Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says the theft of her Gucci handbag containing $3,000 in cash has made her more empathetic to the plight of everyday Americans.
"My experience was just a little bit of what the American people have been living with for years," Noem stated at a press conference on Wednesday. The purse, stolen at a DC restaurant on Easter Sunday, has since been recovered, with a suspect in custody.
Kristi Noem on getting $3,000 in cash stolen along with other stuff (including her passport) in her purse: "My experience was just a little bit of what the American people have been living with for years." pic.twitter.com/5wuu4Hc5tv
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 30, 2025
Mario Bustamante Leiva, 49, was arrested in connection to the handbag's disappearance and found to be an undocumented Chilean migrant in the U.S. illegally. Noem seized the opportunity to tie the crime to the Trump administration's mass-deportation agenda.
"The American people have been living in communities where they've been victimized by illegal criminal aliens," she said.
"It gives me new motivation, and the president new motivation every day, to continue to do the work that we're doing," Noem continued. "And that is cleaning up America and making sure that we're getting it safe again for the families who live here."
The tidy wrap-up to the purse theft follows criticism regarding Noem's publicity strategy for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Noem has been nicknamed "ICE Barbie" by critics after getting "dolled up" for ICE raids, with conservative political commentator Megyn Kelly describing the photo stunts as "ICE agent cosplay."
The former South Dakota governor raised more eyebrows when she posed for photographers in front of prisoners in El Salvador's CECOT prison while flashing an alleged Rolex.
A $200 million DHS ad campaign praising President Donald Trump's immigration policies has drawn further scrutiny.
Originally published on Latin Times
