Kristi Noem’s enforcer and rumored lover Corey Lewandowski is driving a purge inside Immigration and Customs Enforcement—tightening the DHS chief’s grip to accelerate a nationwide deportation blitz.
Five ICE field bosses were yanked from Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego and Philadelphia on Friday and sent to headquarters after complaints about lagging removal numbers.
Inside the Department of Homeland Security, Lewandowski—whose relationship with Noem has been described as D.C.’s “worst-kept secret”—has helped compile a broader list of at least a dozen field leaders to be moved or replaced, with senior Border Patrol officials stepping into ICE posts, according to Fox News Digital.
The outlet detailed an unprecedented power shift that sources called “tense” and “combative,” and has pitched two factions against each other.
Border czar Tom Homan, 64, and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons argue for targeted arrests of those with criminal convictions and final orders to leave.
On the other hand, Noem, 53, Lewandowski and Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino want high-visibility sweeps to increase daily counts as they try to hit a ‘3,000-a-day’ deportations benchmark set by Donald Trump’s influential deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller.
Lewandowski is widely described as Noem’s “gatekeeper,” operating as a special government employee who travels with her, weighs in on personnel, and shapes enforcement tempo.
A long-form report in New York magazine detailed how the pair runs DHS’s hard-edged agenda—and how this has caused internal angst over his informal authority.
Fox reported that the Border Patrol influx marks an “unprecedented” power shift inside DHS, aligning ICE’s field tempo with Bovino’s hard-charging “blitz” model, which would be a shift in the government’s pledge to remove “the worst of the worst” in favour of pure numbers.
Bovino, 55, has become the template for Noem’s camp, leading immigration crackdowns from Los Angeles to Chicago’s “Midway Blitz.”
His hard-edged tactics are under a judge’s microscope in Chicago, where plaintiffs say he defied limits on tear gas use and he’s been ordered to appear in court.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, described it on X as a “HUGE moment”, adding: “ICE leadership is being purged tonight. The old guard, which prioritized targeted enforcement operations aimed at people with criminal records, is being replaced with Border Patrol and Greg Bovino’s ‘Midway Blitz’ style.”
Fueling the intrigue around the divide are years of rumors that Noem and Lewandowski are romantically involved—claims both have repeatedly denied.
In 2021, Noem called the affair allegation a “disgusting lie,” and soon after cut ties with the former Trump campaign director amid separate sexual misconduct accusations from a GOP donor. But he re-entered Trump’s orbit and, this year, DHS as a special government employee.
DHS officials told Fox the atmosphere is “tense” and “combative,” warning the broader blitz risks alienating the public and blurring lines between ICE and Border Patrol.
But White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson denied that there was any split. “The President’s entire team – including Border Czar Tom Homan and Secretary Noem – are all in lockstep,” she told the Daily Beast. “They are implementing the President’s policy agenda, and the tremendous results securing the border and deporting criminal illegal aliens speak for themselves.”
The Daily Beast has also contacted DHS for comment.
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