WASHINGTON, Nov 13, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as head of the US Department of Homeland Security, a powerful post at the heart of the Republican's hard-line immigration policies.

"Kristi has been very strong on Border Security. She was the first Governor to send National Guard Soldiers to help Texas fight the Biden Border Crisis, and they were sent a total of eight times," Trump said in a statement.