Madam Secretary --
Thank you, Madam Secretary.
What will it take to end the violence in Minnesota?
It'll take law and order and leadership there that partners with us that we haven't seen yet. In my discussions with Governor Walz and from what I've seen on his press gatherings, he still is not willing to work with our federal officers to bring peace to the streets of Minneapolis.
Madam Secretary? Madam Secretary, do you have any plans to pull out of Minnesota? And how would you --
No plans to pull out of Minnesota.
And how would you describe what you were seeing on the ground there? Would you describe it as an insurrection? And do you believe the president should invoke the Insurrection Act?
I'd describe it as violent and -- and a violation of the law in many places. I discussed with the president this morning several things that we are dealing with under the department and different operations. We did discuss the Insurrection Act. He certainly has the constitutional authority to utilize that.
My hope is that this leadership team in Minnesota will start to work with us to get criminals off the streets. Remember, we are there and surged operations because of the largest fraud scheme in American history. We had people stealing from taxpayers, stealing funds away from the most vulnerable individuals in this country, people who needed mental health services, developmental services, autism, daycare.
Instead, individuals came in, much from the Somalian community, and stole dollars from those people who needed it and put it in their own pockets and enriched themselves, did it right under Governor Walz's nose. And we believe that he didn't just know about it, that he may be complicit in it as well.
Madam Secretary? Can you --
[Crosstalk]
Thank you, Secretary. Do you believe there are any cases in Minnesota where the ICE agents have gone too far?
Our ICE agents are following the law and running their operations according to training. Last night what we saw was three individuals who weaponized shovels and brooms to attack an ICE officer that had to defend himself. So, we're hopeful that we don't see that again, that these protesters and violent rioters will be held accountable for the actions that they're taking and that our officers can do their work safely.
Madam Secretary? Madam Secretary? [Inaudible] information. Can you give us an update on that ICE officer's condition after he was hit with a shovel?
You know, he was --
[Inaudible] cars looted in Minnesota. Can you provide an update on what the agency's going to do about that, and any concern with the documents that were taken by those [Inaudible]?
Well, I believe that those vehicles were FBI vehicles, not our Department of Homeland Security vehicles, so I'm not certain what documents were in there that those criminals may have taken and seen. But I would say that our agent is beat up. He's bruised. He's injured. He's getting treatment, and we're thankful that he made it out alive.
Madam Secretary? Secretary Noem? Madam Secretary? Secretary Noem, are you ok with federal agents and officers violating people's Fourth Amendment rights by asking for papers without reasonable suspicion?
Every single action that our ICE officers take is according to the law and following protocols that we have used for years, that this administration has used, the previous administration used. They are doing everything correctly. And over and over again in litigation in the courts, we've proven that they've done the right thing.
Why is it within [Inaudible] to do that? Madam Secretary? Madam Secretary? [Inaudible] within their right to ask for papers -- You said you discussed the -- Without reasonable suspicion? Insurrection Act with the president. Sorry [Inaudible]. You say you discussed the Insurrection Act with the president.
Did you recommend that --
No, we just discussed it --
Being taken?
That it was one of the options that he had constitutionally. And we talked about the fact that we're going to continue our operations in Minneapolis and have the resources that we need to get the job done.
Madam Secretary? Madam Secretary? How many tankers is our Coast Guard tracking that are loose? And are they -- are any of them out of the Caribbean that you're tracking worldwide?
I can't speak to the specifics of the operation, although we are watching the entire shadow fleet and how they're moving. I'm very proud of our Coast Guard, how they've partnered with the Department of War to do unprecedented actions in bringing these flags under jurisdiction that often -- or these ships under jurisdiction that in many instances aren't flagged, or they're affiliated with a country moving this unauthorized oil to avoid our sanction policy.
And Madam Secretary, can I follow up quickly? Perhaps if -- [Inaudible]
What's that?
When -- when -- like, the video that was posted this morning, do you watch any of those operations?
Absolutely I do.
Did you share them with the --
Absolutely.
President today?
Yes, absolutely. We do. That's -- we've -- haven't slept a lot lately between the Coast Guard operations, what they're doing in partnership with the Department of War in -- in dealing with the shadow fleet, what we're also doing as far as operations with law enforcement across the country. Department of Homeland Security's very busy.
Thank you. Madam Secretary, perhaps to follow up, why are we seeing Americans being asked on the street to provide proof of citizenship in Minnesota? Is that targeted enforcement? And are you advising Americans to carry proof of citizenship?
In every situation, we're doing targeted enforcement. If we are on a target and doing an operation, there may be individuals surrounding that criminal that we may be asking who they are and why they're there and having them validate their identity. That's what we've always done, in asking people who they are so that we know who's in those surroundings.
And if they are breaking our federal laws, we will detain them as well until we run that process.
Are you advising Americans to carry proof --
[Crosstalk]
Just to follow -- are you advising Americans to carry proof of citizenship, the second half? Do you think there needs to be an Insurrection Act?
Oh, I think that the president has that opportunity in the future. It's his constitutional right, and it's up to him if he wants to utilize it.
Do you think he's likely to do it?
I don't know.
[Inaudible] the situation? Will it lead to more deadly killings in Minnesota if the Insurrection Act is invoked?
If anything doesn't change with Governor Walz, I don't anticipate that the streets will get any safer or more peaceful. Governor Walz and his leadership team need to come to us and find out how we can work together, like we have in many other states. We didn't see this kind of reaction in Louisiana when we ran our operations exactly how we are running them in Minneapolis.
But we had a very different response because we had leaders that were working with us. If you saw our operations in Florida, extremely successful. In Minneapolis so far, we've brought hundreds of criminals off the streets that were dangerous to society and dangerous to that community. We would wish that Governor Walz could take an example from the governor of Louisiana, the governor of Florida and work with us to do the right thing for his people.
Will the Insurrection Act [Inaudible]
[Crosstalk]
Last question.
Your officers are [Inaudible]? You know, the officers that we have out there are very highly trained and skilled specific for the operations that they're doing. They're utilizing the most gifted individuals on these operations to go out and to do enforcement. Because many times, if -- they're going after murderers.
They're going after professionals and gangs and terrorists that are here in our country illegally. And I'll remind you the only reason we're in this situation is because the Biden administration allowed 20 million people to come into this country, unvetted, unvetted. My every day is spent thinking about the known terrorists that are in this country that I just haven't found yet, the suspected terrorists, the criminals, the murderers, the pedophiles that are out there on the streets that we need to find and get off the streets because Joe Biden opened up our borders and allowed that invasion to happen.
If you can imagine the kind of dysfunctional criminal gangs and organizations that used that open border as an opportunity to infiltrate America, it's overwhelming at times. And that's why President Trump is so strong at taking action and making sure -- he's in every single state following through on his commitments to every single citizen.
Does the president know with his final straw would be to invoke the Insurrection Act?
No, this president uses all the information and intelligence that he can get. That's why he calls me, he calls Pete, he calls local law enforcement. He talks to those individuals and agents as well that are involved that he knows well. This president makes fully informed decisions and utilizes his authorities when it's appropriate.
Are you worried that bringing in the military will inflame the situation? Maria Machado is coming to the White House today. Are you going to be in the meeting, because a lot of illegals are from Venezuela, or are you going to talk to Delcy Rodriguez [Inaudible]?
I think I have other commitments today. We are putting in the new commandant of the Coast Guard. He is having his swearing in ceremony, so I'll be doing that. And then I have some meetings with law enforcement. So, I will not be in that meeting, but the president will keep me informed. Thank you.