Kristi Noem Torched for 'Playing Dress-Up' While Deporting Children
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem got slammed by a Democratic lawmaker Wednesday for 'playing dress-up' while breaking immigration laws to conduct Donald Trump's deportations.
During a hearing before the House Committee on Homeland Security, Rhode Island Representative Seth Magaziner took Noem to task for removing U.S. citizens and documented immigrants as part of the Trump administration's sweeping deportation efforts.
'During your confirmation hearing, you said that your focus would be on deporting immigrants who have been convicted of crimes, and those who have received removal orders. But that is not what you have been doing,' Magaziner said. 'Instead you have been deporting children with cancer, children who are U.S. citizens, a gay makeup artist who committed no crime and didn't even enter the country illegally.
'You have been sloppy; your department has been sloppy. And instead of focusing on real criminals, you have allowed innocent children to be deported while you fly around the country playing dress-up for the cameras,' Magaziner continued.
'Instead of enforcing the laws, you have repeatedly broken them. You need to change course immediately, before more innocent people are hurt on your watch.'
Magaziner was referring to a mother in Louisiana who was deported to Honduras in April alongside her 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son, the latter of whom had been diagnosed with cancer. Attorneys for that woman and another mother who was removed with her 2-year-old have contended that their clients did not wish for their children to be removed from the United States.
Earlier in his questioning, Magaziner asked Noem to explain why Immigration and Customs Enforcement had removed the 4-year-old diagnosed with cancer, despite the mother's wishes. 'What evidence do you have to support your claim that she did consent?' Magaziner asked.
Noem, who has denied that the Trump administration has removed any U.S. citizens (it has deported at least 12) insisted that DHS had followed protocol, but failed to provide proof. 'We will get that to you, sir, I don't have it with me,' Noem said.
'Please do. I understand, it's hard to keep them all straight because you've deported multiple U.S. citizen children, but I'm asking specifically about the 4-year-old with cancer who was deported on April 25,' Magaziner said.
'For the record, that family was also not given access to legal counsel before they were deported, even though their lawyer was in the same building at the time,' Magaziner noted.
Magaziner referred to ICE's directive on detained parents, which states that 'parents and legal guardians should have the ability to make alternative care arrangements prior to their arrest or detention.'
'ICE must afford parents the opportunity to consult with legal counsel,' Magaziner said.
'So, did the ICE agents working on this case, who deported this 4-year-old with cancer, of their own volition fail to follow ICE policies, or were they directed to by your office or anyone else in DHS leadership?' the Rhode Island Democrat asked.
'Sir, this mother chose to keep her child with her—' Noem began to answer before she was interrupted.
'You have not produced any evidence to say so, but I'm asking again, have you directed—have you directed DHS officers to ignore this policy?' Magaziner said.
Noem claimed that the Trump administration was attempting to keep families together, unlike the previous administration, which separated families 'over and over.' The Biden administration repeatedly separated families at the border, including roughly 300 children in 2024 and another 300 in 2023. Over the course of the first Trump administration, immigration authorities separated more than 4,000 migrant children from their families.
