Homeland Security Defends Ad Campaigns Amid Congressional Scrutiny

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is under fire for ad campaigns that have drawn criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike.

The criticisms began with a $200 million ad campaign in which Noem urges illegal immigrants in the United States to self-deport. Lawmakers have raised questions about the price and efficacy of the campaign, as well as the fact that the ads were produced by the husband of recently-departed DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.

But the Department of Homeland Security tells The Daily Wire that the ads in question are part of a broader campaign, which also includes ads airing overseas warning illegal aliens not to attempt to cross the border.

“We now have the most secure border in American history in large part because the DHS international ad campaign warning illegal aliens to stay out was a MASSIVE success. This hyper-targeted ad campaign ran in eight countries and reached over 46 million people,” DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said.

“The results show the world heard our message that America’s borders are CLOSED. Daily encounters at the border are down 95%. Under the Biden administration the average daily apprehensions at the southern border were more 5,100. Now under President Trump and Secretary Noem, the average daily apprehensions at the southern border are about 250,” she added.

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD) laid into Noem over the domestic ads, saying “You’re treating the billions of dollars our colleague showered on your department like a personal slush fund, you budget in an astonishing $220 million dollars for media consulting contracts so you can star in self promoting photo shoots in lavish ad campaigns.”

Bis also responded to Raskin’s comments, saying that the Maryland Democrat “and his fellow sanctuary politicians are mad because our ad campaign SECURED the border.”

Noem pushed back in the same hearing when Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) claimed DHS had awarded a “no-bid” contract to produce the ads, saying that “other companies competed for this, because there [were] two different vendors that were chosen.”

Republican Senator John Kennedy (LA) also questioned Noem about the ads, saying it was “hard for me to believe” that President Donald Trump would be ok with the ad campaign. Kennedy, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, also suggested that DHS had not held a proper bidding process before awarding the contract.

DHS is currently facing a funding lapse as Democrats in Congress remain at odds with the White House over federal immigration enforcement tactics. However, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” signed last year has kept ICE largely funded, as TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard are bearing the brunt of the shutdown.