playing on Trump’s evangelical base, one poster said that “Jesus and Angels belong in the Bible, not your neighborhood.” Other posters encouraged potential ICE agents to “take America back from the people we stole it from” and described working for the agency as “like ‘Starship Troopers‘ but with Mexicans.”

The best joke of the segment came at the expense of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. The former South Dakota governor revealed in her memoir that she once shot and killed her 14-month-old puppy, believing it to be a danger to her family. Maher riffed on an old cover of “National Lampoon,” which threatened to shoot a dog if the reader didn’t buy the magazine. The poster shows Noem holding the gun to the dog’s head under the text, “If you don’t join ICE, we’ll kill this dog.”

Daily Beast: U.S. Citizen: I Was Seized by ICE and Held for Days Without Water

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Andrea Velez spent two days in a Los Angeles detention center despite telling ICE officers that she is a U.S. citizen.

An American citizen has told how she was held by ICE for 48 hours, claiming she was denied water despite proving her legal status.

Andrea Velez, 32, had just arrived at work in Downtown Los Angeles on June 24 when agents grabbed her and forced her into a car.

Velez told NBC4 News Los Angeles that an immigration raid was going on when she was slammed to the ground. Velez, a graduate of Cal Poly Pomona, who works in fashion was taken into custody while her mother, Margarita Flores, screamed at agents to stop.

“She’s a U.S. citizen,” Velez’s mother, an immigrant from Mexico, said through tears. “They’re taking her. Help her, someone.”

Velez said she was sitting in a detention center and was given nothing to drink for 24 hours. In total she spent two days in detention. She said that the ordeal has left her unable to physically return to work.

“I’m taking things day by day,” she told the station.

The incident had been notorious from the beginning. LAPD officers were called to the scene because it was reported as a “kidnapping” but did not intervene when it became clear it was an ICE action—even though it was against a U.S. citizen, ABC& Los Angeles previously reported.

Velez was charged with assaulting a federal officer while he was attempting to arrest a suspect. A federal criminal complaint alleged that the agent was chasing after a man but Velez stepped into the agent’s path and extended her arm “in an apparent effort to prevent him from apprehending the male subject he was chasing.” The complaint added that her arm hit the agent in the face.

The incident had been notorious from the beginning. LAPD officers were called to the scene because it was reported as a “kidnapping” but did not intervene when it became clear it was an ICE action—even though it was against a U.S. citizen, ABC& Los Angeles previously reported.

Velez was charged with assaulting a federal officer while he was attempting to arrest a suspect. A federal criminal complaint alleged that the agent was chasing after a man but Velez stepped into the agent’s path and extended her arm “in an apparent effort to prevent him from apprehending the male subject he was chasing.” The complaint added that her arm hit the agent in the face.

Velez denied wrongdoing. She said that during the incident, someone grabbed her and slammed her to the ground. She tried to tell the agent, who was in plainclothes, that she was an American citizen. But he told her she was “interfering” and he was going to arrest her.

“That’s when I asked him to show me his ID, his badge number,” she said. “I asked him if he had a warrant, and he said I didn’t need to know any of that.”

Velez said she repeatedly told ICE officers she was a U.S. citizen. When she was taken into a Los Angeles detention center, she gave officers her driver’s license and health insurance card to prove her citizenship status. She was still locked behind bars.

Velez’s family was unaware of her whereabouts for more than a day until lawyers for the family tracked her down.

Later, the Department of Justice (DOJ) dismissed her case without prejudice, meaning it could be reopened if prosecutors decide to.

Velez’s attorneys told NBC Los Angeles that they are exploring legal moves against the federal government.

Between 2015 and 2020, ICE erroneously deported at least 70 U.S. citizens, arrested 674 and detained 121. It is unclear how many have been mistakenly taken amid the Trump administration’s mass campaign to deport 1 million immigrants per year.

In January, U.S. citizen Julio Noriega was looking for work in Chicago when he was swept up in the mass raids. In May, Georgia college student Ximena Arias-Cristobal was detained after police pulled over the wrong car during a traffic stop. In June, a deputy U.S. marshal was detained in Arizona because he “fit the general description of a subject being sought by ICE.” That same month, a Ph.D. student named Job Garcia was tackled and thrown to the ground by ICE for recording a raid in Los Angeles.

A recent lawsuit claims that at least three American-born children have been removed from the country. The sudden banishment includes a 4-year-old boy with stage-four kidney cancer who was receiving critical, life-saving medical treatment in the United States. He was shipped from Louisiana to Honduras in April.

The Daily Beast has reached out to ICE for comment.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told the Daily Beast: “FALSE. ICE provided Andrea Velez with water, food, sanitary products, and she was given restroom breaks as needed. The media needs to stop peddling lies and smears that have led to a 1000% increase in assaults against our brave ICE officers.”

U.S. Citizen: I Was Seized by ICE and Held for Days Without Water
Andrea Velez spent two days in a Los Angeles detention center despite telling ICE officers that she is a U.S. citizen.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/us-citizen-andrea-velez-i-was-seized-by-ice-and-held-for-days-without-water

Daily Beast: ICE Accidentally Adds Wrong Person to Sensitive Group Chat

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The reported blunder echoes the Trump administration’s infamous Signalgate fiasco.

ICE has joined the Trump cabinet in the group chat disaster club.

Law enforcement officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies accidentally added a stranger to their group chat, exposing highly sensitive information about a manhunt, according to a 404 Media report published Thursday.

The blunder echoes the infamous Signal chat fiasco, in which a journalist was inadvertently included in a text chain where top members of the Trump administration discussed impending air strikes in Yemen.

The ICE messages, which discuss an active search for a convicted attempted murderer slated for deportation, were sent via MMS, or Multimedia Messaging Service, and were not end-to-end encrypted like messages on Signal or WhatsApp.

Officials reportedly texted an ICE “Field Operations Worksheet” on Wednesday that revealed detailed information about the person being sought—including their Social Security number—and DMV and license plate reader data, 404 Media reported.

The outlet labeled the incident a “significant data breach and operational security failure for ICE.”

404 Media reported that the group chat had six members, verifying one as an ICE official and identifying another as likely from the U.S. Marshals Service.

The Daily Beast has reached out to ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service for comment.

The person mistakenly added to the group chat is not a law enforcement official and had no connection to the manhunt, according to 404 Media. They told the outlet they were added weeks ago and assumed the messages were spam—until they received the ICE worksheet and license plate numbers.

404 Media, which said it obtained and verified screenshots from the group chat, has withheld the person’s identity to protect them from retaliation.

In Wednesday’s messages, the law enforcement officials discussed the search for their target and their next moves.

“Going to need to roll out at 1000,” one member texts the chat, called “Mass Text.”

“Copy. We can break it down at 10,” another replies.

The unintended recipient told 404 Media that the messages stopped coming shortly thereafter.

In what became known as “Signalgate,” Trump cabinet members, including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, discussed classified attack plans for airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen on a Signal chat.

ICE Accidentally Adds Wrong Person to Sensitive Group Chat
The reported blunder echoes the Trump administration’s infamous Signalgate fiasco.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-accidentally-adds-wrong-person-to-sensitive-group-chat-about-manhunt