Kristi Noem struggles to compete with protesters and sirens blaring during theatrical press conference decorated with drug props

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has struggled to compete with protesters and sirens blaring during a theatrical press conference decorated with drug props.

Noem was at the southern border in California Thursday to tout the Trump administration’s efforts on border security and drug seizures.

“President Trump has cut off the flow of trafficking down at the southern border, and just of fentanyl, we've seen a decrease of 56 percent drop in fentanyl coming into this country. The vault that we've toured today holds 188,218 pounds of seized illicit drugs,” Noem said over the constant sound of sirens.

The loud sirens were audible before Noem took the podium at the Otay Mesa Detention Center. The volume of the sirens did not change once the secretary began speaking.

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Also noticeable were the dozens of cardboard boxes labeled “evidence” stacked behind Noem and the evidence bags, apparently of drugs, piled on top of the boxes and at Noem’s feet.

Noem was also forced to contend with the chants of protesters outside the facility. NBC San Diego captured a photo of a group of demonstrators at the detention center holding signs shortly before the press conference. One protester on the street was holding an upside-down American flag, a symbol of political dissent.

One Reddit user announced Noem’s travel plans “for those who ask about protests.”

The person said there would be a protest at Otay Mesa Detention Center, adding, “What better way to tell” Noem “that she is awful and a stain in history.”

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The Independent has reached out to the Homeland Security Department for comment.

Though the reporter’s question was not picked up on Noem’s microphone, it appears she was asked about the protesters.

“They’re obviously expressing their First Amendment rights. We welcome that, as long as they do so peacefully, I think it’s a wonderful thing,” Noem said.

Noem has faced sharp criticism in recent weeks over the Trump administration’s sprawling immigration crackdown.

After two U.S. citizens were killed in the streets of Minneapolis by federal immigration agents, Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, called for the secretary to resign or be removed.

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At the press conference, Noem was asked about “Operation Metro Surge,” which saw the deployment of thousands of federal officers to Minnesota.

President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, announced earlier Thursday that the operation was “ending.”

Homan told reporters in Minneapolis that there has been a “big change” in state and local officials’ willingness to provide some support for federal operations in the sanctuary city.

Noem said she was “grateful that we've found some agreement on what we can do to try to work together. We're looking to formalize those to make sure that we can bring peace and safety to the Twin Cities.”

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The secretary also mentioned the looming partial government shutdown. If Congress doesn’t agree on funding for the Homeland Security Department by Friday the agency, which includes ICE, TSA and FEMA, will have to shut down “nonessential” operations.

“We’re concerned about the Department of Homeland Security not being funded. In fact, I think it's the wrong message to send to the world at this point in time, when you think about it, every other portion of the federal government has been funded except Homeland Security,” Noem said. “That's telling the rest of the world the Democrat Party doesn't think that protecting America is safe.”

Democratic lawmakers have refused to fund DHS until their demands to reform ICE are met. These demands include improved identification of federal agents and a greater reliance on judicial warrants during immigration enforcement.

Noem also made sure to praise Trump during the press conference.

“And what the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security have done is a testimony to President Trump's leadership and to these law enforcement officers' dedication,” Noem said. “For nine straight months, U.S. Border Patrol has released zero illegal aliens into the United States.”