Noem unloads on Walz over ICE raid criticism: ‘Really? You’re worried about taxpayer dollars?’

Minnesota whistleblowers ignored or bullied into silence: Kristi Noem

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem discusses the investigation into alleged Minnesota fraud and responds to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s comments about DHS potentially heading to California on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime.’

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joined several critics in slamming Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after he jabbed ICE for conducting comprehensive immigration enforcement in Minnesota, with some pointing out the governor's misspellings in a missive.

The back-and-forth comes as Noem’s agency focuses on Minnesota for both standard immigration enforcement as well as the deployment of HSI officers to probe the legitimacy of alleged daycares tied to the Somali community that received millions in state funds.

Walz tweeted video of dozens of federal agents detaining at least one man in what the governor said was a Minnetonka, Minnesota, library complex: calling the scene "ridiculous" and misspelling at least one word.

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Gov. Tim Walz announced on Monday that he's dropping his bid for a third term amid stinging criticism of his handling of Minnesota's massive welfare assistance fraud scandal. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

"Nobody is fooled into thinking this bafoonery (sic) is a reasonable use of taxpayer dollars. It should not take 50 ICE agents to arrest one guy in a library," Walz said.

Noem responded incredulously that Walz would be concerned with conserving public expenditures given the rampant fraud under his watch.

"Really, you’re worried about taxpayer dollars?" Noem said.

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"There’s been $9 billion stolen from the taxpayers in Minnesota since you became governor. You won’t let us in Minnesota’s jails and there is rampant assault against our law enforcement thanks to vilification from politicians like you," she added.

"So, yes, there’s strength in law enforcement numbers to remove these violent criminals from the communities you refuse to protect."

Noem personally took part in some of ICE’s arrests of criminal illegal immigrants, including a man wanted for murder, according to FOX’s Minneapolis-St. Paul affiliate.

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Walz’s jab at Noem erupted on social media, with conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong asking if the governor learned to spell at a Somali daycare. Several other commenters made similar critiques.

"How many police will it take to arrest you?" another commenter asked.

Another critic shared a meme of "Saturday Night Live" star Keenan Thompson appearing as "Family Feud" host Steve Harvey and grimacing, "You sure?"

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"You know what is bad use of taxpayer dollars? Daycares with no kids," added Nick Shirley, the conservative YouTuber who visited several allegedly fraudulent sites.

Walz also spoke out at a news conference about ICE’s presence in Minnesota, estimating that 2,000 federal agents were in the state and that "we don’t even know who they are."

"They’ll be wearing masks… If you want us to fix fraud, come and help us… They’re not interested in that," he said.

Minneapolis City Councilman Jason Chavez separately urged residents’ caution in the presence of DHS.

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"Activity is really hot this morning on Lake Street and Powderhorn. There’s also confirmed ICE vehicles using Uber stickers. Please be careful," he said, according to the FOX affiliate.

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz for further comment for purposes of this story but did not hear back by press time. 

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. 

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant. 

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].