Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s choose to steer the Division of Homeland Safety, will face questions Friday from senators about an company that will probably be key to fulfilling the brand new administration’s guarantees to shortly crack down on immigration.
Whereas Ms. Noem, South Dakota’s governor since 2019, has largely prevented the scrutiny of a few of Mr. Trump’s different nominees, the company she seeks to supervise runs the nation’s immigration system, together with regulation enforcement on the southern border. The division additionally consists of different essential companies just like the Secret Service, the Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Administration Company.
She is going to face lawmakers on the Senate Homeland Safety Committee at a time when perceptions of immigration are altering. Mr. Trump’s guarantees to aggressively management borders and perform mass expulsions helped propel him to victory in November, and a few Democrats have signaled help for elevated enforcement.
“As you recognize, I’ve taken a stand in opposition to this invasion,” she stated in a speech final week. “We now have deployed our South Dakota Nationwide Guard close to our southern border eight occasions. This consists of 5 deployments throughout the state to help Texas’ work to cease the movement of unlawful aliens.
Mr. Trump stated Ms. Noem was “very robust on border safety,” however historical past suggests it could be troublesome to fulfill him: Throughout his first time period, Mr. Trump had six leaders of the division .
The president-elect additionally stated Ms. Noem would work intently with Tom Homan, who he was heralded as the White House’s “border czar”» and outfitted with a broad portfolio of tasks.
The Nationwide Border Patrol Council, the union representing Border Patrol brokers, got here out in favor of Ms. Noem’s nomination.
“We’re assured that as Secretary, Governor Noem will proceed to make sure that Border Patrol brokers have the assets and manpower we have to safe our border,” wrote the union in a letter to senators late final yr. “We urge you to promptly start consideration of this essential nomination and make sure Governor Noem as Secretary as soon as President Trump is sworn in.” »
The American Civil Liberties Union known as on senators to probe Ms. Noem’s views on essential points.
“Given President-elect Trump’s guarantees, the stakes are even larger,” Sarah Mehta, the group’s senior coverage adviser, stated in a press release. “The Senate should take severely its position of ‘recommendation and consent’ and lift consciousness of Kristi Noem on vital points that have an effect on all of our communities, together with surveillance, non secular and racial profiling, and using power in opposition to protesters.
With a view to perform the biggest deportation effort promised by Mr. Trump in U.S. historical past, the division will want many issues, together with extra assets, cooperation across the country from local prisons and a rise in expulsions to nations that typically restrict the return of their nationals.
Earlier than being elected governor, Ms. Noem served as a member of Congress from 2011 to 2019.
