DHS Sec. Kristi Noem delivers her opening statement to the House Homeland Security Committee.
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00:00Chairman, I yield back.
00:02Gentlemen, yield.
00:03Other members of the committee are reminded that opening statements may be submitted for the record.
00:08I'm pleased to have the Secretary of Homeland Security before us today for the first time as Secretary.
00:14I ask that Secretary Nguyen, you'd please rise and raise your right hand.
00:23Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you will give for the Committee on Homeland Security,
00:28the United States House of Representatives will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God.
00:35Let the record reflect that the Secretary has answered in the affirmative.
00:38Please take a seat, ma'am.
00:40I'd now like to formally introduce our witness.
00:43The Honorable Christy Noem currently serves as the eighth Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
00:47Prior to her appointment as Secretary, she served as Governor of South Dakota,
00:52as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and the South Dakota State Legislature.
00:56I thank the Secretary for being here today, and I now recognize Secretary Noem for five minutes to summarize her opening statement.
01:03Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and also thank you, Chairman McCall.
01:07Good to see you again.
01:08I was very privileged to serve with you when I served in this body, and to Ranking Member Thompson.
01:12I appreciate the invitation to be with all of you today and talk about important matters about securing our homeland here in the United States of America.
01:19Now, having previously served as a member of Congress, it's my honor to be on this side of the dais to present as the Secretary of Homeland Security.
01:28Today, I'm proud to discuss the accomplishments of President Trump and all that he has accomplished since he's taken office in the White House.
01:36But first, I would be remiss if I did not address the disturbing actions that we saw last week.
01:41There were members of this very committee that took part in an action at Delaney Hall on May 9th that need to be addressed.
01:49I served as a member of Congress in this body for eight years, and I understand the importance of congressional oversight.
01:54What happened on May 9th was not oversight.
01:57It was a political stunt that put the safety of our law enforcement officers, our agents, our staff, and our detainees at risk.
02:06Here are the facts.
02:07As a vehicle approached the security gate at Delaney Hall Detention Center, a mob of protesters, including three members of Congress, stormed the gate, and they trespassed into the detention facility.
02:19We have footage of those members of Congress slamming their bodies into our law enforcement officers, shoving them, screaming profanities in their faces, striking them with their fists, and otherwise assaulting law enforcement.
02:32The behavior was lawlessness, and it was beneath this body.
02:36Members of Congress should not break in to detention centers or federal facilities.
02:41Had these members requested a tour, we certainly would have facilitated a tour.
02:46As a body knows, there are proper protocols and there are procedures that must be abided by.
02:51These congressional members and staff visit our facilities all of the time, and these members could follow the policies that have been in place, and they would have been followed.
03:01We would have facilitated a tour of this important facility.
03:06However, even after these members assaulted our federal law enforcement officers, we still provided them with a tour of that facility.
03:13I'm glad that at their press conference following the tour, these members acknowledge that Delaney Hall is in good condition and meets deferral standards.
03:23Charges made by these politicians that Delaney does not have the proper permitting is false.
03:29We have valid permits and inspections for plumbing and electricity and fire codes that have been cleared.
03:34Lastly, I'd like to remind Americans and everyone in this body who is detained in this detention facility are murderers, rapists, known terrorists, MS-13 gang members, drug traffickers, and other heinous actors.
03:51I hope that those members of Congress will so passionately protest on behalf of the American victims that they were elected to represent,
03:58and not just violent criminals who are in this country illegally.
04:02And now that I've addressed this issue, I want to return to the reason why I'm in front of your committee today.
04:07I want to talk about the first 100 days under the Trump administration.
04:12Under President Trump and his leadership, we have already delivered for the American people a drastic turnaround in homeland security.
04:19From the southern border to our Coast Guard to cyberspace, and we're just getting started.
04:24We've delivered the most secure border in American history.
04:28At the southern border, we have obtained near-total control with daily encounters down 93% since President Trump has been in office.
04:36March saw the lowest numbers in American history of border encounters at just 7,200.
04:42Under the previous administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection was at times, under Joe Biden, encountering over 15,000 people per day.
04:51This astonishing turnaround is a testament to the resolve and to the leadership of President Trump to make America safe again.
04:58And as well, it is a testament to the incredible work done by the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security.
05:04The secure border has allowed Border Patrol to zero in on fighting cartels and all of their illicit activities.
05:11Under President Trump's leadership, six cartels, four dangerous and criminal gangs, have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
05:18This has allowed us to take a whole-of-government approach to address the illegal activities that these murderers and drug traffickers are taking on.
05:26In March, fentanyl traffic at the border fell by 54% compared to the previous year.
05:33And we are enforcing immigration laws to identify, arrest, detain, and remove dangerous illegal criminals.
05:39We are prioritizing those who have committed crimes and aliens who are a threat to public safety and national security.
05:47Especially those that are affiliated with terrorist organizations like MS-13 and Trandeo Agua.
05:53This includes those that already have final orders of removal.
05:56We have also worked to enforce President Trump's America First trade agenda.
06:00And Joe Biden's trade policies hollowed out our industrial base, shipped our jobs overseas.
06:05Our tariffs have been an effective negotiating tool.
06:09And we're also reforming emergency management in this country.
06:13We have the FEMA Review Council, which will be doing its work to make recommendations to the White House.
06:18We are also addressing cybersecurity, making sure that CISA's back on mission at protecting the homeland.
06:24And the Coast Guard is the only U.S. military branch under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security.
06:30We're making sure they have the resources and the vision to leave and be the point of the spear in the future.
06:35Since I took office, one of the responsibilities that I have is in reforming the Secret Service.
06:40We've reassessed Secret Service's needs, gotten recruitment away from Biden administration's DEI objectives,
06:46and made sure that they are equipped and ready to take on the task of protecting the more powerful into the future.
06:52We are so grateful for their bravery, their dedication, and their patriotism.
06:56It's our responsibility to continue providing them with the resources that they need to continue to do the important work that they do.
07:03Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for the time today.
07:05Thank you for allowing me to be here to get the facts out to the American people and to members of this committee
07:10of all of the good work that the people of the Department of Homeland Security are doing to serve the American public.
07:16With that, I look forward to your questions.
07:18Thank you, Madam Secretary.
07:19Members will be recognized by order of seniority for their five minutes of questioning.
07:23Because we have a restricted time window for the secretary today, just as we did with the last secretary,
07:30I will again...