Govt. Kristi Noem’s nomination as DHS chief invites law-and-order praise

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security is being welcomed by law-and-order advocates and southern border stakeholders as she prepares to meet with the Senate on Friday for a confirmation hearing.

President-elect Trump announced her as his pick on Nov. 12, just days after beating Vice President Harris in the election, which was widely condemned as ineffective on border security under President Biden.

“She was the first governor to send National Guard Soldiers to help Texas fight the Biden border crisis, and they were sent a total of eight times,” Trump’s transition team noted in a statement announcing her nomination. “She will work closely with ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan to secure the border and will guarantee that our American homeland is safe from our adversaries.”

Trump made combating migrant crime central to his campaign, a key issue for voters that was largely ignored by Democrats, who rejected congressional hearings involving testimony from victims’ families as politically motivated.

TRUMP NOISES SOUTH DAKOTA GOV KRISTI NOEM TO RUN DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem visits FOX Business Network’s “Varney & Co” at the Fox Business Network Studios on May 7, 2024 in New York City. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)

“I think it’s a wonderful, wonderful nomination,” said Jim Chilton, an Arizona rancher whose property straddles the end of a section of the border wall.

“Last year we had three people die on the ranch, two obviously of dehydration, one obviously murdered by a cartel,” he told Fox News Digital over the phone. “One of my cowboys found his body and his head cut off.”

Five miles of his 50,000-acre property are protected by the wall, he said, but thousands of people have crossed his property on another half-mile left bare by incomplete construction. In April alone, he said, more than 5,600 people crossed his property around the end of the barrier.

“The solution is to complete the wall, put the Border Patrol on the wall, arrest anyone who tries to climb over or cut through the wall, and prevent anyone from entering the United States without proper documentation,” he told Fox News Digital.

NOEM PRALTER EXIT OF POLICE, SUPPORT FOR THE BORDER UNION TO DHS CHIEF

This photo shows migrants at the southern border encountered in Arizona. (US Border Patrol)

Cartel scouts, he said, control the high ground, patrol the mountains above his ranch and watch for Border Patrol agents, relaying information via satellite and radio to their fellow smugglers.

However, the authorities have thwarted their efforts whenever possible.

RACHEL MOR’S MOTHER ADVISES BIDEN-HARRIS FOR IGNORING FAMILY AFTER MIGRANT MURDER

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, DN.Y., is pictured with his head down and eyes closed during congressional testimony from the mothers of murder victims whose alleged killers were illegal immigrants on September 10, 2024. (Cathie Groenewold)

“Last month the Border Patrol apprehended a group on my ranch and they had an AK-47 and 100 pounds of cocaine,” Chilton said. “It’s just outrageous.”

As for the agents themselves, they look forward to getting back to work under a supportive White House, according to Hector Garza, a member of the force for more than 20 years and the president of National Border Patrol Council Local 2455 in Laredo.

“We’re excited about the new Border Patrol leadership,” he told Fox News Digital. “For us as agents, that means border security – and it also means security.”

Under the Biden-Harris administration, he said, agents have suffered from shortages of manpower and equipment.

BIDEN-HARRIS OPEN BORDER POLICY UNLAWFULLY RELEASED 3 WEEKS BEFORE JOCELYN NUNGARAY MURDER, MOTHER SAYS

Arizona rancher Jim Chilton speaks at the Republican National Convention on July 17, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

“We had an open border where our agents were so busy processing family units and unaccompanied children,” he added. “Meanwhile, all of these dangerous criminals eluded law enforcement, and that means many criminals have entered the United States and are now living in our communities.”

These threats include members of the violent transnational gangs MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.

“They are terrorizing our fellow citizens of the United States,” Garza said. “Now we’re going to have a very difficult job of undoing everything the Biden administration has done.”

Hector Garza speaks during a news briefing with then-President Trump on Jan. 3, 2018. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

However, he said he is confident they can get the job done with the support of Trump, Noem, Homan, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott and supportive members of Congress.

“President Trump can’t do it alone,” he said. “Congress is a very important piece of the puzzle.”

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South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (Brandon Bell/Getty Images/File)

Noem, who has advocated for stronger border measures for more than a decade, has vowed to both secure the border and “restore safety to American communities” — many of which have been plagued by migrant crime in recent years. Before winning election to the South Dakota governor’s office, she served in the House of Representatives and as a state legislator.

Shocking killings have victimized women and girls around the country, in Texas, Maryland, Georgia, Massachusetts and elsewhere, and have repeatedly captured national attention during the Biden-Harris administration.

Trump has invited some of the victims’ families to attend his inauguration for a second term on Monday.