Congressional Black Caucus Statement on Kristi Noem

Today, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) and members of the Congressional Black Caucus issued the following statement:

"Secretary Kristi Noem's firing should have come sooner. The CBC has made clear for weeks that Secretary Noem needed to be removed or impeached. Under her leadership, the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been out of control and operating with impunity. We have seen our communities terrorized and brutalized, innocent Americans killed in cold blood by masked ICE agents who believe they are above the law, and blatant corruption in plain sight.

"Secretary Noem is far from the only person responsible for the depraved immigration policies and practices of the Trump Administration. A personnel change with no commitment to drastic and meaningful change is just optics. No matter who leads the agency, the Trump Administration must reverse their policies and rhetoric from the top. At a minimum, ICE, CBP, and all DHS agencies and officers must conduct themselves with the same expectations and guardrails that exist for every other law enforcement agency in the country.

"We are going to continue pushing for true accountability for Kristi Noem and DHS until they are brought to justice for their abuses of power and until this culture of impunity within the Trump Administration is brought to an end. Our communities deserve safety, transparency, and a federal government that respects the rule of law-not one that operates above it."