The Trump administration is moving away from the over-the-top approach to promoting its hardline immigration and deportation policies that defined the Kristi Noem era, according to a report.
Officials have told Axios that the White House is desperate to distance itself from the cringe memes, cosplaying photoshoots, and stunt filming of ICE raids that were commonplace during Noem’s tenure as homeland security secretary.
One former DHS official said “cooler heads,” such as White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, have “prevailed” and are now trying to change the administration’s messaging after Trump fired Noem last month.
The decision to move on from the era of Noem—dubbed “ICE Barbie” for her love of cosplaying in various uniformed roles—comes as voters have largely turned on the aggressive tactics used by ICE agents while carrying out Trump’s immigration policies.
This backlash intensified in the wake of the shooting of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis within weeks of each other. Even the White House wanted to stop Republicans from using the term “mass deportations,” as the phrase had become so politically toxic with voters.
“There was a priority on people seeing the enforcement actions,” the former DHS official told Axios. “Some of the law enforcement actions you see, even if they’re hardened criminals, it can be hard optics. They can be hard to stomach when you’re seeing really physical altercations.”
“You have the base that is demanding this action, and you need to get them out for the midterms. And if they’re not seeing it, to them, it’s not happening.”
Noem, known for her love of highly stylized anti-immigration photo ops, frequently dressed up as an ICE agent during morning raids in U.S. cities last year as part of efforts to “emphasize visuals” of the hardline deportation policies.
On one such raid, in September 2025, footage of which Noem gleefully shared on social media, ICE agents inadvertently detained a U.S. citizen in Chicago.
Even before Trump unceremoniously fired Noem in March, steps had already been put in place to sideline her at DHS. This included the president bringing in White House border czar Tom Homan to lead on-the-ground immigration enforcement in Minneapolis in the wake of the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good under Noem’s watch.
In an interview this week on America First Legal’s podcast, Homan confirmed he is working to change ICE’s social media presence and move away from its aggressive messaging.
“I think that’s gonna be important because we can’t lose the faith in American people,” Homan said.
In a statement to Axios, White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson said: “Nobody is changing the administration’s immigration enforcement agenda.
“Thanks to President Trump’s strong immigration enforcement policies, approximately 3 million illegals have left the United States, either through forced deportation or self-deportation, with zero illegals coming through the most secure border in U.S. history for nine straight months,” Jackson said.
DHS spokesperson Lauren Bis added: “We will continue to highlight on social media enforcement actions our officers have taken against the worst of the worst.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and Department of Homeland Security for further comment.
