Transcript: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Jan. 18, 2026
The following is the transcript of an interview with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Jan. 18, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Castlewood, South Dakota and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Good morning to you, Madam Secretary.
SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY KRISTI NOEM: Good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: DHS calls this the largest operation in its history, nearly 3,000 federal agents out there. Is this an open-ended deployment, or is there a metric for success that ends it?
SEC. NOEM: Well, I think every day we get a murderer off the streets of Minneapolis, the public is safer, and President Trump is keeping his promise to the American people. And we literally have arrested and detained thousands of illegal criminals in Minnesota since President Trump came back into the White House. And I've never met a family that ever said, "Oh, I wish you would have left that rapist free. I wish you would have left that murderer on the street." So we're just so thankful that we have a president that's upholding the law and is determined to make sure that the laws are applied equally to everyone.
MARGARET BRENNAN: According to Pew, Minnesota's population of immigrants here illegally stands at 2.2%. So, how do you judge when you've gotten everyone off the streets, that you say is, you know, requiring your federal agents be there? How do you say we've had mission accomplished?
SEC. NOEM: Well, we won't stop until we are sure that all the dangerous people are picked up, brought to justice and then deported back to their home countries--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --You don't have a number or a date?--
SEC. NOEM: --We wouldn't be in this situation- We wouldn't be in this situation if Joe Biden hadn't allowed our open-border policies to be in place and allowed up to 20 million people unvetted into this country. We have no idea how many dangerous people are here. When you have millions of people coming in that are terrorists, suspected terrorists, criminals, come from countries in the mass migration that the Biden administration facilitated, I can't tell the people of Minnesota exactly how many dangerous criminals they have. I do know that they're extremely grateful every time we get a pedophile off the street. We end- arrested an individual this week that was raping children. I think those parents in Minnesota can sleep better at night knowing that that person isn't free.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Sure, but you just said millions. What's the breakdown of the percentage of those who you have in custody who have actually committed a criminal offense versus just the civil infraction?
SEC. NOEM: Every single individual has committed a crime, but 70% of them have committed or have charges against them on violent crimes, and crimes that they are charged with or have been convicted of, that have come from other countries--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --that's--
SEC. NOEM: --that are here illegally, first of all. And then they have committed a criminal act while they've been here or in their home countries as well.
MARGARET BRENNAN: It's not 70%.
SEC. NOEM: Yes, it is. It absolutely is, Margaret--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --70% of everyone that--
SEC. NOEM: --You guys keep changing your percentage, you pick and choose what numbers you think work, but that is the facts, is that 70% of the people that we have detained have charges against them or have been convicted of charges. And they need to be brought to justice, and we're going to keep doing that, no matter how much you guys keep lying and don't tell the public the truth. It absolutely is that these law enforcement officers are out there every day doing the work to protect the American people, and they will keep doing that because they believe in enforcing the law, which is exactly what President Trump has charged them with.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, well, our reporting is that 47% based on your agency's own numbers, 47% have criminal convictions against them*. But let's talk about the other numbers--
SEC. NOEM: --Which means you're wrong again. Absolutely. We'll get you the correct numbers--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --Okay--
SEC. NOEM: --so you can use them in the future.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, that's from your agency. Let's talk about our numbers here at CBS. 54% of Americans think the ICE agent shooting of Renee Good was not justified. 60% say the Trump administration responded to the ICE agent's actions unfairly. These numbers show you do not have the American public on your side. Does that concern you?
