QOTD: Don't Expect Improvements At DHS

 

The Guardian's Moira Donegan looks at what lies ahead for the Department of Homeland Security, now that Kristi "ICE Barbie" Noem was canned (apparently along with her alleged paramour Corey Lewandowski) and has moved on to a made-up job in the regime.  Her orders came from the sick bigot Stephen Miller, and her replacement is a muscle-headed goon who can be expected to carry out orders from the White House, too:

"Noem was incompetent, corrupt, and seemingly indifferent to both the law and to human suffering. But in this, she was not so much a liability for the Trump administration as a perfect embodiment of Maga governance. Her rule over DHS was marked by an aggressive pursuit of the mass deportation and ethnic cleansing campaign that Trump campaigned on heavily in 2024; she seems to have been heavily influenced in her decision-making by the advice of Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff who is known for his hardline views on immigration and racial supremacy. “'Everything I’ve done, I’ve done at the direction of the president and Stephen,' she is said to have told one interlocutor.

Noem’s departure, then, seems unlikely to ring in a new era of responsibility, legality or professionalism at the department. In his post firing her, Trump said that Markwayne Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma and a former MMA fighter, would be the next DHS secretary; technically, such an appointment requires Senate approval, but Mullin’s nomination seems unlikely to face much meaningful resistance in the Republican-controlled upper chamber. Mullin, a close Trump ally and immigration maximalist, is unlikely to mark much of a departure from Noem, either in policy substance or managerial savvy. The mass deportations, self-dealing and aggressive, even seemingly contemptuous approach to citizens and their rights seems likely to continue for as long as Trump, Miller and their allies control the vast apparatus of the DHS."  (our emphasis)

Mullin won't undo the damage done by the Malignant Fascist's cruel and illegal campaign of terror against immigrants; he'll continue it, perhaps only with some greater attention than his predecessor to the bad publicity it generates. The bad times will continue.

BONUS: Here's Markwaynesworld. Feel safe?

Meet the new Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin:

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— Home of the Brave (@ofthebraveusa.bsky.social) March 5, 2026 at 6:13 PM

(photos: Out with the old, in with the old/ Getty Images)

 

Will ICE Barbie Noem Be Sacked?

 

There are rumors that Homeland Security Secretary and MAGA cultist Kristi "ICE Barbie" Noem is set to be fired early in the new year by the unhinged Malignant Fascist.  The Bulwark reports (full report behind paywall) that several White House sources have indicated that Noem has worn out her welcome there and that her "alleged" sexual relationship with her de-facto chief of staff, the execrable Cory Lewandowski, has become a liability:

"For weeks, a rumor has been circulating in political circles that Noem may soon be on the outs. It briefly surfaced in a CNN report a few weeks back that listed her first among the cabinet officials who could be caught in a year-end turnover, noting that while Trump himself has been happy with Noem, top White House officials have grown frustrated with her tenure—specifically, her employment of her divisive and combustible chief adviser, Corey Lewandowski.

Noem has downplayed any tensions or concerns. And in a text to me, Lewandowski called bullshit on any talk of turnover. 'None of that is true,' he said Thursday evening.

But in conversations with three former DHS officials—who served in both the Biden and Trump administrations and are still in touch with current staff—it was made clear that Trump is indeed considering moving on from Noem. Two of those officials said they believed such a move could happen 'really soon,' relaying that they’ve been told Noem has been taking on less of a role in directing department memos." (our emphasis)

The ambitious Noem's penchant for attracting media attention by cosplaying in law enforcement gear and her overdone makeup, long tresses and general Mar-a-Lago look have resulted in the "ICE Barbie" moniker.  Her "alleged" relationship with Lewandowski (who, like Noem. is married) has been called the "worst kept secret in D.C." for many months.  The over zealous way in which she's overseen the vicious and random mass deportation actions of ICE and the Border Patrol have won her allies on the white nationalist far-right, but is widely disapproved of by most Americans.  She's one of the MF's most slavish ass-kissers, actually giving the MF credit in a recent Cabinet meeting for keeping hurricanes away this year.  In the end, her obsequious behavior may not save her job.

(photos: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty; Chip Somodevilla/Getty)

 

Deranged Trump Thinks Muslim Ban Is "Working Out Very Nicely" (UPDATED)

(click on image to enlarge)


(Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune; the image refers to this abomination)

From the mouth of the delusional crackpot himself:

"It's working out very nicely," Trump told reporters. "You see it at the airports. You see it all over. It's working out very nicely and we're going to have a very, very strict ban, and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."

For visual evidence of how the crackpot's Muslim ban policy is "working out very nicely," let's take his lead that "You see it at the airports," and go here for how it's working at the airports in Seattle, Chicago, Dallas/ Ft. Worth, San Diego, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis and Philadelphia (there was also a huge demonstration at Washington Dulles). Also, here.

