Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is facing backlash for using a crowded prison cell filled with deported migrants in El Salvador as the backdrop for a video threatening to prosecute people who come to the United States illegally.
“If you come to our country illegally, this is one of the consequences you can face,” Noem said in a video filmed at the Terrosim Confinement Center, known as CECOM, and posted to social media Wednesday evening.
Behind Noem in the video is a prison cell filled with men who are huddled together, trying to fit onto three-tier metal detention beds. The men wear uniform outfits: white t-shirts and white underpants with freshly shaved heads – keeping many of their identities concealed. Some are shirtless with their tattoos visible and others wear medical face masks.
On social media, several people accused Noem of using the individuals as “props” for her video.
“Regardless of political ideology, using human beings as background props in propaganda is nasty work,” journalist Zack Guzmán wrote on X.
“What staging. Were they holding rifles pointed at the prisoners while she spoke about them like this? Either way, this is wild!” Francisco Gonzalez responded on X.
The Seneca Project called the video “absolutely vile.”
“CECOT is not EPCOT!” Cliff wrote.
Others on social media noticed Noem wearing several pieces of jewelry, including a large gold watch, and pointed to the juxtaposition of the scene.
“Wearing what appears to be a $50k gold Rolex Daytona to film a threat of due-process free rendition to a third-world prison is a really special touch, Secretary,” Patrick Jaicomo, a civil rights litigator, wrote.
Wearing what appears to be a $50k gold Rolex Daytona to film a threat of due-process free rendition to a third-world prison is a really special touch, Secretary.
— Patrick Jaicomo (@pjaicomo) March 27, 2025
Noem used the visual of the prison to threaten other migrants, claiming those who come to the U.S. illegally will be “removed” and “prosecuted.”
“But know that this facility is one of the tools in our toolkit that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people,” Noem said.
Simply entering the U.S. illegally is not a crime; it is a civil offense.
Several people on X shared their frustrations with Noem’s use of visuals to bolster her efforts to help deport undocumented immigrants.
“Anyone as tired of these photo/video ops as I am?” An X user asked in the replies.
Another social media user named Tom similarly told Noem, “Prefer you spending more time on facilitating actual outcomes; as compared to 20 social media propaganda posts every week.”
I’m tired of watching you parade around. Just do your job.
— Bren Martin (@Bren526Martin) March 27, 2025
Located in El Salvador’s capital, the maximum security prison is notorious. Inmates are packed into cells and only allowed outside of them for 30 minutes. They cannot communicate with family or receive visitors. Inmates are also not allowed to receive education.
President Donald Trump has partnered with the Salvadorian government to send approximately 230 undocumented immigrants accused of being part of the Tren de Aragua gang to the facility; however, the administration is accused of sending them there without due process.
Administration officials have not confirmed the identity of the individuals they sent nor the crimes they supposedly committed. A federal judge has blocked officials from continuing to send migrants to the prison – though a lawsuit currently accuses the administration of defying that court order.
“No American—Republican or Democrat—should accept DHS using CECOT to sidestep the Constitution,” Alex Howard, the former spokesperson for DHS, said in response to Noem’s video. “Stripping due process is un-American, full stop. We don’t protect our country by abandoning the principles that define it. We’re better than this.”
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