SEC. NOEM: Well, the facts are that this individual weaponized her car and threatened the life of the law enforcement officer and those around him. And that is what the media needs to cover, people understand it's the truth when they have the chance to hear the facts around the case. And this individual was impeding law enforcement operations for quite some time before this incident happened. It's a tragedy that this situation has happened in this country, and we hope there's never another situation like this before. But this officer relied on his training to, to defend his life and to defend those around him, and we're, we're grateful that we're in a situation where we hope that more people don't weaponize their vehicles like this. We're seeing it happen over and over again. We've seen over 100 different vehicle weaponized and attacking law enforcement officers. I would hope that Mayor Frey, when he's on here, that he'll announce that he's going to start working with us to bring safety to the streets. If he would set up a peaceful protest zone so that these individuals can exercise their First Amendment rights and do so peacefully, we would love that, because then we could work together to make sure we're getting criminals to justice and letting people still express their First Amendment rights.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, you know that it is in dispute about weaponizing a car versus driving forward, but I'll put that aside--
SEC. NOEM: --No it's really not. Everybody can watch the videos and see that.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, let me talk to you about the officer, Jonathan Ross. He was struck. He was hospitalized--
SEC. NOEM: --Don't say his name. I mean, for heaven's sakes, we- we don't- we shouldn't have people continue to dox law enforcement when they have an 8,000%--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --his name is public--
SEC. NOEM: --increase in death threats against them--
MARGARET BRENNAN: -- he was struck and hospitalized--
SEC. NOEM: --I know, but that doesn't mean it should continue to be said. His life- he got attacked with a car that was trying to take his life, and then people have attacked him and his family, and they are in jeopardy. And we have law enforcement officers every day who are getting death threats and getting attacked at their hotels and they are--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --Well, can you tell me about his status right now--
SEC. NOEM: --getting ice thrown at them.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, of course, no one condones--
SEC. NOEM: --I can tell you that he's healing--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --against anyone, but here, CBS reported that he did have internal bleeding in the torso, but he was released that same day. So is he back at work?
SEC. NOEM: I'm not going to share - I'm not going to--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --Did you give him the required three days of suspension?
SEC. NOEM: We followed the exact same protocols that we always have for years as to investigations into these situations--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --Three days of administrative leave?
SEC. NOEM: --But I'm not going to talk about his medical records. I know that you know that in itself is his prerogative to discuss his health. But we're- we're hopeful that all of our law enforcement officers know that they can go out and do their job--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --Yeah--
SEC. NOEM: --apply the law equally to everyone and that they can do so safely and that the media and people aren't going to attack them for standing up for what's right.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I'm asking you about your policies. I asked you if you had put him on administrative leave. This is in question because the governor of Minnesota said the only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her. Is he correct that the federal agent is not being investigated in any way? Is there any review of protocol here?
SEC. NOEM: We are following the exact same investigative and review process that we always have under ICE and under the Department of Homeland Security and within the administration. The exact same policy that the Biden administration used--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --So his actions are being reviewed?
SEC. NOEM: --the exact same review, so we haven't changed any of that. I would not- I would not listen to Governor Walz. He has a very bad track record. He- all this billions of dollars of fraud was stolen from people under his watch. He allowed it to happen, and he also ignored the law and allowed the city of Minneapolis to burn down in 2020. He certainly isn't- have good judgment in these types of situations, and I'm not going to be taking any advice from him and how we implement the law and protect people.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So do I understand you saying that the Office of Professional Responsibility is doing its own probe to determine that the ICE agent violated protocol and that he was on three days of administrative leave because that is what is in the handbook.
SEC. NOEM: The protocol and the advice and the guidance within that handbook and within our policies is being followed exactly like it has been for years.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, so there is some review of his actions is what I understand you saying there.
SEC. NOEM: Margaret, there always is. Every law enforcement officer knows that when they take the oath to step up and to protect the public and put their lives on the line, they absolutely know that everything that they do will be analyzed and investigated, but also, what they don't- I don't think they realized until just recently is how the liberals and the Democrats and the media would attack them and try to ruin their lives for doing what's right, and we're seeing in Minneapolis an unprecedented fraud history going on by elected leaders and individuals in that state, but also criminal activity, and it's being allowed to happen. When we did these operations in other cities across the country, we didn't see this kind of violence. We didn't see organized, funded protesters come in to conduct acts of violence against our law enforcement officers--
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, let's talk about that--
SEC. NOEM: --like we're seeing in Minneapolis. The elected leaders and Mayor Frey is allowing that to happen and allowing this kind of violence to happen when we didn't see it in Louisiana, we didn't see it in Florida, we didn't see it in other cities--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --We will talk to Frey about what is happening in his city--
SEC. NOEM --And we shouldn't have to be watching it here in Minneapolis,
MARGARET BRENNAN: But we have heard and I'm asking you here about the security of your agents that you say you are concerned about. The local police chief said your agents are being forced into situations out in Minneapolis that they're not prepared to deal with. And we looked and the Government Accountability Office said, back in 2021, most ICE agents are not trained to handle crowd control. So are you looking at expanding the training for the agents that you are putting in this situation that you describe as dangerous out in Minneapolis?
