U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a roundtable on antifa, an anti-fascist movement U.S. President Donald Trump designated a domestic "terrorist organization" via executive order on September 22, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 8, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
The Department of Homeland Security issued an unusual personal attack on a Democratic strategist, quoting from the Adam Sandler movie "Billy Madison" and calling her "insanely idiotic" after she claimed that ICE is violating people's civil rights.
CNN contributor Maria Cardona spoke on a panel with anchor Audie Cornish early Monday, responding to questions about protests and ICE agents in Chicago.
"Look, let's remember that protesting peacefully is a right that we all have as American citizens... one of the things we cannot lose sight of here is the egregious violations of civil rights that ICE is involved in every single day in so many communities," Cardona said.
She argued that people protesting and filming the incidents should not physically attack ICE agents.
"[ICE officers] are not there to keep the peace. They are there, I believe, to incite these protests that Donald Trump is now using as an excuse to bring in the federal troops," Cardona said. "ICE is violating American citizens' rights. They are detaining American citizens for days on end. So the focus of ICE is not to deport violent, criminal undocumented immigrants, in fact, the vast majority of immigrants that they have detained have absolutely no criminal record."
"They're slamming women, children on the floor, separating families. They attacked a priest for God's sake," she added.
DHS wasn't happy with her comments, using a line from the 1995 Adam Sandler comedy "Billy Madison," Deadline reports.
The agency, which includes ICE, lashed out and responded to Cardona's remarks using the government X account:
"What you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things Americans have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent statement were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone is now dumber for having listened to it. Far from engaging in criminal behavior, federal law enforcement actions have significantly REDUCED crime in the cities we have been deployed to. Locking up criminals works, imagine that."
In the movie "Billy Madison," the school principal tells the main character this:
“Mr. Madison, what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.”