ICE Barbie Fumes at Dem for Mocking Trump as ‘Demented’

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has come out swinging in President Donald Trump’s defense after a top Democrat called him a mean word.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker spoke out on Tuesday about the Trump administration’s ICE crackdown in his state, saying the president “doesn’t know anything about Chicago” and “still thinks Chicago is some place that’s on fire,” adding that “the man is demented.”

“Governor Pritzker’s personal attacks against President Trump put his people in jeopardy each and every day,” the secretary, dubbed “ICE Barbie” for her penchant for cosplaying in various uniformed roles, told Fox News on Wednesday morning. “I’m so thrilled with the results we’ve had in Chicago, and we’re gonna surge more resources there.”

Pritzker had criticized the president for his overnight threat on Truth Social to deploy troops to Chicago over a supposedly distressed shopping center that does not exist.

Over the past several weeks, the Trump administration has deployed a stream of federal law enforcement officers to Chicago to combat what the president insists is an immigrant-driven crime wave in Illinois’ largest city.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem looks on during a press conference to discuss ongoing immigration enforcement efforts in Chicago — Noem lambasted Pritzker as she sang the praises of her agents in Chicago over the past several weeks. Jamie Kelter Davis/Getty Images

Department of Homeland Security stats, displayed by Fox News before Noem gave her comments Wednesday morning, suggested federal intervention in Illinois’ largest city have now resulted in a 16 percent reduction in homicides, a 35 percent reduction in shootings, a 41 percent reduction in robberies, a 48 percent reduction in carjackings, and a 20 percent reduction in transit crime.

Those figures would appear to belie a more nuanced reality, outlined in statistics released earlier this year by the Chicago mayor’s office, which indicate overall violent crime was already down 22 percent in the city on the previous year, including a 32 percent reduction in robberies and a notable 49 percent reduction in carjackings. Murders in the city this summer, well before the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown was launched across Chicago, also were at their lowest since 1965.

Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino of the El Centro Sector stands amid a protest outside an ICE facility in Broadview on Sept. 27, 2025. Bovino, who recently spearheaded controversial immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago, faces demonstrators voicing opposition to immigration policies. — Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino has come under particular fire for what critics describe as his and his team’s brutal tactics against suspected undocumented immigrants. Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images

Amid what the Trump White House has dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” and under the leadership of Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, agents have carried out mass arrests of reportedly more than 3,000 allegedly undocumented migrants in the city. Critics have decried what’s been described as aggressive tactics by those squads, including liberal use of tear gas, pepper balls, and rubber bullets against targets.

Trump’s administration has reportedly now made plans for Bovino and his teams to leave the city for new operations further afield. Some outlets suggest the CBP official may be diverted to Charlotte, North Caroline, for a fresh deportation drive slated to begin there later this month.

“The people of Chicago have deserved better than having Greg Bovino and CBP in this city,” Pritzker said Tuesday. “I would not say that we’re now gonna be free of these terrorized neighborhoods, and we’ll have to continue to protect our neighbors and our friends and our families.”

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joins ICE operation — Noem has dressed up as an ICE officer while accompanying a raid in Los Angeles. Department of Homeland Security/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images

Noem seemed to bristle Wednesday morning at both Pritzker’s comments and the wider controversy surrounding the immigration crackdown in Chicago lately carried out under Bovino’s direction.

“We’re not just gonna be in Chicago, we’re spreading out to be in other cities and continuing to do our work,” she said. “I won’t talk about specific operations, but we’re not gonna give him any relief from his political rhetoric.”

“The significant difference that we’ve made in public safety in Chicago is something that we need more, in many more cities,” she added.

The Daily Beast has reached out to Pritzker’s representatives for comment on this story.

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