Coast Guard Brass Fume as Noem Allegedly Redirects Search Plane for Deportations
Sources told NBC News that Kristi Noem, then Homeland Security secretary, verbally ordered a Coast Guard C-130 on a missing-seaman search to pivot to ‘Alien Expulsion Operations,’ prompting pushback from San Diego leadership and a morale decline among senior Coast Guard officials; the DHS denies the diversion and says the aircraft never left the search, while ICE data show a spike in migrant flights diverted under Noem.