Mark Kelly says ICE must ‘get out of Minneapolis,’ calls for Kristi Noem to be fired

PHOENIX — Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly wants Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to lose her job.

“Kristi Noem needs to be fired,” he told MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” show on Wednesday morning.

That’s just the starting point for the Democratic senator. Kelly also wants to see the leaders of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) step down.

“The senior leadership there, the ones that have implemented these policies, these people need to go,” he said.

He made these comments a few hours before Noem spoke about the border live in Nogales. She spent her time at the podium honoring President Donald Trump’s border enforcement and talking about her accomplishments.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is visiting Arizona. She’s scheduled to speak in Nogales at 10 a.m. to make an announcement about the border wall.

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Mark Kelly critiques DHS leadership, ICE training

Kelly took umbrage with ICE’s budget, which has ballooned under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The spending law allocates about $170 billion for border immigration enforcement through 2029, according to The Associated Press.

“Its budget is way overbloated. It’s approaching the size of the Marine Corps,” Kelly said. “They’re hiring a massive amount of people, and it’s pretty obvious to me they’re not training them well.”

According to DHS, Homeland Security Investigations candidates undergo more than 100 days of specialized training, whereas immigration enforcement and removal operations personnel receive 42 days.

“They’re wearing tactical gear as if they were in Fallujah as special operators, tactical helmets and fatigues, and vests on the outside, military equipment to intimidate, and then you put masks on so nobody knows their identity. No nametags,” Kelly said. “We’ve got to get rid of the masks.”

Kelly spoke in the wake of a federal immigration crackdown, which has included two fatal shootings of citizens in Minneapolis and the arrests of four undocumented migrants by Homeland Security during an identity theft investigation at Valley Zipps Sports Grill locations.

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