In a video of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem outside an El Salvador prison cell filled with suspected MS-13 gang members, it wasn’t the half-naked, heavily tattooed prisoners who caught social media’s attention — it was the $53,000 Rolex on Noem’s wrist.
In the video posted on X, Noem stands in front of the prisoners at CECOT, El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, and warns criminal illegal immigrants in the United States that they could face a similar fate if they don’t self-deport
“President Trump and I have a clear message to criminal illegal aliens: LEAVE NOW,” Noem captioned the video. “If you do not leave, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and you could end up in this El Salvadorian prison.”
However, the detail that caught viewers’ eyes was her choice of accessories. In the video, Noem sports a high-end gold Rolex Daytona valued at $52,993. The display drew outrage from some immigration activists.
“Is Secretary Noem wearing a $50,000 gold Rolex Daytona wristwatch while she films a threat to immigrants with due-process free rendition to a third-world prison?” said Patrick Jaicomo, a civil rights litigator at the Institute for Justice.
Noem’s video came as part of a public relations campaign strategy to display visual threats to illegal immigrants, warning those who have evaded capture and showcasing those who were captured and are in the process of deportation.
The DHS secretary is featured heavily in the videos, often surrounded by heavily armed law enforcement officers.
The Trump administration has waved off complaints from left-wing activists that the videos are dehumanizing or spread fear. In an interview with the Washington Examiner earlier this month, Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks said the intention is to make the administration’s position clear.
“There’s zero intent to create public fear,” he said. “The intent is to send a clear message to anyone who wants to come to the country illegally, ‘Do not come.’ If you come to this country illegally, you’re going to be apprehended, you’re going to be prosecuted, and you’re going to be removed. That’s the message we’re sending out.”
Noem’s visit to CECOT is part of a three-day tour of Central and South America. El Salvador is viewed as one of the Trump administration’s closest allies in Latin America, as President Donald Trump and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele have greatly reduced emigration to the U.S.
NOEM SENDS WARNING TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM EL SALVADOR PRISON WITH TREN DE ARAGUA MEMBERS
The Trump administration sent some Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang members to the facility via deportation flights that were since paused by a court order. Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Tren de Aragua gang members without typical immigrant court proceedings.
CECOT can hold up to 40,000 people. It was built under Bukele‘s leadership to hold a large portion of the tens of thousands of suspected gang members rounded up in a crackdown.
