Kristi Noem has had a highly visible and controversial week as Secretary of Homeland Security, mixing soft focus holiday imagery with some of the toughest immigration and security moves of the Trump administration.In Chicago, local NBC affiliate NBC Chicago reports that Noem appeared at Navy Pier for the citys Christmas tree ship tradition, joining the crew of the United States Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw as it delivered about 1,200 donated Christmas trees to families who might not otherwise have one. She praised volunteers for braving the cold and called the event a reminder of human compassion, but she did not address ongoing Department of Homeland Security operations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or border issues during the visit. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, speaking at a separate charity coat giveaway, used her visit to criticize broader Trump administration policies on food assistance and health care access.At the same time, Noem is at the center of an escalating legal clash in Washington over deportation flights carried out in March. According to reporting from ABC News carried by Northwest News Radio, the Justice Department has refused to reveal the full legal advice it gave Noem before she decided to continue deporting more than 100 Venezuelan detainees to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act after a federal judge ordered the planes returned to the United States. Court filings show Noem acknowledged she made the final decision to proceed after consulting senior Justice Department officials and the acting general counsel of Homeland Security. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and now Judge Emil Bove both declined to detail their guidance, citing legal privilege, while the American Civil Liberties Union told ABC News that the administration is again refusing to cooperate with the court.The Daily Beast reports that in her written declaration to the court, Noem openly accepted responsibility for ignoring the oral order from Chief United States District Judge James Boasberg and effectively challenged the court to refer her for contempt if it believes its instructions were clear. Justice Department attorneys argue the order was ambiguous because they say the detainees had already been removed from the United States, while Boasberg continues a fact finding inquiry into whether officials, including Noem, acted in contempt prior to later Supreme Court action in the case.Looking ahead, Noem is also driving major policy shifts. The Associated Press, as published by outlets such as AllSides and USA Inquirer, reports that she has announced that the Trump administration will expand its travel restrictions to citizens from more than 30 countries, far beyond earlier versions of the travel ban. Noem has described this as a national security measure targeting countries that she says are failing to share adequate security information or are, in her words quoted by several outlets, flooding the United States with dangerous individuals. According to these reports, she has also called for what she termed a full travel ban on nations that she accuses of sending killers and leeches, language that has drawn strong criticism from immigrant rights groups and some foreign governments, but strong praise from hard line supporters of the administrations border agenda.Together, these developments show a Homeland Security secretary combining high profile public outreach events with aggressive use of executive power and a willingness to push legal boundaries in pursuit of President Trumps immigration and security priorities.Thank you for tuning in, and remember to subscribe so you never miss an update. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.For more http://www.quietplease.aiGet the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOtaThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

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