Minnesota leaders are reacting Thursday to President Trump’s announcement that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is vacating her post after facing increasing scrutiny following the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good at the hands of federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.
Noem was one of the leading forces behind Operation Metro Surge, which targeted the entire state of Minnesota, including Minneapolis and St. Paul. At the height of the operation, there were roughly 4,000 federal agents in the state and White House officials say that there have been at least 4,000 arrests connected with the federal operation.
Following the controversial immigration crackdown, administration officials tell CBS News the aggressive tactics used by ICE and CBP had become politically problematic nationwide, drawing criticism not only from Democrats but also from some supporters of the president’s immigration agenda who viewed the operations as overly broad and poorly executed.
Several officials said that in the weeks following the Minneapolis controversy, Noem lost support from key figures inside the White House, even after appealing directly to both the president and senior White House officials in an effort to salvage their standing.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Noem’s departure is good news, but added the Department of Homeland Security still needs to make other changes.
“Kristi Noem has done a stunning amount of damage and it’s good she’s gone. But this doesn’t change the fact that we need a complete overhaul of DHS, impartial investigations into the killings of two American citizens, and information on children that were taken from Minnesota,” Walz posted on X.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey responded to the news with two words: “Good riddance.”
U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum released a scathing statement, referring to Noem as the “most inept, incompetent, and dishonorable leader in the history of the Department of Homeland Security.”
“Minnesotans will never forget the terror that Kristi Noem unleashed upon our state,” McCollum said. “Firing her is just the first step to ending the lawlessness that she oversaw at DHS.”
The Democratic congresswoman for Minnesota, like Walz, also called for an overhaul of the Department of Homeland Security.
“It is up to Congress to rein in an out-of-control department and rebuild agencies that respect the civil and constitutional rights of the American people,” McCollum said.
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith released a statement calling Noem’s firing “welcome news,” but said it should have happened sooner.
“Firing Kristi Noem will not bring back Alex Pretti. It will not bring back Renee Good. It will not make Minnesota whole again after the horror and devastation wrought upon us by Operation Metro Surge,” Smith said. “Until Congress passes meaningful restraints to rein in ICE’s terror, nothing will substantively change. ICE will take its reckless and dangerous behavior to whichever city or town the President decides to target next.”
U.S. Rep Angie Craig, who helped lead articles of impeachment against Noem in the House, urged Democrats not to support the nomination of Noem’s replacement, Markwayne Mullin.
“While this is welcome news, we should all be clear that President Trump is firing Noem because she made him look bad, not because he believes her tactics were wrong,” Craig said in a statement. “Minnesotans know we are not out of the woods yet and we can’t afford another rubber stamp for Trump’s immigration agenda leading DHS. And even though we’ve seen that loyalty is a one-way street for this president, that’s exactly what Markwayne Mullin will be.”
U.S. Sen Amy Klobuchar also said Noem’s removal from the Department of Homeland Security was “overdue.”
“Under the leadership of Secretary Noem, the constitutional rights of people across our state were violated and two Minnesotans were killed. Alex Pretti and Renee Good should be alive today,” Klobuchar said.
Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy released a statement saying, “Good riddance to Kristi Noem, whose cruelty and corruption is a reflection of the mission that sent her to Minnesota. This is beginning of Noem’s accountability, not the end. She lost a job title and access to a private jet. Minnesotans lost their freedom, lost family members, and Renee Good and Alex Pretti lost their lives. Reassigning Kristi Noem and Greg Bovino does nothing to heal the harm they’ve done. I look forward to them facing real consequences.”
DFL Party Chair Richard Carlbom said Minnesotans are “safer” with Noem out and that her “lawless and reckless leadership cost American lives and brought chaos to our streets.”
Nonprofit Unidos MN says Noem’s ousting is “a reminder that organizing works.”
“Accountability is a long road, and no single personnel change will undo the damage that has been inflicted,” said Emilia González Avalos, executive director of Unidos MN. “But leadership matters, and the abuses that occurred under Kristi Noem’s watch were inexcusable. Her removal from office is the result of communities refusing to stay silent and demanding that those in power answer for the harm done to our neighbors.”