SEC. NOEM: They are absolutely trained for the situations that they're put in. We would never put an officer in a situation that they would be beyond their training and skill set. And so these are highly trained individuals that are here and in Minneapolis doing operations, they are and frankly--
MARAGRET BRENNAN: On crowd control and de-escalation?
SEC. NOEM: The Minneapolis chief of police is not an expert– absolutely. They are trained at that. Their specialized skill set is being utilized for where they are located and the jobs that they are doing in Minneapolis and across other cities across the country. We, we do- they have an incredible amount of training that is ongoing throughout their careers--
(CROSSTALK STARTS)
MARAGRET BRENNAN: --Do you want to expand that?
SEC. NOEM: -- in crowd control, in handling enforcement operations that they have- Do I want to expand it based on the Minneapolis police chief's advice? Not on his advice.
MARGARET BRENNAN: --Well, some Republican--
SEC. NOEM: --I will continue to use--
MARGARET BRENNAN: No, but some Republican lawmakers have called for it.
(CROSSTALK ENDS)
SEC. NOEM: If you remember- well, Republican lawmakers and Democrat lawmakers, they absolutely can continue to debate. That's what they're supposed to do, is work on policy and pass laws. What I know is that under the Department of Homeland Security has always been entrusted with training our federal law enforcement officers. We do it for many different agencies. We train those within the ATF, the DEA. We train those that are established across the country. We are the largest law enforcement operation and department in the government beyond the Department of War, and we're proud of that, and we've done it with excellence for years and are continuing to put the resources--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --But these--
SEC. NOEM: --and people into our law enforcement officers. They need to change and to challenge these, these situations they're facing on the ground.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, but you've described this situation as unique. You've acknowledged that. I want to talk to you about some of the instance- incidents that the public has seen. There was a U.S. citizen, Aliya Rahman, on her way to a medical appointment out in Minneapolis. She was dragged out of her car and detained. Video of her arrest was spreading on social media. There were allegations there of aggressive tactics. You've seen other incidents. For example, out in Minneapolis, this family with six children, with one as young as six months old, got kind of caught in the incident as they were driving to basketball practice. The mother Destiny Jackson told CBS, ICE agents stopped the car, told them to leave, but the agents were in the way, and they feared that they would have happened to them what happened to Renee Good. They didn't drive off. ICE released a canister of tear gas, and the mother described giving her infant CPR. We're showing that video there. Do any of these tactics seem to you heavy handed?
SEC. NOEM: That family was caught up in that situation because of violent protesters that were impeding law enforcement operations, and that family would have never been in that situation if those protesters had been acting peacefully and law enforcement was able to do their job without being threatened. And, so, it's a terrible situation that that family had to go through, and I hope it never happens again. But we need to remember that because the mayor and the governor have allowed this kind of violence to be perpetuated across Minneapolis is why there's other innocent people that are impacted throughout the city but throughout their state as well. And it doesn't have to be this way--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --But this doesn't seem targeted.
SEC. NOEM: --They could establish a peaceful protest zone, they could enforce their or their laws. And if Governor Walz didn't recognize that, that what he is doing there is poor leadership, he wouldn't have put his National Guard on standby in order to respond. And I'm hopeful that he does recognize that he needs to start working with us--
MARGARET BRENNAN: Are your agents going to comply--
SEC. NOEM: --I have asked him to. I know the White House has asked him to.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Sorry with the federal order on Friday to not use chemical agents.
SEC. NOEM: That federal order was a little ridiculous because that federal judge came down and told us we couldn't do what we already aren't doing. We, we are- have not engaged--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --Well we just video of chemical agents being used--
SEC. NOEM: in any- We only use those chemical agents when there's violence happening and perpetuating and you need to be able to establish law in order to keep people safe. That's the only situation, so that judge's order didn't change anything for how we're operating on the ground because it's basically telling us to do what we've already been doing.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Madam Secretary, thank you for your time this morning. Face the Nation will be back in a minute. Stay with us.
*EDITOR'S NOTE: A CBS News review of internal DHS data indicates roughly 47% — or about 34,000 — of ICE's detainees had criminal charges or convictions in the U.S. The numbers do not include details on the severity of the criminal records, which can range from felonies and other serious crimes, to misdemeanors and immigration-related crimes offenses.