PIERRE, S.D. (AP) 鈥� On a face-numbingly frigid afternoon last week, Gov. used a farewell address to South Dakotans to warn of an 鈥渋nvasion鈥� far away from the state鈥檚 windswept prairies and freedom-loving farmers.
The 鈥渋llegal aliens鈥� and 鈥済ot-aways鈥� crossing the southern border, the governor said, pose an existential threat to the U.S. economy and national security, spreading cartel violence and deadly drugs.
鈥淲e see the consequences of Washington鈥檚 inaction here,鈥� said Noem, President Donald , a job that would put her at the forefront of the administration鈥檚 promised immigration crackdown. 鈥淓ven known terrorists have crossed the border amongst the illegals 鈥� and they could be anywhere.鈥�
But Noem鈥檚 heated rhetoric belies a stark reality: With unemployment at 1.9% 鈥� the lowest in the country 鈥� her state faces an acute labor shortage and has grown increasingly dependent on the same migrants she may be tasked with deporting.
It鈥檚 those migrants, many in the U.S. illegally, who provide the low-paid labor powering the booming slaughterhouses, dairy farms and construction sites in South Dakota. And any immigration actions spearheaded by Noem, who is expected to be confirmed by the Senate in coming days, could have crippling consequences for businesses in her own backyard.
That disconnect reflects a broader clash with fellow Republicans here who say she鈥檚 put her own ambition for higher office ahead of local needs.
The tension is most apparent in her embrace of Trump鈥檚 hardline stance on immigration. Whether it鈥檚 expressing support for a 鈥淢uslim ban鈥� during Trump鈥檚 first administration, or to the southern border 鈥渨ar zone鈥� more than 1,000 miles away, Noem has left little doubt she will follow Trump鈥檚 orders.
And that is what is terrifying migrants, business owners and advocates alike.
鈥淚f strict enforcement comes into play, we鈥檙e going to drown in our own red meat,鈥� said Ray Epp, a hog farmer and former Yankton County commissioner, who noted the unparalleled work ethic 鈥� and growing presence 鈥� of migrant laborers in the state鈥檚 pork industry. 鈥淭here鈥檇 be a crash.鈥�
Nitza Rubenstein, a community activist who works closely with migrants, was even more blunt: 鈥淲ho鈥檚 going to milk the cows? If the Latinos don鈥檛, nobody will.鈥�
Freedom fighter brand of politics
In Noem鈥檚 telling, her father鈥檚 death in a farming accident in 1994 produced a political awakening that would come to define her small government, freedom fighter brand of politics.
Pregnant at the time, she dropped out of college to take the reins of the family business 鈥� soon feuding with bureaucrats over what she called a 鈥渄eath tax鈥� that nearly bankrupted the ranch.
鈥淥verseeing all the operations was eye-opening,鈥� she wrote in 鈥淣o Going Back,鈥� an autobiography that drew scorn last year . 鈥淭he government had its hand in everything we did.鈥�
Twelve years later, at the urging of , then the top Democrat in the U.S. Senate, Noem ran for the state Legislature 鈥� as a Republican. An unbeaten string of eight electoral victories followed on her way to Congress and then the top office in the Mount Rushmore State.
Noem won those races thanks to a homespun and hard-knuckled approach to politics. As if to emphasize her reputation for bashing opponents, she ended her State of the State address last week handing her longtime lieutenant governor a signed baseball bat.
鈥淭his used to be an old men鈥檚 club,鈥� said Jim Smith, the Capitol鈥檚 longtime sergeant at arms, who remembers when lawmakers kept whisky bottles on their desk and filled the chambers with cigar smoke. 鈥淵ou need sharp elbows to survive.鈥�
Wooing Trump
She catapulted to national prominence in 2020 as South Dakota rejected COVID-19 restrictions and remained open for business during the pandemic. That year she also wooed Trump to Mount Rushmore for a Fourth of July fireworks display over the objection of federal bureaucrats concerned about potential wildfires.
As her national profile has risen, South Dakota鈥檚 first female governor feuded repeatedly with state Republican lawmakers who said they believe she has been more focused on than on the state鈥檚 needs. Those fights range from her use of a to attend out-of-state political events, state funding for a shooting range the Legislature previously project she backed over the objections of landowners.
鈥淰aluable time has been wasted on one person鈥檚 political aspirations while life-changing issues have gone on the back burner,鈥� said Steven Haugaard, a former speaker of the South Dakota House of Representatives who challenged Noem in 2022 for the Republican nomination for governor, garnering 24% of the vote.
As her political ambition outgrew the newly fenced-in governor鈥檚 residence in Pierre, Noem increasingly has turned her attention to immigration, though her record was not always as harsh as her rhetoric.
