A New York Times reporter Monday called Kristi Noem's Department of Homeland Security feed "very worrying" and an "egregious overstep" by the agency.
"Has anyone looked at the Department of Homeland Security's X feed?" New York Times reporter and CNN contributor Lulu Garcia-Navarro asked during a live panel with CNN anchor Kasie Hunt.
The department shared several shocking videos and images, including one reshared from Immigration and Customs Enforcement by DHS that says, "PORTLAND — Refuse to walk? We'll give you a ride." The video features a person in custody lying on their stomach and handcuffed, set to the 2005 Chamillionaire song "Ridin'."
"I would urge people to go and have a look at that because I think it undercuts the message that this is about either fighting crime or immigration enforcement," Garcia-Navarro said. "I mean, there is a very worrying political message being sent with that feed, basically saying 'America is for Americans,' people's fists in the air. It's resonant of darker periods in history that I think is troubling.
She also argued that this message shows what the Trump administration is really most focused on.
"And I also think the bigger question around this is, what is the administration really after here? Because you can look at this and say, 'Why is the administration at war with American cities? Why are they focused so much on sending military into cities that have not asked for it?' While they are not perhaps occupied with other things internationally, or the cost of living at home, or many other things that are important, they are very focused on these culture war issues," Garcia-Navarro added. "They are very focused on picking fights with Democratic cities. And I think that there is a larger question here about what it is that they actually want."
Some of the footage DHS is sharing is stunning — and in many ways — can tug on people's heartstrings, she said. It also puts ICE's moves in question.
"Because there's a question, even Trump said it himself, like, 'Maybe we shouldn't send those people back who've been here working so hard. Right?' And then he got a lot of pushback on that," Garcia-Navarro said.
"I'm quoting here from my publication, The New York Times," she said. "In Chicago, agents have deployed tear gas with no warning, raided apartments and zip-tied residents for hours in the middle of the night, handcuffed a city council member at a hospital after she asked to see an arrest warrant for a detainee. These are serious, you know, sort of egregious overstep of what ICE should be doing. And so the question becomes, are you going to just allow that to happen? Or or is there a mechanism in place to say that's not."
