South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Department of Homeland Security secretary, vowed Friday to immediately halt the mobile app that lets migrants register to enter the US.
“If confirmed and I have the opportunity to be secretary on Day 1, CBP One will be shut down,” Noem said in her Senate confirmation hearing.
An estimated 800,000 migrants have entered the US legally since the CBP One app was launched by President Biden in January 2023. The free application allows migrants to register themselves for an appointment and arrive at one of the eight crossing checkpoints into the country.
The governor called the border a “war zone” and promised to give Border Patrol agents all the resources they need to reverse the flow of migrants incurred under the Biden administration — as she sees its security as a “top priority” for the country.
Noem, 53, promised to reinstall Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy — and to shut down the parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV), under which she said the federal government pays for migrants to fly into the US.
“There’s several of these programs that need to be eliminated, and we need to ensure that we’re following legal immigration laws.”
Her efforts to secure the border will include the southern and northern borders, she said, arguing that the US needs to create a “fair and lawful immigration system” while securing against those “who would do us harm.”
As secretary of the DHS, Noem would also oversee the Secret Service, which has been under scrutiny after the two assassination attempts on Trump’s life.
“As secretary, I will oversee the Secret Service, an agency that is in serious need of reforms. We all saw the threats to President-elect Trump last year and the consequences of failure now,” she said.
“That should never happen again, and I’ve worked closely with my own gubernatorial protective detail, and I’m familiar with what works and what doesn’t work, and I’ll bring that experience towards strengthening the Secret Service.”
The governor said she would work to provide transparency for the two assassination attempts and provide them to the Senate.
Donald Trump Jr. announced Friday afternoon that his father will name Sean Curran director of the Secret Service. Curran is a part of Trump’s personal detail and was one of the agents who got Trump to safety during the first assassination attempt in Butler, Pa.
Former USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned 10 days later amid bipartisan criticism of the agency.
