The Senate voted on Saturday to confirm South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, making her the fourth of President Donald Trump’s nominees to secure approval.
The vote was 59–34, with all Republicans present voting in favor. Noem’s confirmation was widely expected, as she faced no major obstacles during her confirmation hearing. Her nomination advanced out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee with a 13–2 vote, with only two Democrats opposing her.
Noem joins Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as the fourth Trump nominee confirmed by the Senate.
The former South Dakota governor will assume leadership of DHS at a time when border security and combating illegal immigration are top priorities for the new administration. The administration has already taken significant steps, including deploying military personnel to the border, resuming wall construction, and terminating Biden-era parole programs.
Simultaneously, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has launched deportation operations nationwide, fulfilling President Trump’s promise of a “historic” immigration crackdown.
Since Trump’s inauguration, the Department of Homeland Security has issued numerous directives aimed at tightening immigration enforcement. These include reviews of parole policies and expanding the authority of officials to expedite the deportation of recently arrived undocumented immigrants. Acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman has signed the memos.
During her confirmation hearing, Noem highlighted additional aspects of the Homeland Security mission, including cybersecurity, disaster relief, and counterterrorism.
“We must be vigilant and proactive and innovative to protect the homeland,” she said. “The challenges in front of us are extremely significant, and we must secure our borders against illegal trafficking and immigration. We must safeguard our critical infrastructure to make sure that we’re protected against cyber attacks, respond to natural disasters and also terrorism.”
But she made sure to also note that securing the U.S. border will be a “top priority.”
“As a nation, we have the right and the responsibility to secure our borders against those who would do us harm. And we must create a fair and lawful immigration system that is efficient and is effective, and that reflects our values,” she said.
As governor, Noem made a strong stance on immigration, pledging in 2021 not to accept any more migrants from the Biden administration and deploying the National Guard to assist with border security in Texas. She also gained experience in disaster response, collaborating with federal officials to address severe flooding in the state in June.
During her confirmation hearing, Noem was asked how she plans to coordinate with Border Czar Tom Homan, who has been tasked with leading deportation efforts and securing the border.
Noem responded by saying that she and Homan “work very well together and talk and communicate all the time. And we’ll be working together on a daily basis when we’re in our positions under the new administration. And I would say there’s no authority being planned to be taken away from the department or myself if I’m in the role.”
Even members of the opposition party are coming around to Trump’s immigration enforcement policies.
The Democratic governor of Massachusetts, for instance, has expressed her support for arresting dangerous illegal migrants, emphasizing the importance of “the apprehension of criminals in our communities.”
Gov. Maura Healey told reporters on Thursday that she supports the arrest of criminals, regardless of their immigration status, according to local news outlet WCVB.
Addressing the arrests, Healey said she “wouldn’t describe them as raids,” but instead, “what it seems to be, and what we expected and what I support, which is the apprehension of criminals in our communities.”
“Whether you’re documented or undocumented, you commit crimes, you’re subject to investigation and prosecution and accountability, and it looks like that is what happened,” Healey said, according to Fox local outlet, Boston 25.