During her confirmation hearing on Friday, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Homeland Security secretary, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, referred to the situation along the US-Mexico border as a 'war zone.' Noem, who would be responsible for overseeing border security, emphasized the challenges faced in the region.
In response to the perceived crisis at the border, Noem announced in 2021 that she would deploy the National Guard to Texas to enhance security measures. This decision was made in light of what she described as a 'national security crisis' affecting the southern border. Subsequently, three deployments were ordered by Noem over the following years, amounting to an estimated cost of $2.7 million.
As President Trump prepares to take office, he will be confronted with a border landscape that has seen a decrease in crossings compared to when he previously held office. In December, the final month of the Biden administration, the US Border Patrol reported 47,300 migrant encounters. While this figure represented a slight uptick from November, it marked the lowest daily average for a month since July 2020.
