Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem is in the spotlight and sticking to her guns—or should we say, deportation flights? Noem insists she’s in the driver’s seat when it comes to deciding who gets sent packing—and where—dismissing any suggestion she disobeyed a judge’s order to ground flights to El Salvador. Appearing on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ Noem sidestepped direct questions and pointed to active court battles, declaring, ‘It’s my call at DHS on deportations. Dangerous criminals? We won’t let them stay.’ She fired back at critics, throwing shade at what she calls ‘radical decisions’ from ‘activist judges.’ 

But the controversy is heating up. According to a recent Justice Department document, Noem’s name is front and center as the Trump administration official who, earlier this year, ignored a federal mandate halting the deportation of a group of Venezuelan men accused (by authorities) of ties to the notorious Tren de Aragua gang. It all blew up in March, when U.S. District Judge James Boasberg told officials to get the men back stateside and ordered Trump’s team to stop booting alleged gang members under the Alien Enemies Act. The memo lays it plain: the DHS legal team passed the judge’s order to Noem, who then allowed those already deported to proceed onto El Salvador.

And if that wasn’t enough, Team Trump’s facing heat over the botched case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia—shipped off to a prison in El Salvador by mistake, only later to be brought back to America. His lawyers slam the administration’s gang affiliation claims as bogus.

NBC News’ Megan Lebowitz and Alexandra Marquez broke the story, with reporting from Gary Grumbach and Raquel Coronell Uribe digging up the details.