Somewhat optimistic Laken Riley would still be alive if she was DHS secretary as freshman senator rips Mayorkas

Freshman GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno ripped the Biden administration’s immigration policy in his first Senate hearing as Trump’s DHS secretary-elect, Kristi Noem, sat before the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

“Just to be clear, would Laken Riley be alive today if you had been secretary of Homeland Security?” Moreno asked Noem during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Friday.

“Senator, my hope is that it would be true, yes,” Noem replied as the Laken Riley Act is debated in the Senate to prevent crimes like the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was murdered last year by an illegal immigrant , who was sentenced to life without parole.

During his questioning, Moreno implemented a theme of asking Noem about Mayorka’s immigration record and whether the illegal immigration statistics would continue under her watch.

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Late. Bernie Moreno ripped the Biden administration’s immigration policies in Kristi Noem’s DHS confirmation hearing (Getty Images)

“So I think sometimes in DC, we tend to complicate things,” Moreno told Noem. “There’s a current Secretary of Homeland Security, so why don’t we take this opportunity to do a little job review and compare and contrast him to you? So just if you don’t mind, I’m going to ask you some questions and you can give me an answer. Secretary Mayorkas allowed about 400 people on a terrorist watch list to enter this country illegally. If you were confirmed as Secretary of Homeland Security, how many people on the terror watch list would you allow into this country?”

Noem replied that she would “work every single day” to make sure the number is “zero.”

“When you look at the 382 that Joe Biden has let in and the policies continue, it’s shocking and needs to be changed immediately,” Noem said.

“Mayorokas let in about 12,000 murderers. How many would you have to let into this country?” Moreno asked.

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Moreno was sworn in to the Senate on January 3. (Reuters)

“My goal every day would be to have no murderers allowed into this country,” Noem said.

“Mayorkas let in 16,000 rapists. How many would you have to let in?” Moreno continued.

“I would work to make sure that no one was let into this country,” Noem replied.

Moreno went on to ask Noem about the 600,000 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions that Mayorkas had let in, and she responded by saying that all migrants with criminal convictions would be “immediately removed.”

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South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is sworn in during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on her nomination for Secretary of Homeland Security, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 17, 2025. (Getty)

Noem also told Moreno that the practice of flying hundreds of thousands of migrants into the United States on jets would stop during her tenure.

“And how many illegals do you plan to house in luxury hotel rooms in Manhattan at a cost of $6,000 a month?” Moreno asked.

“Clearly, senator, during this election the American people said they did not support it and that it would not be part of this new administration,” Noem said.

“I will end my time with a startling statistic and indeed a challenge to the Democratic Party,” Moreno said after asking Noem to confirm other aspects of the Biden administration’s immigration policy that she would stop.

“When Mayorkas was confirmed, every single Democrat voted to confirm him, and six Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in that confirmation. If we get to the vote, hopefully Speaker, we could do it on Monday, because we can’t wait a single day without you in charge of that department. We should have 100 percent, 100 senators voting for your confirmation serious about doing bipartisan things like securing this country and protecting our citizens.”