U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has sparked fierce criticism for a video she filmed on Wednesday while touring the megaprison in El Salvador that is currently holding immigrants who were deported by the Trump administration earlier in March.
The administration defied a court order when deporting over 200 Venezuelans, who the White House alleges are gang members.
In the video, Noem stands in front of a cell that holds male detainees, some of whom are only wearing pants, and warns people against coming to the United States illegally.
"This is some truly sick s--t," wrote Fred Wellman, a political consultant and podcast host, on Wednesday. John Pavlovitz, an author and pastor, wrote "If hell exists, Kristi Noem is a shoo-in." Noem was also accused of making "content" out of the imprisoned men at the facility.
"If you ever wondered what the Gestapo would look like in 2025, wonder no longer," wrote the account Polling USA, which is run by Curtis Fric and posts publicly available data, in reference to the political police force of Nazi Germany.
Noem made the video while touring two cell blocks and other areas of the prison, perCNN. While the Trump administration maintains that the detainees who were deported have gang ties, court declarations from attorneys and family members of the migrants allege many of them are not affiliated with gangs.
"If you come to our country illegally, this is one of the consequences you can face," Noem said in the video. "First of all, do not come to our country illegally. You will be removed and you will be prosecuted, but know that this facility is one of the tools in our toolkit that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people."
When deporting the Venezuelans from the United States, the Trump administration invoked a rarely used statute that gives the president the ability to detain or deport noncitizens without first appearing before an immigration judge or federal court judge.
On Wednesday, an federal appeals court panel kept in place a lower court order temporarily barring the Trump administration from deporting more immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act.