The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under Kristi Noem is once again facing scrutiny for its lack of transparency and data inaccuracy.
The department was forced to correct the “Worst of the Worst” immigration website after a CNN review found that it incorrectly described hundreds of arrested immigrants in front of the public. The site, which launched in December 2025, was widely promoted by Noem and the White House as a reassurance that the administration’s immigration crackdown was targeting dangerous criminals and not random citizens.
However, CNN claimed that the website lists about 25,000 convicted people who were not arrested for serious crimes like homicide or assault, as it suggested. Instead, some were reportedly listed for minor offenses such as traffic violations, marijuana possession or illegal reentry.
As per the data in the report, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests involved individuals accused or convicted of homicide and assault cases (accounting for 1.4 percent), weapons offenses (1.6 percent) and dangerous drug charges (5.7 percent).
While the media outlet could not verify the database for each convicted individual, it was clear that these people were arrested for petty crimes under the tag of “Worst of the Worst.”
A spokesperson for DHS responded by saying that many individuals shown with minor offenses actually had additional, more serious crimes that were not properly reflected due to a “glitch,” affecting about 5 percent of the entries.
While the department did not explain the cause of the error, it claimed that all individuals on the site had been arrested by ICE and placed in removal proceedings.
The Department of Homeland Security admitted that its website featuring what it calls the “worst of the worst” arrested immigrants was rife with errors and changed the site this week after receiving questions from CNN about it. https://t.co/QbyqAyunem pic.twitter.com/QyzFqW7DgY
— CNN (@CNN) February 19, 2026
According to The Daily Beast, in response to earlier reporting, then-Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the website and issued a public statement.
“As the media whitewashes the facts, day in and day out, our brave men and women of ICE risk their lives for the American people… With this transparent tool, they can see for themselves what public safety threats were lurking in their neighborhoods,” McLaughlin said.
President Donald Trump announced on January 20, 2025, that one of the key agendas of his second term was to ban asylum seekers from entering the U.S., end birthright citizenship for children born to parents who are not permanent residents, and deport “illegal aliens” with criminal records.
However, according to many critics, what began as a policy to remove immigrants who pose major threats to national security and public safety became a tool to abruptly detain, abuse and deport people from their homes or the streets.
After ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot 37-year-old Renée Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen, on January 7 in Minneapolis, Noem said that the mother of three was shot after federal enforcement encountered obstruction and added that the officers acted in self-defense. Local leaders rejected the claim and demanded greater transparency in the investigation.
Similarly, a second shooting occurred on January 24, adding to community distress. Border Patrol agents shot Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an intensive care nurse, in Minneapolis. Noem claimed that he was a “domestic terrorist” and posed an immediate threat to the agents.
View this post on Instagram
However, later video footage and witness accounts did not clearly support earlier claims that Pretti attacked or threatened officers. Noem later said she may have relied on inadequate or incorrect information from agents and used the “best information available at the time.”
These deaths sparked massive protests with many calling out Noem and ICE for their policies. Minnesota and Illinois filed lawsuits seeking court injunctions to halt immigration enforcement operations in their states. In their lawsuits, the states argued that DHS and ICE agents have “terrorized” communities and violated constitutional rights.
