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Freshman Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno ripped the Biden administration’s immigration policy in his first Senate hearing as President-elect Trump’s DHS secretary nominee Kristi Noem sitting before the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
“To be clear, would Laken Riley be alive today if you had been the secretary of Homeland Security?” Moreno asked Noem during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Friday.
“Senator, my hope is that this is true, yes,” Noem replied, as the Laken Riley Act is being debated in the Senate to prevent crimes like the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley , who was killed last year. by an illegal immigrant, which he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
During his line of questioning, Moreno implemented a theme of asking Noem about Mayorkas’ immigration record and whether illegal immigration statistics would continue under his watch.
Sen. Bernie Moreno blasts Biden administration’s immigration policies at Kristi Noem’s DHS confirmation hearing (Getty Images)
“So I think sometimes in D.C. we tend to overcomplicate things,” Moreno told Noem. “There’s currently a Secretary of Homeland Security, so why don’t we take this opportunity to do a little job review and compare and contrast it. to you So if you don’t mind, I’ll ask you some questions and you can give me an answer. Secretary Mayorkas allowed about 400 people on a terror watch list to enter this country illegally. If you were confirmed as Secretary of Homeland Security, how many people on the terrorism watch list would you allow into this country?”
Noem replied that he would “work every 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 assassins. How many would you aim 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 not allow murderers into this country,” Noem said.
“Mayorkas let in 16,000 rapists. How many would you aim to let in?” Moreno continued.
“I would work to make sure there was no one in this country,” Noem replied.
Moreno went on to ask Noem about the 600,000 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions that Mayorkas let in, and she responded by saying that all immigrants 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 to be Homeland Security Secretary on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on January 17, 2025 . (Getty)
Noem also told Moreno that the practice of sending hundreds of thousands of migrants to the United States by plane would stop under his mandate.
“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 didn’t support that and that was not going to be part of this new administration,” Noem said.
“I’m going to end my time with a surprising statistic and actually a challenge to the Democratic Party,” Moreno said after asking Noem to confirm other aspects of the Biden administration’s immigration policy that he would stop.
“When Mayorkas was confirmed, every Democrat voted to confirm him, and six Republicans joined the 50 Democrats in that confirmation. If we get to the vote, hopefully, President, we could do this Monday, because we can’t wait for a single day without If you are in charge of this department we should have 100 percent 100 senators vote for your confirmation This is really serious about doing things bipartisan ways to secure this country and protect our citizens.”
