How Kristi Noem Can Fulfill Trump’s Immigration Pledges To Voters

MAGA supporters can keep this rule of thumb in mind during the confirmation process for Donald Trump’s cabinet picks: The more opprobrium corporate media heaps on a cabinet nominee, the more effective the nominee is likely to be in enacting the president’s agenda.

Left-wingers are losing it over Robert Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to head the Department of Health and Human Services because they know he will target evils of the medical industrial complex. They are melting down over the prospect of Pete Hegseth as defense secretary because he’ll aim to rid the DOD of careerist war hawks and identity-politics-driven recruitment. They shudder at the prospect of Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, because she’ll likely go after the same politicized bureaucrats who absurdly put her on a “secret terror watch list.”

But Democrats don’t waste much time attacking nominees who don’t threaten the status quo. So far, there hasn’t been anywhere close to as much media fretting over South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. 

The left mostly aimed elsewhere when Trump nominated Noem, a Midwestern governor with no direct law enforcement or national security experience, to be his secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Critics predictably penned some snide pieces about Noem’s account of shooting her dog in her recent memoir. But she has mostly coasted through the last few months without much media scrutiny. 

Among a cabinet of MAGA superstars, Noem sticks out as a surprising pick to head the department that ought to be most critical among all federal executive departments in driving Trump’s immigration and deportation agenda. While Noem has loyally supported Trump, her track record gives MAGA voters some cause for concern. As governor, she volunteered to resettle migrants in her state, attempted to close businesses with lockdowns, and caved to pressure from lobbyists to veto a bill aimed at banning men from playing in women’s sports. 

Trump’s DHS secretary needs to be both the public face of a massive deportation program, ready and able to shoulder and stand bold in the face of withering media attacks, as well as the cabinet member most responsible for coordinating and carrying out the program. Now it is up to Noem to prove to the country that, contrary to fair misgivings from MAGA voters, she can get the job done. 

This will be no small task. Under President Joe Biden, current DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas assisted at least 10 million migrants in illegally entering the United States. Fraudulently admitted migrants have overwhelmed infrastructure in major U.S. cities as far north as Boston.

Schools are flooded with new non-English-speaking students. Hospitals are overwhelmed with uninsured immigrants. City budgets are being maxed out to provide food, housing, and other taxpayer-provided services to the “newcomers.” Hard-working Americans are being pushed out of the housing market due to a tidal wave of imported demand. Meanwhile, overdose deaths and violent crime have exploded in many areas of the country. 

Deportations Are Going to Be Difficult

If confirmed as DHS secretary, Noem must take drastic actions to reverse the damage done by Mayorkas. Perhaps most importantly, her agency will be in charge of planning and carrying out the largest deportation operation in American history — a job that won’t be pretty and can be expected to prompt unprecedented media hysteria. 

Trump says he will target illegal immigrants with criminal histories first. Ridding the country of gang members and drug dealers should be relatively uncontroversial. Even Kamala Harris promised to target dangerous criminals in the country illegally. The real test for Noem will be whether she also deports with strong resolve the millions of other illegal immigrants who remain in the United States and have abused our laws and asylum process. Fraudulently obtaining entry into the United States is a crime, too.

DHS workplace raids — a practice Mayorkas halted in 2021 — would be one effective way to find some of the millions of illegal immigrants in the country. If such raids took place, the resulting photos and video of illegal immigrants being rounded up for deportation will elicit an enormous burst of emotional media outrage.

Noem must stand firm and press forward, even if she sees her approval ratings tank. Backing down in the face of public pressure in an effort to salvage her future political aspirations would undermine a chief aspiration of the MAGA movement.

Build That Wall Already

Noem has other ways to prove herself as DHS head. Notably, she can play a leading role in directing funds and resources for building the border wall with Mexico. She can set an ambitious agenda along with the president to finish the wall, rather than just talking about it.

Noem must work with the Pentagon (especially if Hegseth is in charge) to coordinate efforts between border agents and the military to hermetically seal the border. She must work tirelessly and effectively with the Department of Justice, which will have to administer the legal complexities of deportations. The American people are tired of politicians’ words. They want action.

Many of President Trump’s policies will face congressional roadblocks. Can Noem represent strong border and immigration policies before Congress and not back down? She would need to use existing resources and an expanded number of Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to root out migrant smuggling groups, end unlawful alien hiring practices, and treat illegal immigration like the crime that it is.

Governor Experience May Come in Handy

Noem’s experience as a governor will be an advantage. States like Texas and Florida may push for stronger enforcement than the Trump administration can quickly execute, and Noem may know when to get out of their way. She will also have to use the levers and pressures of the federal government to make sure that states like California, New York, and Massachusetts do not undermine progress by encouraging more illegal entrants.

A failure of the first Trump administration was not fully implementing Trump’s proposal to cut federal aid for cities and states that willfully blocked immigration enforcement, especially after the measure was upheld in federal court. Now Trump is considering blocking funding to law enforcement agencies that will not assist in a potential deportation program. While that is welcome news, it will be up to Noem to prove that she has the fortitude to press for such a program and to take advantage if and when it comes to fruition.

Border czar Tom Homan will be a valuable source of advice and know-how for Noem. The foremost name in America in border security with decades of experience in law enforcement has already publicly shared a wealth of good ideas: a hotline to report illegal immigrants, an effort to close the passage between North and South America, and family detention centers.

Homan has relevant experience as Trump’s director of ICE, and was previously such an effective Border Patrol agent that Barack Obama selected him for a presidential award. He’s served at every level of our nation’s immigration enforcement and navigated working under both parties. Homan’s not a bureaucrat — he’s a doer.

But it’s not Homan nominated for this job, it’s Noem. While the president will receive the blame or praise for what happens next, it will be Noem who is responsible for securing the border and carrying out mass deportations. If there was ever a time for a person to exceed expectations to save our country, this is the “time for choosing” for Kristi Noem.

Kristin Tate is an author and columnist focused on taxation and government spending. Her latest book, The Liberal Invasion of Red State America, will be published by Regnery Publishing in 2020. She is a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow at the Fund for American Studies, examining the size, scope, and cost of the federal workforce. Kristin also serves as analyst for the nonprofit group Young Americans for Liberty, aiding the organization in its mission to promote limited government and fiscal responsibility.