DHS Sec. Kristi Noem on Minneapolis ICE presence

In my discussions with Governor Walz and from what I've seen on his press gatherings, he still is not willing to work with our federal officers to bring peace to the streets of Minneapolis. Do you have any plans to pull out of Minnesota? No plans to pull out of Minnesota. How would you describe what you were seeing on the ground there? Would you describe it as an insurrection and do you believe the President should invoke the Insurrection Act? I describe it as violent and a violation of the law in many places. I discussed with the President this morning several things that we are dealing with under the department and different operations. We did discuss the Insurrection Act. He certainly has the constitutional authority to utilize that. My hope is that this leadership team in Minnesota will start to work with us to get criminals off the streets. Remember, we are there in surged operations because of the largest fraud scheme in American history. We had people stealing from taxpayers, stealing funds away from the most vulnerable individuals in this country, people who needed mental health services, developmental services, autism, daycare. Instead, individuals came in, much from the Somalian community, and stole dollars from those people who needed it and put it in their own pockets and enriched themselves. Did it right under Governor Walz's nose and we believe that he didn't just know about it, that he may be complicit in it as well. Do you believe there are any cases in Minnesota where the ICE agents have gone too far? Our ICE agents are following the law and running their operations according to training. Last night what we saw was three individuals weaponize shovels and brooms that attack an ICE officer that had to defend himself. So we're hopeful that we don't see that again, that these protesters and violent rioters will be held accountable for the actions that they're taking and that our officers can do their work safely. What about that officer that you were mentioning? Can you give us an update on that ICE officer's condition after he was hit with a shovel? We're seeing those cars looted in Minnesota, can you provide an update on what the agency is going to do about that and if you're concerned with the documents that were taken by those? Well, I believe that those vehicles were FBI vehicles, not our Department of Homeland Security vehicles. So I'm not certain what documents were in there that those criminals may have taken and seen, but I would say that our agent is beat up, he's bruised, he's injured, he's getting treatment, and we're thankful that he made it out alive. Secretary Noem, are you okay with federal agents and officers violating people's Fourth Amendment rights by asking for papers without reasonable suspicion? Every single action that our ICE officers take is according to the law and following protocols that we have used for years, that this administration has used, that the previous administration used, they are doing everything correctly, and over and over again in litigation in the courts we've proven that they've done the right thing. Why is it within their right to do that? Why is it within their right to ask for papers without reasonable suspicion? You said you discussed the Insurrection Act with the President. Did you recommend that? No, we just discussed it, that it was one of the options that he had constitutionally, and we talked about the fact that we're going to continue our operations in Minneapolis and have the resources that we need to get the job done. How many tankers is our Coast Guard tracking that are loose, and are any of them out of the Caribbean that you're tracking worldwide? I can't speak to the specifics of the operation, although we are watching the entire Shadow Fleet and how they're moving. I'm very proud of our Coast Guard, how they've partnered with the Department of War to do unprecedented actions in bringing these flags under jurisdiction, or these ships under jurisdiction that in many instances aren't flagged or they're affiliated with a country moving this unauthorized oil to avoid our sanction policy. Did the President say what it is? What's that? Like the video that was posted this morning, do you watch any of those operations? Absolutely, I do. Do you share them with the President today? Absolutely, I do. Yes, absolutely, we do. We haven't slept a lot lately. Between the Coast Guard operations, what they're doing in partnership with the Department of War in dealing with the Shadow Fleet, what we're also doing as far as operations with law enforcement across the country, the Department of Homeland Security is very busy. Can you respond to this, Madam Secretary, perhaps to follow up? Why are we seeing Americans being asked on the street to provide proof of citizenship in Minnesota? Is that targeted enforcement, and are you advising Americans to carry proof of citizenship? In every situation, we're doing targeted enforcement. If we are on a target and doing an operation, there may be individuals surrounding that criminal that we may be asking who they are and why they're there, and having them validate their identity. That's what we've always done, in asking people who they are so that we know who's in those surroundings. And if they are breaking our federal laws, we will detain them as well until we run that processing. Are you advising Americans to carry proof of citizenship? Do you think that there needs to be an insurrection act invoked? Oh, I think that the President has that opportunity in the future. It's his constitutional right, and it's up to him if he wants to utilize it. Is he likely to do it? I don't know. Would it lead to more deadly killings in Minnesota if the insurrection act is invoked? If anything doesn't change with Governor Walz, I don't anticipate that the streets will get any safer or more peaceful. Governor Walz and his leadership team need to come to us and find out how we can work together like we have in many other states. We didn't see this kind of reaction in Louisiana when we ran our operations exactly how we are running them in Minneapolis. But we had a very different response because we had leaders that were working with us. If you saw our operations in Florida, extremely successful. In Minneapolis so far, we brought hundreds of criminals off the streets that were dangerous to society and dangerous to that community. We would wish that Governor Walz could take an example from the governor of Louisiana, the governor of Florida, and work with us to do the right thing for his people. Your officers are dealing with more and more protesters. Do you think they need more de-escalation training, though, given the innocent areas we have seen in Florida? You know, the officers that we have out there are very highly trained and skilled, specific for the operations that they're doing. They're utilizing the most gifted individuals on these operations to go out and to do enforcement. Because many times, they're going after murderers. They're going after professionals and gangs and terrorists that are here in our country illegally. And I'll remind you, the only reason we're in this situation is because the Biden administration allowed 20 million people to come into this country unvetted, unvetted. My every day is spent thinking about the known terrorists that are in this country that I just haven't found yet. The suspected terrorists, the criminals, the murderers, the pedophiles that are out there on the streets that we need to find and get off the streets because Joe Biden opened up our borders and allowed that invasion to happen. But if you can imagine the kind of dysfunctional criminal gangs and organizations that use that open border as an opportunity to infiltrate America, it's overwhelming at times. And that's why President Trump is so strong at taking action and making sure he's in every single state following through on his commitments to every single citizen. Does the president say what his final straw would be to invoke the Insurrection Act, if he did? No, this president uses all the information and intelligence that he can get. That's why he calls me. He calls Pete. He calls local law enforcement. He talks to those individuals and agents as well that are involved that he knows well. This president makes fully informed decisions and utilizes his authorities when it's appropriate. Are you worried that bringing in the military would inflame the situation? Maria Corina Machado is coming to the White House today. Are you going to be in the meeting? Because a lot of illegals are from Venezuela. Who are you going to talk to with Belsior Rodriguez like Trump? I think I have other commitments today. We are putting in the new commandant of the Coast Guard. He is having his swearing in ceremony. Then I have some meetings with law enforcement. I will not be in that meeting, but the president will keep me informed.