Will Kristi Noem show up in full gear to arrest blue-city mayors?
Maybe so, but that will be up to the boss, Donald Trump
By Mike Sorrell
Former South Dakota-Gov. Kristi Noem became the nation’s director of Homeland Security last Saturday night.
Noem, who is fond of deer-hunting, horseback riding and other outdoor activities, has packed away her Western attire.
Three nights into her new job, Noem was on the dark streets of New York City, looking like a Rambo-babe in her olive-drab uniform, baseball cap and bullet-proof vest with ICE emblazoned across the front. Her long, dark hair streamed down to her shoulders, so she was not a typical bob-haired cop. She appears to like her new job and new look.
In New York that night, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, the alleged leader of the Tren de Aragua gang that engaged in violent crime last year in Aurora, Colorado.
Noem, in a Fox News interview the next night, told Sean Hannity she wants to know what her department's law enforcement agents do and what they need to do their jobs. Makes sense, and besides, that sounds like it can be more of an adrenaline rush than sitting behind a desk.
President Donald Trump picked Noem for the job, and she coasted through confirmation by the Republican-dominated Senate. She knows one key aspect of her job is to appear as often as possible on Fox News. Trump likes Fox and foxy.
One night later, Noem was back in uniform, answering questions from the ever-dyspeptic Laura Ingraham. The exchange between the two became testy on Ingraham’s part, the Fox News website reported.
Before questioning Noem, Ingraham played videos of the mayors of Boston, Minneapolis and Chicago. The three of them said they will not cooperate if ICE agents try to remove non-violent immigrants who have not committed crimes. Ingraham asked Noem if those blue-state mayors will be arrested.
“Yes, we will be going into those communities,” Noem said.
Ingraham said Noem did not answer the question. She asked again. Noem again dodged the question.
“But will you go after them personally?” said a perturbed Ingraham. “I’m going to ask you for a third time. I am asking a question because I expect an answer.”
The Fox News site reported, “Noem finally relented, saying that would be a better question for Donald Trump.”
That’s the short version. Noem's answer was fuller. Here’s what Noem said: "Listen, Laura. Nobody is above the law. Of course we will. But that's up to President Trump. President Trump gives us the direction. I don't sit here and make up a decision on what to do. I follow the law. That's my job. We treat everybody equally in this country now that we have President Trump in the White House, and [he] is going to give us direction on how we go after these individuals."
Which is to say, Donald Trump is the law. He decides who gets arrested by ICE, the FBI and any other federal law enforcement agency, and he decides who does not.
Some dark night in Chicago, Minneapolis or Boston, a mayor sitting comfortably at home might look out the window onto the street and, standing there, among a horde of federal agents, will be a woman with long, dark hair and dressed in an olive-drab uniform, baseball cap and a bullet-proof vest emblazoned with the word ICE.
If she’s out there, Trump sent her.
It is getting real for a lot of people. I hope people find it in themselves to stay strong.