As President-elect Trump's nominee for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sits before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, freshman Sen. Bernie Moreno will discuss the Biden administration's immigration policy in her first Senate hearing. criticized.
”Just to clarify, if you were Secretary of Homeland Security, would Laken Riley still be alive today? ” Moreno asked Noem Friday during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
“Senator, I hope that's true, yes,” Noem responded. This comes as the Senate is considering the Laken Riley Act, which aims to prevent crimes like the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was murdered last year. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole for illegal immigration.
In a series of questioning, Moreno ran with a theme of questioning Noem about whether Mayorkas' immigration record and illegal immigration statistics would continue under her watch.
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Sen. Bernie Moreno criticizes Biden administration's immigration policies during Kristi Noem's DHS confirmation hearing (Getty Images)
”So I think sometimes in Washington, D.C., we tend to complicate things,” Moreno told Noem. “We have a current Secretary of Homeland Security, so why not take a moment to review his duties a little and compare and contrast him?” For you? So, if you don't mind, I would like to ask you a few questions, which I hope you will answer. Secretary Mayorkas has allowed approximately 400 people on the terrorist watch list to enter the country illegally. If you were confirmed as Secretary of Homeland Security, how many people would you allow into this country on the terrorist watch list?”
Nomu replied that he would “work hard every day'' to ensure that the number reached “zero.''
”“It's shocking to see 382 continuations of policies that Joe Biden embraced, and they need to change immediately,” Noem said.
”Mayorokas sent about 12,000 murderers. How many people do you aim to bring into this country? asked Moreno.
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Moreno was sworn into the Senate on January 3. (Reuters)
“My goal every day is to keep murderers out of this country,” Noem said.
“Mayorkas let 16,000 rapists into the country. How many people are they going to let into the country?” Moreno continued.
“I will try to make sure no one comes into this country,” Noem responded.
Mr. Moreno went on to ask Mr. Noem about the 600,000 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions whom Mr. Mayorkas has taken in, to which Noem replied that immigrants with criminal convictions would be “immediately removed.”
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South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem takes the oath of office during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on her nomination for Secretary of Homeland Security on January 17, 2025 at the Capitol in Washington, DC. (Getty)
Noem also told Moreno that the practice of jetting hundreds of thousands of immigrants into the United States would be halted during her term.
”And how many illegal aliens are you going to house in a luxury hotel room in Manhattan at a cost of $6,000 a month?'' Moreno asked.
“Obviously, Senator, during this election, the American people did not support that and said that is not part of this new administration,” Noem said.
”I'm going to end my time with an alarming statistic and actually a challenge to the Democratic Party,” Moreno said after asking Noem to confirm whether he would suspend other aspects of the Biden administration's immigration policy. spoke.
“When Mr. Mayorkas was confirmed, all the Democrats voted to confirm him, all 50 Democrats and six Republicans in that confirmation. If it goes to a vote, hopefully the Chairman, You'll be able to vote on it on Monday, because we can't wait a day.''If you're the head of the department, we should 100 percent, 100 senators vote for your confirmation. . This will be the litmus test for whether we are Democrats or not. We are committed to bipartisan efforts to keep this country safe and protect our people. ”
