Noem defends Minnesota ICE operations, says judge's order "didn't change anything"
Washington — Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the Trump administration's ongoing immigration operations in Minnesota on Sunday, while saying that a federal judge's order limiting the tactics federal agents can use "didn't change anything."
"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," Noem said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."
A federal judge on Friday blocked federal law enforcement from using pepper spray or nonlethal munitions on peaceful protesters as demonstrations continue. The judge also barred federal agents from stopping or detaining drivers and passengers when there is "no reasonable articulable suspicion" that people driving near protests are forcibly interfering with law enforcement operations.
On Sunday, Noem called the order "a little ridiculous."
"We only use those chemical agents when there's violence happening and perpetuating and you need to be able to establish law and order to keep people safe," Noem said. "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."
Thousands of federal agents have been deployed to the Minneapolis area in recent weeks for immigration enforcement operations and to investigate fraud allegations in the state. Federal law enforcement agents have faced allegations of using aggressive tactics.
Noem put the blame on protesters and local leaders for violent incidents, including one in which a couple said they and their six children were tear-gassed while driving home from basketball practice.
"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," the secretary said.
Noem said "the mayor and the governor have allowed this kind of violence to be perpetuated across Minneapolis," claiming it's "why there's other innocent people that are impacted throughout the city."
The administration has faced renewed scrutiny and ramped-up protests after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this month. Last week, Senate Democrats on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee urged the GOP chairman to call Noem and White House border czar Tom Homan to testify before the panel.
Noem said Sunday that Good "weaponized her car and threatened the life of a law enforcement officer and those around him." She said the 37-year-old woman was "impeding law enforcement operations for quite some time before this incident happened," while saying the incident was a "tragedy." She added that the officer "relied on his training to defend his life and to defend those around him."
Asked whether the agency was conducting a review of the agent who shot Good, Noem said, "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."
CBS News polling released Sunday found that 54% of Americans say Good's shooting was not justified, though the views were divided largely along party lines, with Republicans tending to call it justified, while Democrats and independents say it was not. More broadly, 61% of Americans describe ICE's operations when stopping and detaining people as too tough, up from 56% in November.