Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem suggested on Sunday that children brought to the country illegally by their parents “have a choice” in the matter.
In a discussion about detaining undocumented families, CBS host Margaret Brennan asked if Noem was comfortable with children being locked up in detention centers along with their parents—a policy the Trump administration revived after taking office.
“Remember, everybody has an option,” Noem said on Face the Nation. “They have an option to be here legally or illegally, and they can self-deport as well.”
“The kids don’t really have a choice in this,” Brennan interjected before she was cut off.
“Well, the kids do have a choice," Noem said. “If they have parents, they make a choice to keep their families together, if they want to or not.”
Brennan appeared puzzled at Noem’s suggestion that children choose to “keep their families together” or do otherwise.
Noem appeared to backtrack, shifting the responsibility back onto parents.
“If parents make a decision to leave their children behind, then that’s a choice that they made as a family,” she added.
As part of President Donald Trump’s campaign to deport “millions” of undocumented immigrants, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement began detaining parents with deportation orders along with their children at a facility in Karnes City, Texas, on Thursday. President Joe Biden had discontinued the practice—which began under former President Barack Obama and continued through Trump’s first term—in March 2021, according to the Washington Post.
“We’ve got detention facilities across the country, and there’s specific ones that are built specifically for families if they are detained,” said Noem, who has earned the nickname “ICE Barbie” for getting dolled up on a series of the agency’s raids.
Trump faced withering criticism in his first term for not only detaining immigrant families but also separating parents from children in a policy known as “forced separation.” The Trump administration eventually ended the practice after public outcry.
Brennan asked Noem whether DHS planned to resume breaking up families.
“I don’t know that we’re actually reviving it,” Noem snapped back before unleashing criticism on Trump’s predecessor.
“Biden didn’t follow the law,” Noem said. “He made decisions to ignore federal law in how he handled immigration and enforcement within our borders.”
“If you break our law, then there’s going to be consequences,” she added.
Noting that DHS has run up against capacity issues under the president’s deportation spree, Brennan asked whether the administration would use military bases like Fort Bliss in Texas to detain immigrants.
“There is, yes, a plan to use the facilities at Fort Bliss for detention facilities,” Noem said.
