On Thursday, March 5th, 2026, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem was fired by President Trump. This firing comes in the wake of an extremely eventful 14-months for DHS. A Trump administration official told The Atlantic that “Replacing Kristi was based on the culmination of her many unfortunate leadership failures.” While Noem’s policy and the campaigns she led were not the sole reason she was fired, they are what many Americans will remember her for. Noem led a zealous crackdown on immigration, so extreme that it reshaped the DHS’s public identity. For example, no federal agency in recent memory has faced the level of public hostility that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) currently faces. Noem’s approach to immigration was very different to her predecessors, and to many it appeared as if she was taking a quantity over quality strategy when it came to finding a solution. This is a mindset that was mostly fueled by demands from the president that ICE arrest 3,000 immigrants a day, which is over a million a year.
Ultimately, they fell short of this goal: according to DHS, ICE deported around 600,000 immigrants in 2025. In 2024, ICE deported around 270,000 immigrants, so there was still a substantial jump.
ICE saw other statistical highs while under the leadership of Kristi Noem. Just a few weeks into 2026, ICE surpassed 70,000 immigrants being held in detention centers, and DHS reported that in 2025 they received 220,000 ICE job applications. Some Americans view statistics like these as part of a positive swing towards a safer America, while others view them as proof that America is inching closer to an authoritarian state. No matter how these statistics are interpreted, one thing remains true: as Noem’s ambitions grew, standards at DHS and ICE dropped. While ICE detentions shot to new highs in 2025, there was a 36% decline in ICE detention facility inspections. Similarly, 32 people died while being held in ICE detention in 2025, close to triple the number of deaths in 2024.
Former ICE training instructor Ryan Schwank testified in front of congressional Democrats about cuts made to ICE training programs. When asked about how much training was removed, he said, “out of a 584-hour program, they cut about 240 hours.” These classes that Schwank says were cut from the training program include lessons on firearm safety and the fundamentals of the Constitution.
DHS would respond to Schwank’s testimony by claiming that “no training hours have been cut.” Schwank would respond to this in turn by accusing DHS of lying. This lack of training, if true, would explain instances where ICE agents seemed oblivious of proper protocol. Notable examples of which are the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Despite a clear drop in standards at DHS, it still would not be the main reason Noem would get fired. While Noem was the head of DHS, she led a $220 million ad campaign to promote the Trump administrations immigration policy. However, many would interpret these ads as attempts by Noem to promote herself, and her possible 2028 presidential campaign.
During a congressional Noem was asked about the ads and weather they were approved by President Trump, she said “Yes. We went through the legal process, did it correctly.” After hearing this, President Trump was angered. He would call multiple news outlets, telling them that he never approved any of the ads Noem was talking about. Many experts point to Trump’s promise to crackdown on immigration as a major factor in him getting elected, and Trump started his second term with much support around his immigration policy. A Reuters poll found that 16% more people disapprove of Trumps Immigration policy now compared to the beginning of this term. A large factor in this disapproval jump is due to Kristi Noem’s poor handling of ICE, and it seems as if this ad campaign was the final straw for Trump.
Kristi Noem will be succeeded by Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin. Mullin, like many of Trump’s cabinet members, doesn’t have the traditional qualifications of a department head. Before becoming a politician, Mullin owned a family plumbing company and was also a professional MMA fighter. During his time in the Senate, he has been a part of multiple committees but lacks a background in law enforcement and homeland security. With Noem in power the past year has been one that many Americans will remember in infamy. Her departure hasn’t just thrown the future of the department into uncertainty, but the safety of Americans as well.
