Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem plays a key role in President Donald Trump's efforts to address and substantially reduce illegal immigration, and as such, she has been subjected to intense criticism and scrutiny from those who oppose Trump's policy agenda.

Following her recent visit to a maximum security prison in El Salvador for violent gang members and terrorists, Noem was knocked for the expensive luxury Rolex watch she was wearing that retails for nearly $50,000, according to Business Insider.

Those critiques coincide with accusations that Noem and the administration have violated the purported due process rights of violent criminal illegal alien gang members in the U.S. who, rather than be deported back to their home nations, were instead incarcerated in the notorious Salvadoran detention facility.

Noem's video at the Salvadoran prison

It was on Wednesday that Sec. Noem posted a video on X that featured her standing in front of a crowded cell of prisoners at El Salvador's infamous CECOT prison facility, in which she delivered a stark message for criminal illegal aliens in the U.S.

That message from President Trump and herself is: "If you do not leave, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and you could end up in this El Salvadorian prison."

I toured the CECOT, El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center.

President Trump and I have a clear message to criminal illegal aliens: LEAVE NOW.

If you do not leave, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and you could end up in this El Salvadorian prison. pic.twitter.com/OItDqNsFxM

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) March 26, 2025

Noem's expensive watch identified

Business Insider reported that some critics who viewed the video were quick to call attention to the "unmistakably high-end" watch that Sec. Noem was wearing, which has been identified as a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona.

Per the iconic watchmaker, the Cosmograph Daytona was specifically designed with endurance racing in mind, hence the name, and according to the website, the 18k gold model Noem had on her wrist retails for $47,000 -- though BI noted that the luxury timepiece often resells for even more because of its rarity.

"It's bold, flashy, and unmistakably high-end," online watch marketplace Bob's Watches founder and CEO Paul Altieri told BI. "Within the Rolex family, the Daytona is like the exotic sports car -- powerful, expensive, and built for those who want to stand out."

Critics complain about Noem's watch

Business Insider noted that anti-Trump attorney Tristan Snell suggested the expensive watch was at odds with the administration's populist messaging, and said, "Tell me again how these Trumpers are just regular folks rather than wealthy oligarchs looting and grifting America."

It also quoted an anonymous TikTok user who quipped of Sec. Noem's video, "What did we learn from this video where they're using people as props, men behind cages to present theatrics to the world? We learn if you're gonna do it, get your Daytona Rolex Watch."

In response to those and other critiques about the secretary's expensive watch, a DHS spokesperson revealed that Noem purchased it herself as an heirloom to pass down to future generations.

"Governor Noem chose to use the proceeds from her New York Times best-selling books to purchase an item she could wear and one day pass down to her children," DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.

In other words, the watch is something that Noem bought with her own money for herself and her family, that is of no concern to anybody else, including those who reflexively oppose the Trump administration's policies and will gripe and complain about literally everything.