TAMPA, Florida — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pledged Saturday to intensify immigration enforcement nationwide, pointing to a massive funding injection from President Donald Trump’s newly signed domestic policy bill as the driving force behind a ramped-up crackdown.
“With the president’s reconciliation bill — the ‘big, beautiful bill’ — now law, we’ve got more resources than ever,” Noem declared at a press conference in Tampa. “We’re coming harder, we’re coming faster, and we will take these criminals down with greater strength than this country has ever seen.”
The sweeping legislation, a cornerstone of Trump’s second-term domestic agenda, allocates tens of billions of dollars to agencies under the Department of Homeland Security. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) alone is set to receive nearly $75 billion through 2029 — $45 billion of which will go toward expanding detention capacity. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will receive more than $46 billion, with much of it earmarked for constructing and reinforcing the southern border wall.
Noem defended the Trump administration’s controversial immigration agenda, which includes proposals to end birthright citizenship, expedite mass deportations, and increase “third-country removals” — deporting migrants to nations other than their countries of origin. She also referenced the recent ICE raids across Southern California that have drawn widespread backlash.
“President Trump has a mandate from the American people to restore law and order and make our communities safe,” Noem said.
Legal Setback Meets Defiant Response
Noem’s remarks came just a day after a major legal rebuke to the administration’s tactics. A federal judge in Los Angeles issued a temporary restraining order against DHS, ruling that immigration agents had conducted stops and arrests during recent raids without probable cause. Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, a Biden appointee, barred the department from detaining people based on race, language, accent, or mere presence at certain locations.
When asked about the ruling, Noem launched into a fiery defense — and a personal attack on the judge.
“She’s an idiot,” Noem said bluntly. “We are fully within our rights to enforce immigration law wherever and whenever necessary. That’s not going to change, no matter what one activist judge says. Her claims are absolutely false.”
The White House echoed Noem’s stance, sharply criticizing the ruling in a statement to CNN.
“This is a gross overreach of judicial authority,” said White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson. “No federal judge has the right to set immigration policy. That power lies with Congress and the President. Enforcement operations are carefully planned and executed — responsibilities well outside the scope of any courtroom.”
Despite the court’s ruling, both DHS and the White House made clear: the immigration crackdown will continue full speed ahead.
