Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, spoke out after celebrities such as Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish criticized the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Grammy Awards, telling Fox News Digital that their criticism was "ill-informed."
"I wish they knew what wonderful, amazing people our ICE officers are," Noem said during an interview at a Mississippi National Guard facility in Tupelo on Monday. "Many of these officers live in the communities where they are doing enforcement activities. Their families live there and that's their neighbors they are protecting by getting dangerous criminals off the streets. They are going after those murderers and rapists, people that are trafficking drugs, and protecting America."
Noem continued, "That is what President Trump said he would do, he said he would make us safer, and he has done that. We have reached historic lows in crime rates in this country, the lowest rate of murder and crime since we have been recording it for over 100 years."
"So it's real results, people are feeling it in their communities, and it's too bad that ill-informed famous musicians make statements like that without truly knowing what great Americans our ICE and Border Patrol officers are," she added.
During the Grammy Awards on Sunday, pop star Billie Eilish was among several celebrities who criticized the Trump administration and ICE. "No one is illegal on stolen land," Eilish said while accepting the Grammy for Song of the Year. "I feel really hopeful in this room, and I feel like we need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter, and the people matter."
Wearing an "ICE OUT" pin, Eilish also emphasized the urgency of continued activism during her remarks. Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny also took direct aim at ICE during his Grammy acceptance speech, using the moment to denounce the agency and defend immigrants' humanity. "ICE out," Bad Bunny said while accepting the Grammy for Best Música Urbana Album. "We're not savage, we're not animals, we're not aliens - we are humans, and we are Americans."
