The department that the South Dakota governor seeks to lead will be critical to fulfilling the incoming administration’s promises to quickly crack down on immigration.

Kristi Noem, the nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, called the U.S. southern border a ‘war zone’ and said her chief mission at the helm of the department would be to get a handle on the immigration crisis.

President-elect Donald Trump's choice for Homeland Security secretary portrayed illegal immigration as an "invasion" and the U.S.-Mexico border as a "war zone" during a U.S. Senate confirmation on Friday where she pledged to back Trump's hard line on immigration.