A story told by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about an undocumented immigrant who supposedly tried to eat himself while in custody has been debunked by officials within her own department. The claim has been called “completely false.”
Back in June, Noem went on Fox News and shared a story she said she heard from a U.S. marshal. She said, “I was talking to a U.S. marshal just yesterday, and he was talking about deporting a plane load of illegals, and one of them was a cannibal.”
According to Mediaite, she continued, “He started to eat his own arms. He was such a deranged individual. This is the kind of people President Trump is getting off our streets.” Noem later repeated the claim at a press conference alongside President Donald Trump. She said, “He started to eat himself, and they had to get him off and get him medical attention.”
The story has been called ludicrous by federal officials, including those from Noem’s own department
According to three federal officials, including some from Noem’s own Department of Homeland Security, the story never happened. One senior law enforcement official said, “It is completely false.” Two other federal law enforcement officials called the claims “ludicrous” and confirmed there is no evidence to support the story.
When a Homeland Security spokesperson was asked for comment, they said, “What ‘fabrication’ of the story of the cannibal? She was told that story on a deportation flight by one of the air marshals.” The department appears to be standing by the position that Noem was simply repeating what she had been told. This is not the first time the White House has drawn attention for how it handles media coverage of key events.
This is not the first time dramatic language has been used around immigration. President Trump frequently referenced Hannibal Lecter, the fictional cannibalistic character from The Silence of the Lambs, during his 2024 campaign. He repeatedly, and without evidence, claimed that other countries were emptying their prisons and “insane asylums” and sending people to the U.S.
In February 2024, Trump told a rally, “We have millions and millions of people, and they came from prisons and jails.” He added, “They came from mental institutions and insane asylums. No, they’re not the same. An insane asylum is a mental institution on steroids, Ok? It’s Silence of the Lambs, ok? You know that. Hannibal Lecter! They’re all being deposited into our country.”
Trump even referred to “the late, great Hannibal Lecter” and said he kept bringing up the fictional character because “These are real stories.” This pattern of making bold claims without evidence is something that has been noted across the administration, including when JD Vance made contradictory statements on Fox News about a separate controversy.
Published: Feb 24, 2026 03:15 pm