Kristi Noem (left), Secretary of Homeland Security, and Tom Homan (right), President Trump’s Border Czar, walk towards the West Wing after speaking to reporters at the White House (Photo by Samuel Corum/Sipa USA)
(New York, NY) – The head of the Department of Homeland Security is getting a close-up look at the site of a horrendous crime here in New York City. Secretary Krisit Noem was touring the Big Apple, and made a stop at a subway station now tied to a gruesome murder. Back in December, a sleeping woman, 57-year-old Debrina Kawam, was set on fire at the Coney Island-Stillwell station in Brooklyn. The man accused in the deadly arson attack was discovered to be an undocumented immigrant. Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, is facing arson and murder charges for the attack.
Noem was in town as part of a wider effort from the Trump administration to crack down on illegal immigration, with their sites set on major cities. Noem wrote about the trip on social media
I went to the Coney Island subway station where Debrina Kawam was set on fire and killed by an illegal alien.
ICE lodged an immigration detainer with the NYC Department of Corrections to take this depraved alien into custody. Because of current sanctuary city policy, the… pic.twitter.com/jfJyKclDOx
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) March 5, 2025
Her trip comes as Mayor Eric Adams is down in Washington D.C to address the House Oversight Committee on immigration and the city’s sanctuary policies.
