Several high-ranking immigration officials — including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons — visited a stretch of border wall east of Nogales Wednesday.
Earlier this week in an email about the event, DHS officials said that Noem would be delivering a major border wall update at Wednesday’s media conference. Noem, however, did not make a clear announcement. Addressing reporters and federal officers, she praised President Donald Trump for a decrease in border crossings over the past year.
“President Trump believed that we still have a country, and he believed that it was a country worth fighting for,” she said.
Noem did not take questions from reporters during the press conference. She also did not discuss ongoing tensions in Minneapolis, where federal immigration agents shot multiple civilians over the past month, including the fatal shootings of residents Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
While the event was held in Santa Cruz County, the county’s Board of Supervisors was not present at Noem’s event, nor was Santa Cruz County Sheriff David Hathaway.
In a statement Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva, whose district includes the area, called Noem’s visit a “publicity stunt.”
“Instead of listening to local leaders, she continues to push for militarization, treating border communities like war zones rather than places where families live, work and thrive,” Grijalva said.
Grijalva, in recent days, has repeatedly called for Noem’s resignation, citing the recent escalations in immigration enforcement operations.
