Kristi Noem, infamously known as ICE Barbie, has failed to match her words with her actions, making a spectacle of herself on the internet. As such, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security has frequently been tagged as a tone deaf personality, like many of her Republican counterparts within the cabinet. To add to that, her 54th birthday celebrations inside a Mexican restaurant became one of the prime examples of her alleged hypocritical behavior, drawing widespread online criticism.
Unlike Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Halloween theme or even Karoline Leavitt’s ‘influencer’ habit, Noem ended up choosing to wear a bright pink and large sombrero over her head, as she cut the birthday cake inside a Mexican eatery in South Dakota.
Surprisingly, the wait staff sang ‘Happy Birthday’ in Spanish, and she seemed extremely happy in a video she shared on Facebook. Since then, the clip has gone viral all over social media, and the general reaction online framed the moment as a political misstep.
Before digging into the wrath of online critics, it should be noted that Noem has been a vocal supporter of stricter immigration enforcement. She’s merely following the orders of Donald Trump in removing illegal immigrants, and the Mexicans have been the prime and easy targets for a long time now.
Although through her glamorous DHS appearances, Kristi Noem has continuously clarified deporting only those who’ve entered illegally, public perception has been contradictory. In fact, a strong segment of the people have documented that the DHS is only targeting people of color, irrespective of their immigration or citizenship status. And so people from Latino communities have allegedly been subject to an alarmingly high number of ICE arrests so far.
Kristi Noem wore a sombrero at her birthday party in a Mexican restaurant. Afterwards she zip-tied and deported the baby in her lap pic.twitter.com/usNRWn2rhV
— Paul Rudnick (@PaulRudnickNY) December 6, 2025
Keeping this in mind, a flood of backlash and criticism was directed at Noem, as her birthday video went viral on X. One of the users wrote, “It’s called being a hypocrite. Mexicans are taking our jobs! Let’s deport them! I love their food, btw I’m gonna celebrate my birthday at a Mexican restaurant!” A second one added, “I heard she had a great time, really enjoyed the food and service, and then had the entire restaurant staff deported after she left.”
Another netizen commented on the video and demanded answers as to why Kristi Noem dared to step foot inside a Mexican restaurant, while she’s been busy kicking them out of the country. She further criticized Noem’s audacity to wear a sombrero, which is a national mark of identity among Mexicans.
The user wrote, “Kristi Noem has the nerve to have her 54th birthday dinner at a Mexican restaurant and even wears a sombrero and has them sing Happy Birthday in Spanish! This just shows what a total piece of cr– she is, mocking the people she has deported. Why did this restaurant allow her in?”
Kristi Noem has the nerve to have her 54th birthday dinner at a Mexican restaurant and even wears a Sombrero and has them sing Happy Birthday in Spanish! This is just shows what a total piece of crap she is mocking the people she has deported.Why did this restaurant allow her in! pic.twitter.com/1dH58SbHdW
— Suzie rizzio (@Suzierizzo1) December 3, 2025
Of course, the restaurant owners also partook in the backlash. One of them, while speaking to Daily Mail, admitted feeling the hate from people the day after Kristi Noem visited them. He mentioned that the booking was made by the DHS Secretary’s husband, Bryon. The owner stated, “The day that Kristi came in, I received a lot of phone calls, especially from Spanish people. There was a lot of hate.”
Call it a bad fashion choice or a ruined photo-op moment, this one incident will definitely rank high in Kristi Noem’s disastrous appearances ever in the history of online media.
