By Sharon Zhang
This article was originally published by Truthout
Only about a third of voters say they believe Noem should not be impeached, Data for Progress found.
A majority of voters believe that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem should be impeached, new polling finds as backlash to her unconstitutional raids of U.S. communities grows.
Data for Progress finds that 52 percent of likely voters say that Noem should be impeached for her handling of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) killing of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good. Only 36 percent said that they disagreed — a 16 point margin.
Eighty percent of Democrats agreed that Noem should be impeached, compared to only 8 percent who didn’t. Those in support also included 54 percent of independents and even 21 percent of Republicans.
The polling was conducted from January 30 to February 2, about a week after DHS agents shot and killed Pretti — a killing described as an execution by critics.
Noem is facing growing pressure to be removed or impeached. In the wake of Pretti’s killing, dozens of Democrats signed on to impeachment articles introduced against her in the House. There are now 182 cosponsors for the articles, making up 85 percent of the Democratic caucus.
The articles accuse Noem of obstructing Congress, violating public trust, and self dealing.
Recently, reports have also found that Noem and the agency under her direction are openly flouting the Constitution. In an op-ed published Monday, former DHS general counsels say that DHS is seemingly trying to “wish away” the Fourth Amendment in a memo directing agents to enter homes without a warrant.
And in a decision last month, a federal judge said that Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are “not honoring the First Amendment” in their campaign to detain and deport pro-Palestine students like Mahmoud Khalil.
On Tuesday, Democrats held a rally calling for Noem to be impeached or fired, highlighting the many abuses by DHS in recent months. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) has said that the caucus is working on gathering support for the articles in hopes of a “successful vote” in the near future.
“When we say it is time for Kristi Noem to go, we mean it now,” said Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) at the press conference. “If Kristi Noem does not resign and the president doesn’t fire her, Democrats are ready and willing to impeach her.”
Data for Progress’s polling also found that a slim majority of voters, at 51 percent, believe Donald Trump’s top immigration adviser Stephen Miller should be removed from his position following the killings. This includes 77 percent of Democrats and 23 percent of Republicans.
Meanwhile, the favorability of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has plummeted in recent months. Whereas roughly half of Americans approved of ICE as of January 2025, now only 39 percent of voters view the agency favorably. In the same amount of time, those who view ICE unfavorably shot up from 36 percent to 58 percent, the polling found.
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