Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem criticized open border policies during remarks on immigration enforcement, arguing that policies promoted as compassionate have resulted in widespread death, abuse, and exploitation along the U.S.–Mexico border.

Noem said the chaos created by lax enforcement has placed migrants in extreme danger on both sides of the border, particularly as they attempt to cross harsh terrain and waterways.

“While the left tries to tell us many times that it's somehow compassionate to allow that kind of chaos, it isn't,” Noem said.

“It was dangerous, not just on this side of the border, but on the Mexican side of the border as well.”

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She described the physical dangers migrants face during illegal crossings, including exposure to extreme heat and hazardous river conditions.

“We saw many of those illegal migrants not be able to survive the brutal terrain,” Noem said.

“They didn't survive the river crossing those causes of death, of heat and water, were dangerous.”

According to Noem, the scale of fatalities along the border became so severe that some local governments were forced to take extraordinary measures to handle the number of deaths.

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“And the left behind so many bodies that in some counties along the border, they had to install migrant morgues just to pick up the dead bodies that were passing away on their way to try to get into the United States,” she said.

Noem also referenced international recognition of the dangers associated with illegal migration during the previous administration.

“In fact, during the Biden administration and those open border policies, we saw even the UN declare that the United States and Mexico border was the deadliest land route in the world,” she said.

Beyond the physical risks, Noem emphasized the widespread criminal exploitation tied to illegal border crossings, including sexual abuse and human trafficking.

“Countless people were sexually abused and trafficked over and over again and exploited,” she said.

Noem recounted a specific case that she said illustrates the brutality of smuggling operations operating along the border.

“One story that I remember that impacted me so dramatically was a horrifying story of a father who paid a smuggler $1,000 to bring his wife and his two year old daughter into the United States,” Noem said.

She described what happened after the family crossed into the country.

“Once they got over the border, those smugglers took that mom and daughter into a stash house and kidnapped them and held them hostage for a ransom,” Noem said.

According to Noem, the smugglers demanded a significant additional payment and threatened violence if it was not immediately delivered.

“And said that father would not get them back unless he paid another $23,000 to them, and said if he did not immediately pay that they would do things to his daughter that he couldn't even imagine,” Noem said.

She added that such incidents were not isolated.

“That was happening on a daily basis because of that invasion,” Noem said.

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