During a press conference on Thursday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was asked about Rep. Elvira Salazar's (R-FL) DIGNITY Act which would streamline some immigration proceedings, increase protections for immigrants, and enhance border security measures.
00:00So I haven't read the Dignity Act yet, although I have talked to the Congresswoman about it.
00:15I know that she's looking forward to having some debate on this in Congress with the House and the Senate.
00:21You know, what I do and what ICE does every single day is go out and enforce the law.
00:24What we do and what President Trump has directed us to do is to make sure that we're upholding federal law
00:30and that we are making sure that it applies equally to everybody.
00:34No longer will the law apply to some people and not to others.
00:37Illegal criminals in this country are not going to get priority over American citizens.
00:42So I'm incredibly proud of our ICE officers that they're out there every day,
00:46making sure that we're getting murderers, rapists, pedophiles off of our streets and getting them out of our country.
00:52We'll continue to look at what Congress brings forward.
00:56Remember that if people don't like the law, they can change it.
01:00They just need to have Congress do that.
01:02What we do is that we implement and we uphold the law.
01:05Yes.
01:09Yes.
01:14I don't have any more details that I can share with you.
01:17I do want to introduce a couple of people that I have behind me.
01:20I have with me Hobb McNeil and Adam Stahl, who are the leadership team at TSA,
01:25and they are the ones that have been deep involved in these security procedures that we undertake every day
01:31and checkpoints and making sure that they're effective,
01:33and then also looking at some of the policies we have today as to how we can add technology
01:39to streamline some of the processes and maybe remove some of the requirements that we do have today.
01:44So as we implement new technologies at checkpoints, that may be one of those procedures that we can evaluate
01:51and not require for passengers anymore.
01:54And remember, every single thing that happens at a checkpoint today is being evaluated,
01:58and we're very excited to partner with a lot of private companies to bring us the technology we need to streamline this experience.
02:04Yes, sir.
02:05We have a layered security process right now that we did not have, I would say, five to seven years ago,
02:20and the technology and scanners of either luggage or individuals and the exit lanes as well streamlines it,
02:27makes it go a lot faster.
02:28Every time you have more and more agents out here that are required to do more hands-on,
02:33it slows things down for those passengers.
02:36So we are currently talking to many different companies about what they can do to streamline their processes
02:42as far as combining the screening process so that individuals can walk into a checkpoint
02:46and not have to take off their shoes.
02:49The next ones that we will be evaluating is what it requires for the liquids, for removing electronics, all of those.
02:55My goal would be that someday someone could walk into an airport, walk through a scanner, and go right to their airplane.
03:02That's the goal, and that's the challenge I've put in front of TSA and these companies,
03:06and I'm hopeful that we'll continue to be able to make good announcements like this.
03:09What are we going to do to make sure that we're going to do some process that we've got to travel through airports?
03:17It seems that everybody knows that we're going to be able to travel through airports.
03:20It seems that everybody knows that we're going to be able to travel through airports.
03:22So you can make me take out my...
03:24Yeah.
03:26I've noticed that too.
03:28Yes, we're streamlining our training and our management as well.
03:31And one thing I'll remind some folks is we've got some airports in this country
03:36that also have private companies that do the screening, TSA contracts with them.
03:40But we do think it needs to be consistent, and we are working to do that
03:44and to make sure that every passenger, when they walk in, that they know exactly what's expected of them
03:49so that it can go faster and be much more streamlined so it's more efficient.
03:54My last question.
03:56Sure.
03:56Well, one of the things that we're excited about is with the bill that just passed that had resources in it,
04:09President Trump's big, beautiful bill, had resources for TSA that will have the ability to invest in that technology.
04:15So we have hundreds and hundreds of airports across the country.
04:17So it's a big investment, but I'm also looking for a private-public partnership
04:22in a way that will be really accountable to taxpayers and take our dollars even farther
04:27to make sure we get the best technology, but also negotiating that contract for the constant upgrades
04:32that are necessary when you implement that kind of opportunity and machines like you see in front of us.
04:38When we go to the next level, it's going to be something that we'll need to continuously stay on top of
04:44so that we can stay on top of the threats that are out there as well.
04:46Yes, ma'am.
04:52Okay.
04:58Yeah.
05:02Mm-hmm.
05:07Mm-hmm.
05:10Yeah, what I would say to them is to go home.
05:14They still have the opportunity to self-deport.
05:16To go back to their country right now, we're buying plane tickets for people to go back to their home countries.
05:22And also, when they land, we give them $1,000.
05:25And then they get the opportunity to come back the right way.
05:29That is still the very best option for everybody who's in this country illegally.
05:33And that would be my hope is what they would do.
05:34I've actually gone to, I think it's 10 different countries already and talked to those countries about supporting their citizens when they come back home.
