US Senate confirms Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security

Kristi Noem, who shares President Trump's hardline views on irregular immigration, was confirmed by a 59-34 vote in the Republican-led Senate.

The US Senate on Saturday confirmed Kristi Noem as President Donald Trump's Homeland Security secretary, putting a key member of the Republican Cabinet in place as he launches a broad crackdown on irregular immigration.

Noem, who was governor of South Dakota, shares Trump's hardline views on immigration and called irregular immigration an “invasion” during a confirmation hearing earlier this month.

She was confirmed by a 59-34 vote in the Republican-led Senate.

Trump won back the White House by vowing to deport a record number of immigrants in the United States illegally, criticizing former Democratic President Joe Biden for high levels of undocumented immigration during his presidency.

Trump issued a series of executive orders after taking office on January 20 that aim to strengthen border security and boost his deportation campaign, and has implemented a series of restrictive policies.

Noem will take charge of the 260,000-employee U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees border security, deportations and legal immigration processing, as well as emergency response, cybersecurity and the Coast Guard and Secret Service. from the United States.

While serving as governor of a state closer to Canada than Mexico, Noem deployed dozens of South Dakota National Guard troops to help the Republican-led state of Texas with border security in recent years, including a controversial deployment in 2021 funded by a Republican billionaire.

“It's a war zone there,” Noem said of the border during her Jan. 17 confirmation hearing.

When asked during the hearing how the Trump administration would handle workers without legal status in the agricultural sector, Noem said the administration would focus on criminals and people with final deportation orders, but did not say that agricultural workers would be protected.

Noem's family ranch has hired dozens of seasonal farm workers since 2015, U.S. government records show, and lists her brother as the owner. Some conservative groups say the use of temporary farm workers on guest visas drives down wages and slows technological adaptation.