WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump announced late Tuesday that he will nominate Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to lead the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which will carry out Trump’s plan to carry out mass deportations of millions of people in the country without proper legal status. .

“Kristi has been very strong on border security,” Trump said in a statement. “She will work closely with ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan to secure the border and ensure that our American homeland is protected from our adversaries. I have known Kristi for years and have worked with her on a wide variety of projects – She will be an important part of our mission to make America safe again.”

DHS is the agency primarily responsible for immigration law enforcement and border security and handles temporary protections to allow immigrants to live and work in the United States. As Trump unveils his nominees, Noem would be the first governor to receive Cabinet approval.

DHS has approximately 260,000 federal employees and a discretionary budget authority of nearly $62 billion.

The news had already caused a backlash among Democrats even before Trump’s announcement, as media reports said Noem would be selected.

“With a long history of supporting Trump’s draconian immigration policies, Gov. Kristi Noem will carry out her cruel plans without a second thought,” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in a statement.

Noem said in a statement that she was “honored and humbled” to be chosen.

“I look forward to working with Border Czar Tom Homan to make America SAFE again,” Noem said. “With Donald Trump, we will secure the border and restore safety to American communities so families can once again have the opportunity to pursue the American dream.”

Noem, a staunch Trump ally, was one of several Republican governors which sent US National Guard troops to the southern border in Texas in a rebuke of the Biden administration and its immigration policies. She is too visited the southern border several times.

Noem served in Congress from 2011 to 2019, when she left after winning the 2018 gubernatorial bid. She is in her second term, which will expire in 2026.

During the Congress, she served on the U.S. House Armed Services, Ways and Means, and Agriculture committees.

Noem did not serve on the committee that provides oversight of DHS, the Homeland Security Committee.

Noem joins the border tsar

In Trump’s second administration, Noem would join several former Trump officials who have been the architects and biggest defenders of his tough immigration policies. The three are among Trump’s first personnel announcements.

On Monday, Trump doubled down former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the previous Trump administration, Homan, as his “border czar.” Homan supported the controversial “zero tolerance” policy that separated nearly 5,000 migrant families at the southern border.

Stephen Miller, who spearheaded much of Trump’s first-term immigration policy, is set to join the White House as deputy chief of staff for policy.

Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of the immigration advocacy group America’s Voice, said in a statement that the appointment of Miller and Homan signals that “mass deportations will be indiscriminate and relentless.”

“The appointments of Stephen Miller and Tom Homan are troubling, if not surprising, signals that we should take Donald Trump seriously and literally about the largest proposed deportation operation in American history and the relentless nature, indiscriminate and costly of what’s to come,” Cárdenas said. .

Noem’s appointment to Trump’s Cabinet would have to go through Senate confirmation, where she could face questions about an anecdote from her memoir. She retracted a story about meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un after reporters questioned if the meeting actually took place.

Additionally, in the same memo, she revealed that shot her 14 month old puppy called Cricket, due to behavioral issues. The revelation drew intense criticism from both sides of the political aisle.

Extensive responsibilities

DHS is an expanding agency comprised of US Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Administration, the US Secret Service, and the US Coast Guard, among other agencies. national security.

The Secret Service is under close supervision after major failings in preventing the first assassination attempt against Trump last summer, where he he suffered an ear injury. The first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, led to director, Kimberly Cheatle, stepping down.

Ronald L. Rowe, deputy director of the US Secret Service, is currently acting director and has been praised for the agency’s prompt action in the second assassination attempt against Trump at his private golf course in Florida.

Last updated at 19:43, November 12, 2024