Noem optimistic Laken Riley would still be alive if she were DHS secretary, as freshman senator rips Mayorkas

Freshman Sen. Bernie Moreno rips Biden administration during Noem confirmation hearing

DHS secretary nominee Kristi Noem told Moreno that Laken Riley would likely be alive today if she had been DHS secretary at the time.

Freshman GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno ripped the Biden administration’s immigration policy in his first hearing in the Senate as President-elect Trump’s DHS secretary nominee Kristi Noem sat in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

"Just to be clear, Laken Riley would be alive today if you had been the secretary of Homeland Security?" Moreno asked Noem during her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Friday. 

"Senator, my hope is that that would be true, yes," Noem responded, as the Laken Riley Act is being debated in the Senate with the aim of preventing crimes like the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was murdered last year by an illegal immigrant, who was sentenced to life without parole. 

During his line of questioning, Moreno implemented a theme of asking Noem about the Mayorkas immigration record and whether the illegal immigration statistics would continue under her watch. 

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Sen. Bernie Moreno ripped the Biden administration's immigration policies in Kristi Noem's DHS confirmation hearing (Getty Images)

"So, I think sometimes, in D.C., we tend to complicate things," Moreno told Noem. "There is a current secretary of Homeland Security, so why don't we take this opportunity to do a little job review and compare and contrast him to you? So just 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 come into this country illegally. If you were confirmed as secretary of Homeland Security, how many people on the terror watch list would you allow into this country?"

Noem responded that she would "work every single day" to make sure the number is "zero."

"When you look at the 382 that Joe Biden has let in, and the policies continue, is shocking and needs to be changed immediately," Noem said. 

"Mayorokas let in about 12,000 murderers. How many would you target to let into this country?" Moreno asked.

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Moreno was sworn into the Senate on Jan. 3. (Reuters)

"My goal every day would be to have no murderers allowed into this country," Noem said. 

"Mayorkas let in 16,000 rapists. How many would you target to let in?" Moreno continued. 

"I would work to make sure there was none let into this country," Noem answered. 

Moreno continued by asking Noem about the 600,000 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions let in by Mayorkas, and she responded by saying that any migrants 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 Secretary of Homeland Security, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on January 17, 2025.  (Getty)

Noem also told Moreno that the practice of flying hundreds of thousands of migrants into the United States on jets would halt under her tenure. 

"And how many illegals will you plan to house in luxury hotel rooms in Manhattan, at a cost of $6,000 per month?" Moreno asked.

"Clearly, senator, during this election, the American people said they did not support that and that that would not be a part of this new administration," Noem said. 

"I'm going to end my time with a startling statistic and actually a challenge to the Democrat Party," Moreno said after asking Noem to confirm other aspects of the Biden administration immigration policy that she would halt.

"When Mayorkas was confirmed, every single Democrat voted to confirm him, and six Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in that confirmation. If we get to the vote, hopefully, chairman, we could do that Monday, because we cannot wait one single day without you being in charge of that department. We should have 100 percent, 100 senators vote for your confirmation. This will be the litmus test in my mind as to whether we have a Democrat Party that's actually serious about doing bipartisan things like securing this country and protecting our citizens."

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to [email protected].