CNN reports on the reality of the clusterf*ck that has evil eminence Steve "Loose Cannon" Bannon's fingerprints all over it:

The policy team at the White House developed the executive order on refugees and visas, and largely avoided the traditional interagency process that would have allowed the Justice Department and homeland security agencies to provide operational guidance, according to numerous officials who spoke to CNN on Saturday. 

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Department of Homeland Security leadership saw the final details shortly before the order was finalized, government officials said. 

Friday night, DHS arrived at the legal interpretation that the executive order restrictions applying to seven countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Yemen -- did not apply to people who with lawful permanent residence, generally referred to as green card holders.
There had been some debate whether green card holders should be even allowed to board international flights. It was decided by the Department of Homeland Security they could fly to the US and would be considered on a case-by-case basis after passing a secondary screening. 

But the guidance sent to airlines on Friday night, obtained by CNN, said clearly, "lawful permanent residents are not included and may continue to travel to the USA." 

As of Saturday afternoon, Customs and Border Protection continued to issue the same guidance to airlines as it did Friday, telling airlines that fly to the US that green card holders can board planes to the US but they may get extra scrutiny on arrival, according to an airline official. 

Before the President issued the order, the White House did not seek the legal guidance of the Office of Legal Counsel, the Justice Department office that interprets the law for the executive branch. A source said the executive order did not follow the standard agency review process that's typically overseen by the National Security Council, though the source couldn't specifically say if that included the decision to not have the order go through the Office of Legal Counsel. 

Separately, a person familiar with the matter said career officials in charge of enforcing the executive order were not fully briefed on the specifics until Friday. The officials were caught off guard by some of the specifics and raised questions about how to handle the new banned passengers on US-bound planes. 

Regarding the green card holders and some of the confusion about whether they were impacted, the person familiar with the matter said if career officials had known more about the executive order earlier, some of the confusion could have been avoided and a better plan could be in place.

(It doesn't warm our hearts much to know that, had "career officials" known more about the executive order, they could have helped put a better plan in place. That's exactly what we need - a bureaucracy willing and eager to enable this fascist's un-American plans in a more efficient way.)

As the folks at Lawyers, Guns and Money have it: "The Trump Administration’s Incompetence Is Exceeded Only By Its Malevolence, And Vice Versa".

Following a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, a Federal judge ordered a temporary restraining order blocking part of Rump's ban (judges in Seattle, Boston and Virginia have also weighed in):

Late Saturday night, a federal judge in Brooklyn temporarily halted parts of President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive order that aimed to block the entry of Syrian refugees and impose a de facto ban on travelers coming from several Muslim-majority countries. [snip] 

“The petitioners have a strong likelihood of success in establishing that the removal of the petitioners and others similarly situated violates the rights to Due Process and Equal Protection guaranteed by the United States Constitution,” U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York wrote in her order.

Being the lawless, illegitimate fascists they are, Rump's Homeland Security (at the behest of Bannon, who is point fascist on implementation) is defying the court order and says it will continue to uphold Rump's directive.

And we're 8 days into this nightmare.

UPDATE: Rump's despicable order strands Iraqis with lawful visas that served as interpreters and aides to the U.S. military in Iraq. The next time we reach out for assistance from them to fight terrorists, does anyone think they'll risk their lives and those of their families to help us? Hell no.

Honoring Holocaust Remembrance Day -- With A Criminal Alien List

What fresh evidence is there of the reality of the Orwellian shitpile we fell into a week ago today? There's so much to choose from -- paying off Putin by lifting economic sanctions, the "voter fraud" investigation that will end up as a cover for more voter suppression, the sabotaging of economic ties with major trading partner Mexico --  ad infinitum, all in a mere 7 days.  But this deserves special attention for that certain je ne sais quoi ripe odor of American fascism:

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. Yesterday, however, Donald Trump decided to “celebrate” a day early by signing an executive order requiring the Secretary of Homeland Security to “make public a comprehensive list of criminal actions committed by aliens” — which is a thing the Nazis did back during the days of the Third Reich in a little magazine known as “The Criminal Jew!” Trump hopes this will convince people that all the immigrants are bad criminals whom we should hate, just as the Nazis… well, you know.

Perhaps neo- fascist authoritarian Donald "Rump" Trump, who reportedly kept a copy of speeches by Adolf Hitler by his bed, came up with the "idea" on his own. Or perhaps unhinged toad Steve "Bubble Boy" Bannon just cooked it up, without consulting adults. After all, the ex- Breitbart fascist's electronic rag was known to publish lists of crimes committed by African Americans under the tag "Black Crime" as a counterpoint to the Black Lives Matter movement, so we can well imagine this is another sick "idea" from this loathsome creep.

A Muslim registry (a revival of NSEERS?) is already in the works, after all.  But, their Islamophobia may only go so far: they may be exempting people from Muslim countries where (wait for it) there are Trump hotels and properties.

We know, surprising.

BONUS: By the way, guess who omitted mentioning Jews in his Holocaust Remembrance Day statement?