President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has supported investments in emerging tech, cyber and border security during her state tenure to advance state and national security.
Homeland Security leaders ranked cybersecurity and artificial intelligence as its top two priorities for their cross-cutting needs and efforts five months after releasing its Innovation, Research and Development Strategic Plan. DHS has been developing innovative tools like biometric technology, unmanned systems and quantum to secure the border.
“Locally, through our collaboration with the Office of Consumer Protection, we inform, alert, educate and assist our citizens in all matters related to cybersecurity,” Noem said on her website. “But we need to think even bigger. When I first became Governor, I said that I wanted to help bring the next big industry to our state. With the threats that our state and our nation face from cybercriminals, I know that cyberresearch is that industry.”
If confirmed by the Senate, Noem, in concert with Trump’s recently named “border czar” and former police officer, immigration official and political commentator Tom Homan, would inherit DHS’ modernization initiatives.
“She will work closely with ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan to secure the Border, and will guarantee that our American Homeland is secure from our adversaries,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Following Trump’s nomination, Noem said she was committed to tackling the security issues involving the U.S. border.
“I look forward to discussing our nation’s security challenges and my commitment to addressing them head-on,” said Noem on her website. “This position oversees the federal agencies responsible for our immigration system and millions of illegal immigrants have poured over our southern border … everything that I do will be focused on making America safe again.”
Advancing Quantum to Drive Security
2024 saw a heightened focus on quantum computing with DHS agencies like the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) increasing investments in post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and the United Nations declaring 2025 the year of quantum.
During her time as Governor, Noem has also made investments in the tech to fund South Dakota’s next frontier in quantum research and development.
In Noem’s proposed budget last year, she proposed a $6 million investment in a new Center for Quantum Information Science & Technology (C-QIST). The center aimed to achieve four primary objectives:
- Develop research and programs that advance quantum computing in cybersecurity, agriculture, health care and materials science.
- Implement degree programs in quantum information science and technology.
- Advance fields of AI and ML with quantum computing.
- Provide resources for citizens and private institutions on the application of quantum.
“This new field can do exponentially more than a regular computer can do. Imagine a task that it would take regular computers 20 years to accomplish. A quantum computer could handle that task in just a matter of seconds,” said Noem said announcing the investment.
CBP has a jump start when it comes to preparing for PQC after adopting the first quantum-related standards released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2024.
CBP has urged other agencies how to prepare for “Q-Day,” which tech experts believe will happen over the next decade. They warned that the computing power will become so advanced that it will break current encryption methods and introduce critical vulnerabilities in systems.
“CBP is one of the first federal agencies to explore post-quantum cryptography to harden security within its systems,” noted CBP CIO Sonny Bhagowalia in a recent update. “It is necessary to strengthen our agency’s data through post-quantum cryptography encryptions now, in order to be prepared for the security threats of the future.”
Biometric Tech Advancements
DHS is in the process of utilizing biometric technology to boost its operations in heavily populated environments. Security, inclusivity and connectivity are three major areas the agency is focusing on to enhance its tech capabilities.
During his first administration, Trump leveraged and expanded biometric technology to increase border security.
The fiscal year 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act provided up to $1 billion for the CBP biometric entry/exit program and Trump’s 2017 executive order on protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry called on CBP to “expedite the completion and implementation of a biometric entry exit tracking system.”
In Sept. 2020, the first Trump administration proposed a rule to expand the collection of biometric data from immigrants. This proposal sought to allow the government to collect additional personal data, including DNA and voice prints, from a broader group of individuals, including children. The stated goal was to improve security vetting and reduce fraud within the immigration system.
As DHS expands its use of biometrics, President Biden called on the agency to create accountability measures for the tech.
DHS, in partnership with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), released a new biometric technology report at the end of 2024 required under the 2022 executive order on advancing accountable policing and criminal justice practices to enhance public trust and safety. The report outlined the best practices for the use of facial recognition technology (FRT).
