Kristi Noem's ICE raid photo-op sparked backlash as social media mocked her "ICE Barbie" look, while immigration arrests surge under Trump's administration.

WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary on Saturday, putting the South Dakota governor in charge of a sprawling agency that is essential to national security and President Donald Trump's plans to clamp down on illegal immigration.

The two term South Dakota Gov. was tapped by Trump in November and will be key in enacting the new president's mass deportation plan.

The farmer and small-business owner turned elected official has made headlines for being a possible vice presidential candidate and killing an "untrainable" dog.

Larry Rhoden was officially sworn in as governor of South Dakota on Saturday following the resignation of former Gov. Kristi Noem, who stepped down to assume the role of U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and will lead the Department of Homeland Security

Kristi Noem, South Dakota's firebrand Republican governor, faced questioning Friday at her confirmation hearing to be secretary of homeland security. Noem, the daughter of a farmer and a former representative from South Dakota, is being questioned before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Kristi Noem, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice ... statement that she had faced down North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un during her time in Congress. It was a largely substantive hearing ...

The Senate voted on Saturday to confirm Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary, putting a former South Dakota governor in charge of the department at the heart of President Trump’s agenda to crack down on immigration. The vote was 59 to 34, and she was sworn-in on Saturday afternoon by the Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden did not deviate greatly from Noem's executive agenda, but there are early differences between the administrations.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced she was suspending aid for nonprofits that helped migrants and complained the non-governmental organizations were not "telling somebody about Jesus.

Debate erupted at the Riverside County Board of Supervisors meeting over a resolution to evaluate how data on undocumented immigrants and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program is collected.