05:43Many countries in Latin America have instituted already programs that when individuals come back home, they will give them loans for houses.
05:50They will give them training for jobs.
05:52They will give their children scholarships for an education.
05:55So these countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, we're going to Ecuador here soon, Argentina, Chile, Mexico.
06:02I've traveled to many of these countries and visited with them, and many of them want to welcome their citizens home and are partnering with the United States so that when people do go home, they have an opportunity there as well.
06:14But if they want to come back to the United States, that we will help facilitate that in a timely manner, too.
06:19We're streamlining our visa programs.
06:22We're streamlining our workforce programs so it will be much quicker and responsive.
06:26So that will be better.
06:28One of the things that I would say is if you wait until we deport you, then you will never get the chance to come back to America.
06:34So my hope is that many people will do it the right way.
06:36The people who are being removed right now today are people that have crimes against them that they've either been convicted of or they have charges against them or they have final removal orders.
06:54So that is the focus and the priority of the Trump administration.
06:57If they are somebody else has been interviewed and has been talked to and has been detained by ICE for that process and that due process, it could be because of who they're affiliated with or the business that they were affiliated with.
07:12Yes.
07:17How I want to what?
07:18Oh, yeah, as it exists.
07:27I think people have this idea of what FEMA is, and it needs to change how it exists today.
07:37FEMA is supposed to be an agency at the federal level that looks at disaster response through a different lens than what it has in previous years, especially under the Biden administration.
07:48All emergencies and disasters should be executed by local officials, people in those local cities and counties.
07:55It should be then managed by the state.
07:58The state manages that disaster response and makes the best decisions for the people that live there.
08:02The federal government should come in and support, which means what do you need?
08:07What can we get you?
08:08How can we help?
08:09And especially when you look at a situation like Texas, when it's so widespread and there's such a devastating loss of life and families who are suffering, it has to be immediate.
08:18That has not been FEMA's story in the past.
08:20And so that is what we are changing, is FEMA being responsive, immediate declarations that launch help.
08:28We saw our Coast Guard was on the ground.
08:32And that's the other thing is, you know, the box of responding to these states and the needs that they have doesn't just come through FEMA.
08:38The Coast Guard was there within hours.
08:40Border Patrol was there with their BORTAC teams responding and helping people get rescued from the swift waters.
08:45FEMA was there within hours.
08:47We've had over 700 different people from FEMA deployed to that area.
08:52So what needs to happen is that we should not have FEMA officials making all the decisions for how to run that emergency.
08:59That state and those local officials should.
09:02We come in and support them.
09:03What you saw happen in Texas was much more how FEMA will look in the future.
09:07It won't look like the response to Katrina or the response to even Helene and what happened in North Carolina,
09:14where people waited weeks and weeks and months and months for help or for people to show up or help was promised and it never came.
09:21You look at claims from Katrina, some of them still haven't been paid today.
09:25That's what President Trump wants to fix, and that's how he wants to take care of people.
09:29We have had a partnership that President Trump implemented on immigration enforcement that has been a whole-of-government approach,
09:48which means we have many, many different agencies that are partnering with us.
09:52So Border Patrol is one of those.
09:55Marshals have been helping us, the ATF, the DEA.
09:58We've had different states, their Highway Patrol, their law enforcement officials have helped us, many sheriffs.
10:04We have agreements called 287G agreements that we've signed.
10:07I think we have over 800 of those across the country.
10:10So using all these different agencies, local, state, and federal, helps us to be much more cooperative,
10:16and we're very thankful for Greg's leadership.
10:19He's been a fantastic leader in making sure that we're going after those worst of the worst criminals that we see across this country.
10:26I'll take one more question.
10:28I wish one of you today would have asked about some of the families that actually lost somebody
10:54because of an illegal criminal.
10:56I would have asked a question about some of these families who are victims of crime that's been perpetuated across our streets.
11:02Because it's very rare I get asked a question anymore at press conferences about what the consequences have been of our open border.
11:08President Trump has removed over 600 known and suspected terrorists from this country since he's been in office.
11:14Thousands and thousands of known gang members, TDA members, MS-13 members.
11:18So if they're going to a third country, if we're deporting them to a third country, it's because their country doesn't want them and won't take them.
11:25That means that many of these individuals are murderers, that they're rapists.
11:29They're individuals, their own country doesn't want them back.
11:32And so we're removing them to a third country.
11:33We've got some.
11:36Everybody's being treated humanely.
11:37Absolutely.
11:38Once they are out of the United States, it is not our responsibility to make sure that we have jurisdiction over them.
11:44But we have cooperative agreements with many, many different countries to be safe countries for us.
11:52And they're meeting their requirements of that and following the law.