“This interagency group focused on the EO’s direction to ensure that ‘law enforcement technologies do not exacerbate disparities,” the report stated. “[It] is critical to the effective administration of justice in the United States and equitable [law enforcement] activity more broadly. Therefore, law enforcement’s use of technology — including FRT and other artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled biometric tools — must always respect these values and adhere to the highest ethical standards and constitutional principles.”
Noem has backed biometric advancements as South Dakota governor. In 2022, Noem’s budget included $3.5 million for the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to update the software that catalogs arrest and fingerprint records that date back to 1937. The proposed funding aimed to modernize the system to integrate and communicate more efficiently with databases used by other agencies like the Unified Judicial System (UJS).
Interim DCI Director Chad Mosteller said in 2022 the system requires manual entry of certain records, so one goal of the funding is to automate and simplify the maintenance process. Noem’s budget also called for a $70 million overhaul of the system to modernize it and back up records in the commercial cloud.
Throughout 2024, DHS has continued to modernize biometrics to increase border security.
“There are reasons for the use of biometrics within the department, but we are also responsible for helping to screen and inspect people crossing the borders, entering secure facilities, traveling and flying, to help make sure that the right person is going through the right process,” Arun Vemury, director of the Biometric and Identity Technology Center at DHS, told GovCIO Media & Research in a 2024 interview.
CBP is also harnessing biometric technology to combat environmental challenges when it comes to identifying people at the border.
“Making these technologies more robust to environmental and use case situations, there’s a lot of interest in potentially new modalities … especially as we start getting to more things like smartphone based or remote applications,” added Vemury.
Tech Security and Drone Management
Mark Cancian, senior adviser with the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told GovCIO Media & Research that he expects there will be both low-tech and high-tech mechanisms to secure the border under Trump’s second administration.
Cancian speculated Trump’s “low-tech” advancements would be physical infrastructure upgrades like extending the border wall, stating “there will be efforts to make the structure as robust as possible.”
“Beyond that, everyone recognizes that a physical wall is not, in itself, enough. Military doctrine holds that barriers must be observed and then have mechanisms for reaction. The same applies to the border wall,” said Cancian. “Physical patrols can provide some of that observation and reaction, but more will be needed. That might include camera surveillance and drones … I expect there to be a major push in the area.”
During Trump’s previous administration, he worked with the Department of Transportation to implement the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program which allowed drones to be tested for safety. It also helped validate advanced operations for drones in partnership with state and local governments.
DOT officials said the program also addressed the challenges in incorporating drones into the national airspace while reducing safety and security risks to the public.
“This program supports the President’s commitment to foster technological innovation that will be a catalyst for ideas that have the potential to change our day-to-day lives,” said former DOT Secretary Elaine Chao. “Drones are proving to be especially valuable in emergency situations, including assessing damage from natural disasters such as the recent hurricanes and the wildfires in California.”
Increasing Border Patrol
Since Trump made secure borders the centerpiece of his campaign, Cancian believes there will be immediate action taken by Trump and Noem to build more border walls and increase the size of the border patrol.
According to Cancian, over the past several decades the military has provided support services at the border, such as transportation, surveillance and engineering projects.
“Trump has hinted at using the military for deportation efforts away from the border,” said Cancian. “Gov. Noem has strongly supported using the National Guard at the border so I expect that she will expand that role.”
Noem has previously sent National Guard troops to the southern border. In 2024, she deployed 60 soldiers from South Dakota to help secure the area following a request from Texas Governor Gregg Abbott. That was the fifth time that Noem had sent National Guard troops to the area since she was elected Governor.
“The border is a warzone, so we’re sending soldiers,” Noem. “These soldiers’ primary mission will be construction of a wall to stem the flow of illegal immigrants, drug cartels and human trafficking into the United States of America.”
Shortly after one group of National Guard troops returned to South Dakota after securing the border wall and mitigating dozens of breaches in south Texas, Noem announced her intent to deploy more in the fall of 2024.
“Texas is working with South Dakota and other states to pick up the slack. We will continue to do our part,” said Noem. “We have another group of South Dakota National Guard soldiers scheduled to deploy to the Southern Border on a federal activation later this Fall. And we will continue to do everything we can to mitigate the cartels’ influence here at home.”
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