Noem deploys to both borders, says ICE won't be deterred by sanctuary officials who 'want to create conflict'

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem deployed to the northern and southern borders in a single day this week as the Trump administration ramps up immigration enforcement across the country. Despite increased criticism following the shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota, Noem told Fox News Digital that the department would not be deterred by sanctuary politicians from doing the work of getting dangerous illegal aliens off the streets.

"I think people would want less conflict," Noem told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview in Nogales, Ariz., this week. "They also want to know that we're enforcing our laws and that we are going after dangerous criminals. And they don't want them to be released on the streets to perpetuate more crimes. So we're going to continue to do our work and follow through on what President Trump promised."

"We won't be deterred by local elected officials that just want to create conflict," the secretary added. "We’re going to continue to protect the American people and make sure that we have the opportunity to go after those dangerous illegal aliens and remove them." 

The secretary's remarks come as border czar Tom Homan announced an immediate drawdown of 700 personnel from Minnesota, effective Wednesday. Homan cited improved cooperation with the jails, though 2,000 officers will still remain in the state. Homan stressed that a complete drawdown was the goal but said that was "contingent upon the end of illegal and threatening activities against ICE." 

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Anti-ICE agitators in Minnesota have been targeting street enforcement operations and demonstrations have escalated in the wake of the shootings of Good and Pretti. Good was killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent during a confrontation on Jan. 7, and Pretti was shot by Border Patrol agents on Jan. 24 during an enforcement operation. 

As Minnesota leadership has demanded federal immigration authorities leave the state, Noem painted the crackdown on illegal immigration as one aimed at protecting Americans, not creating political conflicts.

President Donald Trump rejected calls to fire Noem while addressing the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. He cited the "strongest border in the history of our country" in defending the secretary.

While speaking with Fox News Digital in Nogales, a city that is located just over the U.S.-Mexico border, Noem pointed at the rhetoric coming from state leadership as a catalyst behind the intensifying resistance from the public in Minnesota. Noem also said that the operations in cities with cooperative officials have gone over smoother, offering Memphis, Tenn., as an example.

"Minneapolis and St. Paul, the Twin Cities, have an opportunity to do the same thing that Memphis did. There we had a Democrat mayor who worked with us. It was about the same size a city, about the same amount of federal law enforcement officers were there, and we dramatically cut crime and murder rates and partnered well together," Noem said.

"It doesn't have to be this way. And the way that it has been in Minneapolis is largely due to the rhetoric and the actions of the leadership there because they won't partner with the federal government to enforce the law," she added.

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are among the most vocal critics of the Trump administration's tactics.

Noem told Fox News Digital that she believes Homan is "working" to get local officials "to come to the table and work with us," particularly on investigations of alleged fraud schemes tied to the Somali community. The secretary alleged that Walz and Frey "have perpetuated and allowed fraud to an unprecedented amount in Minneapolis." 

"Tens of billions of dollars [were] stolen from the American people and from vulnerable people who needed those services and allowed to go into criminals' pockets. So, of course, they don't want any law enforcement there," Noem said, adding that Walz and Frey were allegedly aiming to block Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigators from "getting to the bottom of how widespread that fraud was."

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz and Frey for comment.

Noem said the Trump administration’s approach reflects what she says Americans want: less crime and more law enforcement.

"Every day we're finding terrorists and removing them from our country, protecting our our cybersecurity systems, our critical infrastructure," she said.

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Noem said the people in Nogales were "thrilled" with the results of the administration's immigration crackdown, saying locals got "their way of life back." She added that former President Joe Biden's policies were "devastating" for the area.

Noem also spoke about DHS's efforts to block drugs from flowing through the country, something she said was a "crisis" under Biden.

"Well, we're here in Nogales, which under Joe Biden's policies, was a humanitarian crisis. In fact, through here was well known as a large drug trafficking area. They have a highway near here that is named 'Cocaine Highway' because the cartels moved so much drugs through here that was killing off the next generation of Americans," the secretary said.

Despite mounting criticism, Noem touted the department's accomplishments, including the large numbers of deportations, both ones carried out by law enforcement and ones that occurred through "self-deportation." She noted that the administration was incentivizing more self deportations by offering free flights and $2,600 payments.

Noem also touched on the subject of DHS funding, which has been a source of tension between Democrats and Republicans. The debate over funding the department has the potential to spark another government shutdown. The secretary told Fox News Digital that just 11% of the DHS budget is allocated to ICE, while the rest goes to FEMA, TSA and other agencies under the department. 

Despite the ongoing fighting over the funding, Noem said she is "hopeful" that Congress will recognize that DHS funding goes to more than immigration enforcement and that the bill would be passed "quickly."

Fox News Digital's Tessa Hoyos contributed to this report.