President Donald Trump fires Kristi Noem as DHS secretary. A look back at her falsehoods

President Donald Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, one of the most visible administration figures spreading immigration falsehoods and the public face of what Trump calls the largest domestic mass deportation operation in U.S. history.

Noem falsely said no American citizens had been arrested as part of sweeping enforcement efforts and inaccurately said the majority of detained immigrants had criminal records. She also quickly labeled two U.S. citizens fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis as domestic terrorists, although that was not supported by the facts.

On March 5, Trump said in a Truth Social post he would replace Noem with Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, effective March 31. Trump gave Noem a new role as "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas" — part of a new western hemisphere security initiative he plans to announce March 7. Trump and Noem provided no details about her new job.

Noem’s firing came days after she faced questions from senators about spending $220 million on ads. Some reports said Trump was furious about Noem’s answers about the ad campaign. 

A one minute-long TV ad shows Noem on horseback at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, her home state and she says, "Anyone who searches for freedom can always find a home here. But that freedom is a precious thing, and we defend it vigorously. You cross the border illegally, we'll find you. Break our laws, we'll punish you. Harm American citizens, there will be consequences."

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., asked Noem during the hearing how she squared her stated concern for wasteful DHS spending "with the fact that you have spent $220 million running television advertisements that feature you prominently."

Noem said Trump tasked her with releasing ads telling people to self-deport and he knew of her decision to approve the campaign’s contracts.

Trump told Reuters, "I ​never knew anything about it." 

Senators pressed Noem on the campaign’s contract recipient. A ProPublica investigation found that the more than $200 million contract was awarded to a company created days before the deal was finalized. A sub-contractor, Strategy Group, received some of the money, and that organization is run by the husband of DHS’ former spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin.

We have fact-checked Noem since 2021.

Noem’s ridiculous statement about Americans and arrests, detainments

During an October press conference, Noem said, "No American citizens have been arrested or detained" during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns.

We rated Noem’s statement Pants on Fire. 

Lawsuits, news accounts and DHS statements confirmed that numerous U.S. citizens were detained or arrested by immigration agents in and around Chicago during Operation Midway Blitz, an enforcement surge directed by Noem. A ProPublica investigation documented 170 cases of federal immigration officers detaining U.S. citizens nationwide during the first nine months of Trump’s second term. 

Noem’s "domestic terrorist" label for Renee Good and Alex Pretti challenged by experts

Following the Jan, 7 and Jan. 24 fatal shootings in Minnesota of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, respectively, Noem described the events as domestic terrorism.

In these cases and others, the Trump administration has used the label in broad ways that experts have found troubling.

Thomas E. Brzozowski, former Justice Department counsel for domestic terrorism, said Noem’s use of the term before an investigation has occurred effectively strips domestic terrorism of its significance, and amounts to a "blatantly partisan" statement.

"Now what is domestic terrorism?" Brzozowski said. "Whatever the DHS secretary says it is? She can characterize anything she wants as domestic terrorism. She is doing so without any facts to go on."

Shirin Sinnar, a Stanford Law School professor, told PolitiFact, "We know for a fact that the Trump administration has embraced an expansive conception of domestic terrorism that targets protests and political dissent." 

@politifact During questioning from Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., at a March 3 Senate hearing, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she did not call Alex Pretti, a Minnesota man killed by federal immigration officers, a "domestic terrorist." Here's what Noem said about domestic terrorism at a Jan. 24 news conference after Pretti's death. #krisitnoem #alexpretti #domesticterrorism #amyklobuchar #minnesota #dhs ♬ original sound - PolitiFact

Noem misled about immigrants’ criminal records

In a January interview on CBS’ "Face the Nation," Noem said about immigrants in custody, "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 that are here illegally, first of all."

Noem’s statements fit into the administration’s repeated mantra that it is deporting the "worst of the worst," featured in PolitiFact’s 2025 Year of the Lies.

Government data shows most people the government has detained have not committed violent crimes. And people facing criminal charges aren't necessarily accused of a violent crime, and they could be acquitted.

The percentage of immigrants who have criminal convictions or pending charges varies depending on the data’s time frame: Are we talking about Trump’s first year in office? Or are we taking snapshots of who’s in detention at any given time? Either way, Noem’s figure is higher than what the data reflects. Currently, about half of immigrants in Immigration and Customs Enforcement’ detention have criminal convictions or pending charges. But when looking at all immigrants who have been federally detained since Trump took office for his second term, the number goes up to approximately 64%.

Noem misled about Homeland Security’s role in elections

Noem speaks to the press on Feb. 13, 2026, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP)

Two days after the U.S. House passed the Save America Act — a law to mandate one voter ID policy nationwide and voter registration changes — Noem made misleading comments about her agency’s role in elections.

"Although the Constitution gives states the primary responsibility for running their elections, Congress also gives authorities and duties to the federal government," Noem said at a Feb. 13 press conference. "Now, as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, those authorities lie within my department. And the responsibility lies with me." 

However, states administer elections; Homeland Security plays a very limited role. Its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency works with state and local governments, election officials, federal partners and private sector partners to manage risks to voting sites, databases and equipment. 

Who is Sen. Markwayne Mullin?

Mullin speaks with reporters on the steps at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., March 5, 2026.

After a formal nomination from Trump, Mullin would need to be confirmed by a simple majority. 

Mullin briefly attended Missouri Valley College on a wrestling scholarship but left to take over his family’s plumbing business at age 19 after his father had health problems; he is the only member of the current Senate without a bachelor’s degree. He ran successfully for the House in 2012, then won a special election to the Senate in 2022. Mullin is a member of the Cherokee Nation.

During Trump’s second term, Mullin has been a frequent guest on cable news shows, usually supporting the president, with whom he is widely described as close. When Trump named him in a social media post as his choice to succeed Noem at DHS, he wrote that Mullin is "a MAGA Warrior" who "truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda."

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