A heated debate erupted on Fox News' "Outnumbered" after Democratic strategist Marie Harf criticized Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem for posing in front of prisoners in El Salvador, calling the imagery reminiscent of "Nazi-style ideology."
Harf: You're right, Democrats want to deport illegal immigrants and support that. They don't support people with legal Visas getting disappeared off the streets or Kristi Noem standing in front of prisoners.. pic.twitter.com/cbxBRXPFQi
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 28, 2025
Harf, a former deputy spokesperson for the State Department, argued that while Democrats support deporting illegal immigrants, they do not endorse what she described as extreme rhetoric and visuals, pointing to Noem's photo in front of men deported from the US to a Salvadoran prison as particularly "offensive."
Fox host Larry Kudlow dismissed Harf's comparison, accusing Democrats of using the term irresponsibly. "Whoa, don't go there, Marie. The Democrats trying to slur over 'Nazi' completely backfired," he said.
Harf insisted the imagery itself was disturbing. "It's not a slur, Larry. That imagery was one of the most offensive things I've ever seen," she said.
"You do realize, she was standing in a prison in El Salvador of hardened criminals," co-host Kayleigh McEnany said, emphasizing that Noem was sending a message about law and order.
The mega-prison Noem visited Thursday houses hundreds of Venezuelan migrants deported from the US on contested legal grounds. The Trump administration claimed that the deportees are members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang, which it has designated as a terrorist organization. However, relatives and lawyers for several of the migrants claim they have no connection to the group.
The Americas director of human rights group Amnesty International, Ana Piquer, said earlier this week that the mass expulsion—which led to a judge's order to halt the deportations—"represents not only a flagrant disregard of the United States' human rights obligations, but also a dangerous step toward authoritarian practices."
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