Sec. Kristi Noem blasts 'fake news' reporting putting MS-13 gang member on a pedestal

By 
 April 15, 2025

The anti-Trump left and their media allies have worked overtime to praise Salvadoran national Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, 29, an MS-13 gang member who was deported three days after his arrest in early March.

According to Fox News, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. Kristi Noem took issue with what she called "fake news" that she said put the gang member on a pedestal. 

The deported Salvadoran gang member reportedly had a protected status issued by a judge in 2019 and was not able to be deported, even though the Trump administration sent him packing.

That triggered a Supreme Court situation and an ongoing legal battle between his lawyers and the Trump administration.

What's happening?

The Trump administration admitted that he was deported mistakenly, blaming it on an "administrative error," but making it clear that they could not bring him back to the United States due to the fact that he's in Salvadoran custody.

Even though he's an MS-13 gang member and not exactly an upstanding member of society, the anti-Trump left have rallied around his safe return, even with plans to hold a vigil outside of the White House.

Those in attendance hope to convince the Trump administration -- and the president himself -- to work to bring him back to the United States.

At issue was the Supreme Court ruling that both sides are arguing went different ways.

Fox News noted:

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration must "facilitate" his return, but stopped short of requiring the government to return him to the United States. Both Abrego Garcia’s attorneys and the Trump administration interpreted the decision as a win.

Noem speaks out

Sec. Noem said she believes the high court's decision was crystal clear and favored the Trump administration, contrary to what the man's lawyers claimed.

"Yes, I think that what the Supreme Court said here in this decision was a very clear message to other judges across this country, is that stop acting like you have the authority to dictate foreign policy and national security decisions that the president is making to protect its citizens," she said during a Fox News interview.

She added, "So, this was just one of those examples of an individual that was an MS-13 gang member, had multiple charges and encounters with the individuals here… trafficking in his background, was found with other MS-13 gang members, very dangerous person."

"And what the liberal left and the fake news are doing to turn him into a media darling is sickening."

Only time will tell how the case and the PR part of it ultimately shake out.

" A free people [claim] their rights, as derived from the laws of nature."
Thomas Jefferson