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Forbes
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EV U.S. Sales Lag Will Reprieve ICE, Boost Hybrids
ICE versus EV getty Every other new car bought by Americans in 2030 was supposed to be electric, but as the Trump Administration clears away EV incentives and targets, the total is likely to be less than half that and offer a lifeline to gas powered vehicles and hybrids That represents an unexpected new lease of life for the likes of GM , Ford, and Stellantis brands like Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram and their combustion technology. They were highly dependent on internal combustion engines and were either slow or reluctant to embrace EVs. A combination of tax credit rollbacks, emissions standards delays and the removal of the Biden Administration and its call for a 50% share for EVs in the new car market in 2030 is a boost for ICE. Manufacturers will also be busily raising production of hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and extended range electric vehicles*. Consultants Roland Berger put it this way in a recent report. 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'Actions taken by the Trump administration to loosen light vehicle emissions standards have effectively halved our forecast for U.S. electric vehicle adoption by 2030 – We now only expect about 20% BEV sales by 2030,' said Brandon Boyle, Senior Partner and Americas Automotive lead at Roland Berger. This compares starkly with Europe's ambitions. The European Union has decreed EV sales shall reach about 80% of new vehicle sales by 2030 on the way to 100% by 2035. Given current market share is barely 20% in Europe, some major humble-pie eating is on the cards. The Mazda MX-30 R-EV is an extended range electric vehicle equiped with a small rotary gasoline ... More engine (Photo by Sjoerd van) Getty Images / Sjoerd van der Wal 'The U.S. market has different dynamics (than Europe): more rural driving, less dense urban cores, and a political environment that could shift depending on the 2028 (Presidential) election,' said Curt Hopkins, CEO of MCQ Markets . MCQ Market says it is a FinTech firm making high-value assets accessible and investable. 'I wouldn't call it a comeback for ICE, but it's not going away overnight either. Hybrids and plug-in hybrids are still very much part of the transition-especially for consumers who aren't quite ready for a full battery-electric experience. Expect those to play a meaningful but gradually shrinking role through the decade,' Hopkins said. Bernstein Research analyst Daniel Roeska said at some point EV demand will accelerate again. Maybe after the 2028 election or after 2030. 'It (the expectation) won't be 50% for a long while,' Roeska said in an interview. '(General Motors, Ford and Stellantis) agreed that U.S. electrification will take a lot longer. Even if the target picture of high EV share in the U.S. has not changed, (manufacturers) are waking up to the fact that they must improve EV profitability without significant volume growth and maintain investments into legacy products for longer,' Roeska said in a recent report. Hard to bet against Tesla Tesla is the current EV market leader and despite a huge increase in competition and lower expectations for the overall market, is expected to retain its ascendancy, said MCQ's Hopkins. 'It's hard to bet against Tesla. They're vertically integrated, have a dominant brand, and continue to lead on software and over-the-air updates. As long as they maintain that pace of innovation, they'll likely still be the U.S. leader in 2030,' said Hopkins. According to Kelley Blue Book , the Tesla Model Y led the U.S. EV market in 2024 with sales of 373,000 and a market share of 28.6%, the Tesla Model 3 was next with 190,000 (14.6%). Then came the Ford Mustang Mach-E with 52,000 or 4.0%. 'That said, keep an eye on some dark horses. Chinese automakers like BYD and NIO are getting serious about international expansion, and if trade policy allows, they could become a factor in the U.S. by the end of the decade.' The All-Electric Ford Mustang Mach-E (Photo by) Getty Images 'Among the legacy automakers, Ford, GM, and Volkswagen have all shown real progress. Their ability to scale EV production and leverage existing dealer networks could help them close the gap, especially as more affordable models hit the market,' according to Hopkins. Twice the power, half the weight, half the cost He doesn't expect any game-changing battery technology before 2030, just incremental improvements in battery design. The long- promised solid-state battery revolution – twice the power, half the weight, half the cost - isn't close as researchers stumble over mass production techniques. And the trouble is that as consumers hear about this huge, imminent improvement, they are likely to be wary of buying an EV, and risk having its residual value torpedoed by game-changing technology. That could put the skids on EV demand as 2030 approaches. More bad news for EV makers came this week, courtesy of a survey of 15,000 drivers around the world by oil-giant Shell. The survey showed drivers in America are becoming more reluctant to switch to EVs from ICE vehicles. Those considering switching fell three percentage points to 31% compared with a year ago. In Europe, the reluctance was more ominous given the massive EV targets set for 2030. According to the survey, 41% said they would consider switching to an EV, down from 48% last year. Shell operates 75,000 charging points around the world including the U.S., Europe and China. *(Hybrids use computer power to combine for maximum efficiency with gasoline engines, and have relatively small batteries. They provide maybe 1 mile of electric-only driving. PHEVs have bigger batteries which can be charged independently and can provide up to 75 miles of electric-only transport. EREVs, like the Mazda MX30 R-EV, use small combustion engines to charge the battery. The MX30 R-EV is always powered by electricity.)
