Cory Booker Catches Kristi Noem Lying Under Oath Multiple Times

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker called out Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Tuesday for repeatedly lying under oath about her agency’s operations.

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Noem lied or played dumb multiple times about her agency’s alleged misconduct, including detaining U.S. citizens and children, federal agents entering school property, and ICE violating court orders.

Moments after asserting that she ran a tight ship at DHS, Noem claimed she couldn’t give an “accurate number” of U.S. citizens detained by ICE as of last October. Booker pointed out that public records indicated at least 170 incidents of DHS detaining U.S. citizens, including 20 children.

Noem insisted that DHS did not detain children and separate them from their parents. In reality, ICE has detained hundreds of children, and families of mixed legal status are being regularly torn apart by the administration’s relentless immigration crackdown.

Booker pressed Noem on how long detentions last for American citizens. “We don’t detain American citizens,” Noem replied.

“You are not speaking truthfully under oath,” Booker interrupted, pointing to the case of Isaias Pena Salcedo, a U.S. citizen who was held by ICE for 70 hours, even after he showed federal agents his passport.

Booker also called out federal immigration agents giving themselves permission to violate the Fourth Amendment and conduct warrantless raids on private homes.

“You have situations where your officers are violating the sanctity of people’s homes, arresting and detaining them, and holding their children, and you’re acting as if you don’t know about it and saying that under oath,” the New Jersey Democrat said.

Booker then pushed back on Noem’s outrageous claim that she was not familiar with the shooting of Marimar Martinez, a U.S. citizen who was shot five times by federal agents in Chicago. Not only was the officer who shot her caught bragging about it—but former CPB chief Greg Bovino reached out afterward to congratulate him. In fact, the officer claimed over text message that Noem herself had also offered him her support.

“The case was thrown out of court, and you represent here that you don’t know about it,” Booker said incredulously, displaying a poster of the text messages behind him.

Booker didn’t stop there: “Are you aware of your officers’ activities in places like schools? Are you aware of your officers’ activities at our public schools?”

“Sir, we don’t go into schools and do targeted law enforcement operations,” Noem replied.

That was yet another lie. Booker cited multiple instances where federal immigration agents had entered school property as part of enforcement operations, including a January raid on the grounds of a high school in Minneapolis, and an incident just last month when federal agents blatantly lied to Columbia University staff in order to abduct a student from her dorm. Booker also referred to an incident in February, in which a group of children fled from a school bus stop in New Jersey as an ICE operation unfolded nearby.

“Secretary Noem, these are kids. They’re terrified in our communities. How do you think that affects them, when children in my state go running, fleeing, and often you all pursue children?” he asked.

Booker also hit back at Noem’s claim that her agency complied with court orders, citing a chief judge in Minnesota who found that ICE had violated nearly 100 court orders since the beginning of January. He cited another judge in New Jersey who determined in February that DHS had violated 52 separate court orders, “all involving cases where immigrants successfully challenged the legality of their detention.”

“You are violating the separation of powers, violating court orders, and routinely violating the civil rights of Americans. This is a reckless and out of control agency that you are responsible for,” Booker said.

“Either you are incompetent or you are violating laws with impunity. You should step down from your position. If you don’t, you should be removed by this president, and if not, Congress should impeach you.”

“I appreciate the encouragement,” Noem replied.