Trump Picks Noem for Signature Hemispheric Role

Commentary

Long before she took the job as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was the target of a smear campaign that seemingly attacked even her choice of breakfast cereal (oatmeal with berries). 

But with the job, critics labeled her with slurs, a woman impervious to any remorse over the deaths of two violent protesters against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), part of the DHS, or of the impact on illegal immigrants and their families of being “ripped from their homes” and sent back to nations “they fled in fear.”

In a culture that finds excuses to set murderers and even terrorists free to ruin other peoples’ lives because “they may have changed during their years in prison” or because at age 57 they surely would not sexually assault another child, sending people who contracted with terrorist cartels to enter America illegally to face the consequences of their actions is deemed cruel and unusual punishment.

But taking money, jobs, and housing from needy Americans to give to strangers and then helping those with no legal right to America’s riches sign up to vote themselves even more government assistance is at best callous toward American citizen—and especially to those patiently awaiting the right to enter the United States legally. 

It’s rewarding the scofflaw and punishing the paying customer. It is the mentality that endorses shoplifting as a good sport everyone should try—with no consequences for getting caught.

The media were ecstatic that President Donald Trump was “forced” to remove Noem from her job at DHS—then despondent that he had the chutzpah to choose her to coordinate his signature hemispheric initiative. In unison, they crowed that “she failed at DHS, she’s a crook, she should be run out of town.”

Trump describes the Shield of the Americas as a “military coalition to eradicate the criminal cartels plaguing our region.” At its launch, representatives of 17 Latin American and Caribbean nations signed on. Trump pledged that the United States will “train and mobilize partner nation militaries to achieve the most effective fighting force necessary to dismantle cartels and their ability to export violence and pursue influence through organized intimidation.”

The training program is to be modeled on an initiative in Ecuador, where President Daniel Noboa authorized Ecuadorian security forces to work with the U.S. military in a targeted strike that involved “lethal kinetic action,” according to Politico.

If the Ecuadorian action is any indicator, the Shield of the Americas initiative could be a big deal. And Trump chose Noem to oversee U.S. interaction with each of the nations cooperating to weaken criminal organizations that disrupts economies, terrorizes and effectively enslaves entire populations, and weakens U.S. national security. 

Why would Trump choose Noem, given her controversial media image, to work with hemispheric leaders? 

For starters, Trump’s greater anger is at the politicians, paid protesters, and foreign billionaires who continue funding a smear campaign against ICE—and Noem in particular.

Moreover, according to The Hill, Noem’s mission at the Shield of the Americas will be similar to her role at DHS. The White House says her past experience makes her the right candidate for a job that also focuses on illegal immigrants, transnational human trafficking, and border crossings of both people and contraband. 

Noem has said she looks forward to working with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth “to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren. In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise I forged over the last 13 months.” 

Speaking of those 13 months, a quick review shows Noem was very effective across the board. Perhaps the greatest DHS accomplishment under Noem was achieved by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which recorded the lowest border-crossing totals in agency history. Noem ended catch-and-release, ordered consistent use of detention and removal, and sent a clear message that saw daily encounters drop by 95 percent. 

The CBP also increased its seizures of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other narcotics by 8 percent over President Joe Biden’s final year—totaling over 600,000 pounds. Between self-deporting and joint ICE–CBP operations in multiple U.S. cities, the DHS under Noem saw more than 3 million illegal aliens leave the United States—three-quarters of them voluntarily. Included in those numbers were nearly 50,000 “special interest” aliens and thousands of known or suspected terrorists.

The DHS under Noem also began executing a plan for comprehensive border security that includes building modern infrastructure, advanced technology, and increased law enforcement staffing to counter transnational criminal organizations, the same ones the Shield of the Americas is designed to eradicate.

Perhaps closest to her heart was the recovery of 145,000 children the Biden Administration had lost track of—many of whom had been sexually or physically abused. Also during her tenure the Transportation Security Administration detected tens of millions of dollars being flown to foreign locations, ended the no-shoes policy for airport departures, and also ended the Obama-era “Quiet Skies” program he used to spy on Americans.

Currently unpaid Coast Guard personnel seized a record-setting 547,000 pounds of illegal narcotics worth more than $3.9 billion during her tenure, saved over 5,200 lives, and protected more than a billion dollars in property. Noem also oversaw record-setting Coast Guard recruitment—a key to both interdiction of illegal border crossers and enabling the safe movement of billions of tons of cargo—and the projected $5.4 trillion in goods during 2026.

Noem’s DHS World Cup Coordination Office is gearing up to secure all aspects of the 2026 FIFA World Cup activities, including the safety of the fans and players, the matches, and other events. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), whose employees are also working without pay, executed the fastest non-disaster grant program in its history via the FIFA World Cup Grant Program. The beleaguered agency, whose employees under Biden were accused of selectively not helping some disaster victims, stepped up its aid to victims of hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. 

In just the past year, FEMA has responded to 41 major disaster declarations, including the July 4 Texas flood, and also evaluated its grant programs to root out waste, fraud, and abuse. Results include terminating 118 bad contracts, accelerating state-led recovery funding to get money to victims faster, and prevented up to $1.3 billion in external fraud.

Under Noem, DHS agencies cut through bureaucratic fog to improve their performance for the American people, endured abuse and even violence from paid agitators while removing dangerous criminals from America’s streets, and still managed to upgrade relations with Latin American heads of state.

Kristi Noem should prove an excellent choice as Envoy for Shield of the Americas.  

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.