Gov. Kristi Noem said migration through the U.S. southern border is leading to what she calls a “change in demographics” in the country.
The comments are drawing criticism from a local immigration advocacy group.
Noem made the comments on CBS news Wednesday while in Iowa ahead of a Trump rally in Sioux City.
The governor has given a full and complete endorsement of Trump, who is the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination. The former president is employing stronger rhetoric on the campaign trail, calling political opponents “vermin” and saying immigration is “poisoning the blood of our country.”
In response to a question on CBS News about Trump’s rhetoric toward Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley—a daughter of immigrants—Noem said she’s more interested in debating about policy, gas and grocery prices, and the southern border.
“People are just alarmed by what they see in the changes in the demographics in our country because of the open border and how these dangerous individuals are being let into our country," Noem said. "That’s the number one issues people are talking about here, and I think it’s important people focus on policies.”
Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD), who is campaigning for Donald Trump in Iowa, discusses the 2024 GOP race, Trump's challengers, and when asked what she would do if offered the Vice Presidential slot, said, "I think anybody in this country, if they were offered it, needs to consider it." pic.twitter.com/Rt7WKd0ryN
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 3, 2024
In December, as many as 10,000 migrants were arrested daily along the southern border.
Noem’s comments comes amid a multi-million-dollar national ad campaign to recruit workers to the state.
Taneeza Islam is the CEO of South Dakota Voices for Peace—a free immigration legal services and advocacy group based out of Sioux Falls. Islam said it’s immigrants who are reviving rural South Dakota and helping grow its cities—even ones who make their way through the southern border.
“It is immigrant labor that is building South Dakota’s economy,” Islam said. “So, it’s always interesting that a governor of a state that depends on immigrant labor she continues to speak against South Dakota’s interests.”
At a Trump rally in Rapid City in August, signs for Trump-Noem 2024 appeared. A spokesperson for the governor’s office did not respond to questions about who was behind the signs. Trump has not named a running mate.
