On Sunday, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem entered the media lion's den, appearing on CBS News' Face the Nation. The host, Margaret Brennan, tried to trip the secretary up concerning the number of detained illegal aliens with criminal records, but Secretary Noem just wasn't having it.
.@Sec_Noem: 70% of the illegals detained by ICE have been convicted of or charged with a crime.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 18, 2026
Margaret Brennan: "It's not 70%."@Sec_Noem: "It absolutely is."
Is Margaret Brennan stupid or does she just really hate facts? pic.twitter.com/bwDWFbYoSy
Here's how that conversation went:
Margaret Brennan: What's the breakdown of the percentage of those who you have in custody, that have actually committed a criminal offense versus just the civil infraction?
Kristi Noem: Every single individual has committed a crime. Though 70 percent of them have committed, or have charges against them on violent crimes. Crimes that they are charged with, or have been convicted of, that have come from other countries, that are here illegally, first of all. And then, they have committed a criminal act while they've been here, or in their home countries, as well.
MB: It's not 70 percent.
KN: Yes, it is. It absolutely is 70 percent.
MB: 70 percent of everyone that...
KN (interrupting): You guys keep changing your percentage, you pick and choose what numbers you think work, but that is the fact. That 70 percent of the people that we have detained have charges against them or have been convicted of charges. And they need to be brought to justice, so we're going to keep doing that no matter how much you guys keep lying and don't tell the public the truth. It absolutely is, that these law enforcement officers are out there every day, doing the work to protect the American people, and they will keep doing that because they believe in enforcing the law, which is exactly what President Trump has charged them with.
And the microphone hits the floor.
That's Legacy Media 101 that Margaret Brennan is attempting here. First, she downplays the fact that illegal border crossers commit a crime just by entering the country at all, handwaving it away as a "civil infraction." Then she objects to the percentage of detained illegal aliens having either charges against them or convictions on their record, when the Trump administration has been saying all along that they are focusing the detention and deportation efforts on known troublemakers.
It's a bit mystifying why anyone from the Trump administration would appear on a show like this, where it's a foregone conclusion that the host/hosts will be looking for a "gotcha" moment. But the legacy media still commands huge audiences, and the best way to combat bad information is with good information.
The Sunday talk shows are still where many Americans get their political news. There are alternative sources; you're reading one right now. But the big networks and the big shows still command huge audiences, and so Trump administration officials will keep entering that lion's den, fending off bad information with good.
Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
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