Two congressional committees were shocked this week by Department of Homeland Security head Kristy Noem, who insisted that her ICE street enforcers would continue entering homes without a warrant.
That clear violation of the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment – the right to be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures – means DHS will continue avoiding going to a judge before acting, and merely issue itself a document to justify its actions. That would grant the department the right to enter anyone’s home at any time without oversight.
The tactic, combined with masked ICE agent grabbing people off the streets, presents a chilling picture of the Trump administration’s agenda.
“She is not content with disappearing people on the street. She insists she has the power to do it from their homes, too,” wrote James Ball, political editor at The New World in an opinion piece from The iPaper.
Noem appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and then the House Judiciary Committee, to answer questions about her agenda. Much of her time was spent refusing to answer questions.
"So far, so Trumpian," Ball wrote. "But more of Noem’s alarming comments were coming."
Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy questioned Noem's TV ads, in which she advised undocumented immigrants to "leave now."
When Noem said the ads were effective, Kennedy shot back, “effective in building your name recognition.”
Kennedy added, “It’s hard for me to believe, knowing the president as I do, that you said, ‘Mr. President, here’s some ads I cut and I’m going to spend $220 million running them,’ that he would have agreed to that,” Kennedy said.
Another contentious moment came when Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar accused Noem of referring to the shooting of Alex Pretti as that of a domestic terrorist.
“Ma’am, I did not call him a domestic terrorist. I said it appeared to be an incident of,” Noem said.
“I think the parents saw it for what it was,” Klobuchar replied.
Under further questioning, Noem declined to apologize or retract the statement.
Ball characterized Noem’s stint in front of the committees as “uncowed and unapologetic. Her combination of personal scandal, disdain for the constitution, and attack-dog manner makes her one of the most Trumpian of the President’s Cabinet,” Ball wrote.
Despite her bravado, Noem is on shaky ground, Ball contends. She was pulled from Minneapolis after the deaths at the hands of iCE by Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and the overall Trump administration’s stance on immigration shows support plummeting.
Despite being characterized by Ball’s analysis as Trump’s “right-hand woman,” reports indicate she may be sent packing by him.
“Confident as she looked in front of Congress, Noem was fighting for her political life,” Ball concluded. “She may not have done enough to survive.”
