WASHINGTON – During a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing today, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) pressed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem on the department’s overspending and what she’s doing to combat cartel recruitment of American teens on social media.
Watch Senator Gallego’s questioning HERE.
Senator Gallego started his questioning by highlighting his new 5-pillar plan for immigration and border security reform.
“The Trump Administration has provided strong border security. We definitely see that in Arizona. My concern is that is not sustainable, it is expensive,” Senator Gallego said. “That is why I released a commonsense border security that would make it sustainable and lead to long-term solutions.”
Gallego then asked Noem to justify spending $50 million on a jet she would use for unnecessary travel, which often includes costume changes and photo-ops, while DHS is on track to run out of money by mid-July and Republicans are planning to kick 13 million people off Medicaid to fund tax cuts for the rich.
“Your department is overspending right now and is on track to run out of money again by mid-July. This is to support a mass deportation campaign that cannot be afforded. At the same time though, you requested a $50 million allotment for a gulfstream jet – $50 million of taxpayer money to subsidize some of your national tours you’ve been going on,” said Senator Gallego. “Meanwhile, Republicans are about to kick another 13 million people off Medicaid to fund tax cuts on the backs of working-class Americans. So how can you justify spending millions – $50 million – on a jet while your department is definitely overspending, and Republicans are about to strip health care from millions of Americans?”
Senator Gallego also highlighted reports of law enforcement officers pulled away from their duties to act as supplemental ICE agents.
“I talked to some law-enforcement besides those under DHS. We’ve seen some officers that have been pulled away from investigations such as child porn, sex trafficking, and we’ve had some agents pulled in that were doing investigations on bank fraud which are now provisional ICE agents,” said Senator Gallego. “I think creating them and making them do this work is making them more and more dangerous since they are not doing a long-term investigation.”
Finally, Gallego asked Noem to commit to keeping American children and communities safe from cartels who target teenagers through social media and recruit them to participate in smuggling operations. In January, Senator Gallego introduced the Combatting Cartels on Social Media Act to help DHS counter this threat.
“I’ve talked to some border sheriffs, and they have been highlighting the danger associated with cartels targeting teenagers in border communities through social media apps and getting them to participate in smuggling operations,” said Senator Gallego. “One of the bills I introduced with several colleagues here was the Combatting Cartels on Social Media Act, which will help DHS counter this threat. Arizona communities cannot wait for the legislative process to play out on this.”
5/20/25