Washington — Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that she plans to use the “broad and extensive” authorities of her role to follow through on President Trump’s promises.
“I plan to use every single one of them to make sure that we’re following the law, that we are following the procedures in place to keep people safe, and that we’re making sure we’re following through on what President Trump has promised — that he’s going to make America safe again,” Noem said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
The comments came as DHS has been administering polygraph tests to its personnel to determine who may be leaking information to the media about its ongoing immigration raids, an agency spokesperson confirmed to CBS News Saturday.
Noem said on Sunday that the tests will continue, while pledging that the leakers will be prosecuted — and could face up to 10 years in federal prison.
“Anyone who is leaking information outside of how something is planned for the safety of those law enforcement officers needs to be held accountable for that,” Noem said.
CBS News
Noem, who was confirmed and sworn in as DHS secretary in late January, touted the administration’s work on the border so far, saying “we’ve seen incredible progress” since Mr. Trump took office. She noted that the progress can be built upon, including by working with the Mexican government to “make sure we not only have the enforcement mission at the border, but south of the border, and make sure we’re going after these cartels.”
The DHS secretary argued that due to the Trump administration’s tariffs, imposed last week and later delayed on Canada and Mexico, “we’re seeing them wanting to be better partners with us to keep our people safe.”
Noem stressed that the tariffs are about stopping fentanyl from entering the country, saying Mr. Trump is committed to making the country safer.
“The president obviously wants a strong economy, obviously wants better trade deals as well, but this is about fentanyl and what we can do to stop the cartels from partnering with Chinese officials laundering money and bringing a poison into our country that is specifically designed to kill the next generation,” Noem said.
Noem also announced Sunday that Todd Lyons will be serving as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who she said has a long history with border czar Tom Homan. Madison Sheahan will serve deputy secretary, she said.
Amid the administration’s effort to crackdown on illegal immigration and pledge to conduct the largest deportation operation in American history, illegal border crossings fell to a 25-year low last month. Asked whether she plans to keep the 6,000 military personnel at the southern border, Noem said they’ll remain “until that border is completely secure, and we see all time record lows of encounters.”
“Our border patrol is doing fantastic work, but we’re going to keep them there until the whole world gets the message that this isn’t Joe Biden’s world anymore,” Noem said. “This is President Donald Trump’s country where we have a border, where we have laws and it applies equally to everybody.”
Still, the administration faces a capacity issue, with a limited number of beds for detainees. Noem said there is a plan to use a military facility at Fort Bliss in Texas for detentions, while urging that the administration needs Congress to approve more funding for the operations.
“We have just weeks before we are out of the funds to continue the operations that we have,” Noem said.
