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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said “radicals” are targeting her as calls for her firing intensify amid an aggressive immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
“These radicals are attacking me, but I’m just doing my job. I’m following the law, enforcing the laws like President Trump promised that he would do to keep people safe in this country,” she told “Hannity” on Thursday.
Noem’s comments come as she faces mounting criticism following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents during immigration enforcement operations in the North Star State.
Several prominent Democrats have recently called for her removal as DHS secretary, including Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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“Americans have died. She is betraying DHS’s core mission and trashing your border security legacy. DO NOT make the mistake President Biden made for not firing a grossly incompetent DHS Secretary,” Fetterman said.
“KRISTI NOEM MUST RESIGN,” Newsom wrote on X.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., along with other House Democrats, are threatening impeachment proceedings if Noem is not “fired immediately.”
In addition, Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have called for Noem’s removal.
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President Donald Trump, however, has maintained he has no plans of asking Noem to step down, telling reporters Tuesday she is doing a “very good job” at securing the border.
Noem also addressed newly released video of Pretti that appears to show the 37-year-old kicking and spitting at federal agents just days before his death.
“Clearly, there’s a history there of attacking our law enforcement officers and our CBP and ICE officers,” she said.
The former South Dakota governor characterized Pretti’s behavior as emblematic of the hostility agents routinely encounter in Minnesota.
“That’s an example of what our officers have had to face every single day in Minneapolis and in Minnesota,” Noem said.
“Riots are attacking our officers not just when they’re doing their work, but even at night at their hotels,” she explained. “And they haven’t allowed their law enforcement to keep them safe. Even while they’re off shift, they can’t go to restaurants, they can’t operate safely, they’ve had their lives threatened and their families’ lives threatened.”
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Noem also commented on Trump’s shakeup of immigration leadership in Minnesota.
Earlier this week, Trump replaced Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino with “border czar” Tom Homan.
“I’m grateful that the president had the wisdom to send Tom Homan there to have conversations again to see if he can get the leaders of Governor Walz and Mayor Frey to commit to honoring our detainers and to keeping our officers safe while they do their work,” she told host Sean Hannity.
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“We’ve been asking them to do this for months,” she added. “They have refused to agree. We’re hoping that Tom has an opportunity to restart those conversations and see if we can get them to help clean up the streets of Minneapolis.”
Noem also delivered a message to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, accusing both leaders of inflaming tensions in the state.
“I would tell them to be leaders and to change their rhetoric, because it is encouraging the kind of violence that we see on their streets today,” she said.
“I would encourage the governor to work with us, the mayor to work with us to get those dangerous criminals off their streets. That’s all we want.”
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While defending the actions of federal agents, Noem acknowledged that law enforcement tactics should always be subject to review, addressing the ongoing investigation into Pretti’s fatal shooting.
“We believe that we can always do better, and we seek to do that every single day. And we want to make sure that we not only improve protocols on the ground in chaotic and volatile situations like this, but that we continue to find the truth around this situation,” she said.
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