In 2019, for example, Noem to stop South Dakota鈥檚 cooperation with a U.S. State Department program to resettle refugees. It鈥檚 not clear how she feels about that program now. In her address last week, she criticized programs that have allowed 鈥渕any thousands who caught a free plane ride over our borders courtesy of the federal government.鈥�
At her Senate confirmation hearing last week, Democrats questioned Noem鈥檚 qualifications for the job. As DHS secretary, she鈥檒l be charged with managing the third-largest federal agency, with 240,000 employees and a budget of $108 billion 鈥� more than 15 times the spending of South Dakota, with just 13,000 workers.
The is not only responsible for running immigration and border policy but oversees agencies investigating terrorism and cybersecurity threats as well as the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Secret Service.
When asked how she would protect rural states from work shortages while carrying out Trump鈥檚 deportation plans, she offered few details other than to say she鈥檒l focus initially on what she claimed were 425,000 migrants with criminal convictions.
The number of migrants encountered trying to enter the U.S. skyrocketed under President , peaking in December 2023, when officials reported 301,000 encounters at the border. But they鈥檝e since ebbed to less than a third that amount.
鈥淢igrants who come here want to work,鈥� said Taneeza Islam, a lawyer and co-founder of South Dakota Voices for Peace, an advocacy group. 鈥淣oem knows that.鈥�
Noem, 53, didn鈥檛 respond to repeated interview requests but has left little doubt on how she will run DHS.
鈥淲e will ensure that our borders are secure,鈥� she told the committee, 鈥渁nd we鈥檙e addressing all threats that may come in from any direction.鈥�
Migrants, business owners are anxious about crackdown
Among those bracing for the crackdown is a young Guatemalan couple living without legal status in a prairie hamlet about an hour from Noem鈥檚 homestead.
Yoni and Petrona fell in love in South Dakota after each handed over their life鈥檚 savings to human smugglers, known as coyotes, to guide them across the U.S. border during the pandemic.
Like many migrants interviewed by the AP, the two lack health insurance, a driver鈥檚 license and can鈥檛 open a bank account. But that hasn鈥檛 stopped them from finding work.
Within two weeks of arriving, Yoni, just 15 at the time, landed a job at the local egg farm for $12 an hour with a fake green card he bought for $150. He now earns double that in construction and says he鈥檚 able to wire more remittances to family in Guatemala than friends who settled in California because rent in his state is cheap.
The couple鈥檚 dream is to gain legal status 鈥� or save enough to return home and provide their 18-month-old daughter, who was born in the U.S., a better upbringing than the one they had. The Associated Press agreed not to disclose the couple's last names because they are afraid of being arrested and deported.
鈥淭hings are a little bit better here,鈥� Yoni said in Spanish on a rare day off because his employer suspended work due to the extreme cold. 鈥淎t least I know that if I work hard here I鈥檒l get paid.鈥�
The couple, who spoke to the AP days before Trump was sworn in, live in fear that Noem will follow through on the threats and one day separate them from their daughter.
鈥淚鈥檝e heard that they鈥檙e only going to deport the mothers and the kids will stay here,鈥� said Petrona. 鈥淚magine that.鈥�
But those fears, stoked by Trump and Noem, don鈥檛 match the warm welcome migrants described in nearby Huron, where on a recent evening a red wolf moon flooded the desolate plains surrounding the town鈥檚 turkey plant.
A co-op of ethnic German Hutterite farmers, who arrived in the 19th century, own the Dakota Provisions plant. But migrants from Venezuela, Thailand and other countries, earning around $14 per hour, perform the dangerous, back-breaking work.
Huron, population 14,000, flourished with the arrival of the railroad in the 1880s, attracting migrants from all over Europe. But when the rail depot fell into disuse in the 1960s, the city began a long decline: a college closed, businesses shuttered and families uprooted.
Migrants are now fueling something of a rural renaissance.
The first contingent arrived some 20 years ago from Mexico and Central America. The latest are refugees fleeing ethnic violence in Myanmar. At the Beadle County courthouse, translation services are now offered in seven languages: Arabic, French, Karen, Nepali, Russian, Spanish and Swahili. A beef processing plant that is about to break ground is expected to attract even more foreign workers.
All the while, the town鈥檚 high school soccer team has become competitive. A half-dozen Latin bodegas sell exotic foods. And once-abandoned parks are brimming with families.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not an invasion 鈥� it鈥檚 an invitation,鈥� said Todd Manolis, owner of Manolis Grocery on Main Street. 鈥淭here were lots of growing pains at first. But without a doubt they saved us.鈥�
On a recent afternoon, as Manolis waited on customers who chewed the fat and bought goods on store credit, the owner pointed to the store's license hanging from a wall. It showed the business had been started a century ago 鈥� by Manolis' grandfather, shortly after his arrival as an immigrant from Greece.
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Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report from Washington.
Joshua Goodman And Jim Mustian, The Associated Press
