Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON – Kristi Noem was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Saturday as President Donald Trump’s secretary of homeland security, putting her in the position of a key Republican cabinet member as he launches a sweeping immigration crackdown.
Noem, who served as governor of South Dakota, shares Trump’s hard-line immigration views and called illegal immigration an “invasion” during his confirmation hearing earlier this month.
It was confirmed by a vote of 59 to 34 in the Republican-led Senate.
Trump renewed a White House pledge to deport a record number of immigrants in the US illegally, criticizing Democratic former President Joe Biden for high levels of illegal immigration during his presidency.
Trump has issued a series of executive orders since taking office on Jan. 20 aimed at tightening border security and fueling his deportation drive, and has rolled out a raft of restrictive policies.
Noem will take over the 260,000-employee Department of Homeland Security, which oversees border security, deportations and legal immigration, as well as emergency response, cyber security and the US Coast Guard and Secret Service.
While serving as governor of a state closer to Canada than Mexico, NOEM has deployed dozens of South Dakota National Guard troops to aid the Republican-led state in recent years, including one controversial deployment in 2021 funded by a Republican billionaire.
“It’s a war zone down there,” Noem said of the border during a Jan. 17 confirmation hearing.
Asked during the hearing how the Trump administration would deal with undocumented farmworkers, Noem said the administration would focus on felons and people with final deportation orders, but did not say it would protect farmworkers.
Noema’s family ranch has hired dozens of temporary farm workers since 2015, U.S. government records show, listing his brother as the owner. Some conservative groups say the use of temporary farm workers on guest visas undermines wages and slows technological adjustment.
