Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem defended Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on Thursday, rejecting claims that federal agents violated the Constitution during recent enforcement actions in Minnesota.
Speaking to reporters, Noem said ICE officers were acting within the law when they asked individuals for identification, even without reasonable suspicion, dismissing concerns that such actions ran afoul of the Fourth Amendment.
“Our ICE agents are following the law and running their operations according to training,” Noem said. “They are doing this correctly.”
A neigbhor who saw what happened told local MPR news: “She was trying to turn around, and the ICE agent was in front of her car, and he pulled out a gun and put it right in — like, his midriff was on her bumper — and he reached across the hood of the car and shot her in the face like three, four times” / Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
Her remarks come as tensions continue to escalate in Minnesota following protests sparked by ICE activity, including a fatal shooting involving a federal agent. The controversy has drawn national attention after President Donald Trump warned he could invoke the Insurrection Act if state leaders failed to stop what he described as attacks on ICE officers.
The rarely used law would allow the president to deploy the military domestically to quell civil unrest. When asked about the seriousness of the threat, Noem said Trump had the authority to invoke the act if necessary, while encouraging Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to cooperate with the administration.
Civil rights advocates and Democratic officials have warned that ICE agents demanding identification without cause could violate constitutional protections and further inflame public anger. Noem, however, brushed aside those criticisms, framing the enforcement actions as professional and legally sound.
The administration’s hardline posture comes amid a broader push to aggressively defend ICE operations nationwide, even as protests, lawsuits, and political backlash grow.
Later Thursday, Trump was also expected to meet at the White House with María Corina Machado, marking their first meeting since U.S. authorities captured Venezuela’s now-deposed leader Nicolás Maduro.
