Detroit — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. John James held a roundtable discussion in Detroit on Friday, with a key focus on our northern border with Canada.
The panel discussed several issues confronting the current Trump administration’s efforts to secure the nation’s borders and deal with the breathtaking flow of unfettered illegal immigrants that occurred under the Biden administration.
Noem focused her opening remarks on the failures of former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, referring to him as an uncooperative partner in President Trump’s initiative to secure America’s border with Canada.
“Trudeau was a train wreck,” remarked Noem, noting his refusal to confront the flow of drugs and illegal immigrants flowing from northern ports of entry into America. However, she expressed optimism that new Prime Minister Mark Carney “would be a different individual who will work closely with the Trump administration.”
The ultimate thrust of Noem’s comments was to promote President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on a party-line vote and currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate.
James, appearing primed and energized for his run for governor, led off the panel detailing his commitment to the Trump doctrine on the border crisis. He also explained his support for Trump’s tactics of using tariffs as a negotiating tactic with our neighboring countries—mentioning Trump’s success forcing Mexico to commit more security personnel on their side of the border to reduce border crossings.
The ominous theme of the event was made clear to all in attendance: The current successes this administration has had locking down and securing the southern border has highlighted the threat to America via our border with Canada, with drug mules, human traffickers, gang activity, and potential terrorists now probing American border security from the north.
“Bad guys are like water,” said Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy, “They find the path to least resistance.”
Raising eyebrows in the room, but connecting to recent events in the state involving criminal activity at U-M, Noem reported a 1,000% increase of illegal entries through the northern border, with an unusually high percentage being Chinese nationals.
Noem was blunt in her comments on the legal hurdles both she and the Trump administration face in their attempt to fight to secure American. As they try to remove over 280 known terrorists, the bulwark against their initiative has been “liberal judges who won’t enforce the rule of law.”
Senior Tribal Advisor for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security David Flute briefly discussed the impact on Indian-owned lands throughout the northern regions of the U.S. and highlighted the threats international gangs and drug traffickers pose to Native American populations, already suspicious of government authorities, by bullying them into silence on their own land.
As an act of personal bravery and defiance, only days after little-known Sen. Alex Padilla of California attempted to accost her at a press conference before being forcibly removed and arrested, Noem lingered after the event, mingling with attendees while nervous security guards stood close by.
In an ultimate irony, just before the event U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz ordered the immediate release of Mahmoud Khalil, the controversial Hamas sympathizer attending Columbia on a student visa, who is suspected of multiple acts of anti-Semitism and anti-American activities.
Noem and the Trump administration appear to have their work cut out for them.
Jay Murray is a writer for Michigan Enjoyer and has been a Metro Detroit-based professional investigator for 22 years. Follow him on X @Stainless31.
