PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Days after returning from a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem addressed state lawmakers about the immigration situation.
It was her second address to lawmakers this session.
SD GOP legislators split ahead of Noem’s border speech
In a letter sent to leadership of both chambers earlier this week, Noem requested the joint session to “provide a briefing on the warzone at our nation’s Southern Border.”
Last week, Noem and 24 other Republican governors traveled to the Texas-Mexico border as a show of support for the State of Texas. Noem has sent members of the South Dakota National Guard to assist in Texas three times.
Noem’s communications director shared the remarks as prepared. Read that below:
Lieutenant Governor Rhoden, Mr. Speaker, members of the House and Senate, and my fellow South Dakotans:
Thank you for calling this joint session of the legislative body today so I may address both chambers on a matter of grave importance to the people of South Dakota and the United States of America. It is no secret that our country is being overwhelmed with en masse illegal immigration. Nearly 10 million foreign nationals have broken federal law and infiltrated our country within the past 3 years, bringing with them drugs, trafficking, crime, and violence.