GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. – Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joined Border Patrol agents and local leaders while at Grand Forks Air Force Base on Wednesday, February 4 to see how immigration enforcement is going at the United States-Canada border.
“People think we forget about the northern border. It’s just as vulnerable to people coming into our country that would wish to do us harm. We have had dangerous criminals, people on the suspected terrorist watch list cross in the northern border,” Noem said in an interview with The Flag’s Scott Hennen.
Pictures of undocumented immigrants arrested at the northern border were set behind Noem while she spoke with law enforcement and city leaders including an Iraqi man arrested on rape charges and a Guatemalan man arrested for sexual abuse of a child charges.
“We’re grateful to talk to those who work in these communities to keep people safe and wanted to find out their ideas for technology, what we could do for towers and drones and where our investment should be from the department to continue to work for them,” Noem explained.
Noem said technology is used more at the northern border than the U.S.’ border with Mexico because of fewer Border Patrol agents stationed there. Towers can get video and radar to detect people trying to cross the border illegally outside ports of entry.
We are very thankful for Secretary Noem’s visit. Her recognition of the efforts of local and federal officers working together towards the common goal of border security is appreciated. We appreciate her leadership,” Grand Forks County Sheriff Andy Schneider said.
“We were happy to host Secretary Noem here in Grand Forks. We had great discussion on how our drone advancements support the northern border and beyond,” Grand Forks Mayor Brandon Bochenski said.
Noem also touched on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s operations in Minneapolis.
“Ice and [Homeland Security Investigations] went there with 650 different investigators to uncover that, started to focus on illegal criminal aliens and the leadership there revolted encouraged through rhetoric and more resistance. We heard them calling our officers names and it ended up in a situation where we had some tragedies. We want to deescalate, but we also need to enforce the law,” Noem explained.
Some have claimed Noem has inflamed tensions in Minneapolis by calling intensive care nurse Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by two federal agents, a domestic terrorist shortly after his death without giving evidence.
“I spoke with Alex’s parents the next day after we lost him. Through the tears, they talked about what he was like and how they wanted the world to know the truth and how much it hurt them to have senior administration officials call him a domestic terrorist. Call him a would-be assassin,” Democratic Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar said on the Senate floor.
Noem said in a Fox News interview the situation after Pretti’s death was “very chaotic” and she was giving details from Customs and Border Protection officials in Minneapolis.
“We were using the best information we had at the time,” Noem said on Fox News.
Noem also told Flag Family News $12 billion has been allocated for the southern border wall and more has been built that in President Donald Trump’s first term. She said 100 miles of construction is underway.
“We want to make sure we build that wall because if a new administration comes in, they may be able to turn off the technology, they may be able to turn off cameras and not operate drones, but that wall will always be there. Down in the pressure points of that southwest border, we really do need that permanency,” Noem said.
Noem said the Trump administration’s goal is to build one mile of the border wall per day and have the project finished by 2028.
