PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — On a face-numbingly frigid afternoon last week, Gov. Kristi Noem used a farewell address to South Dakotans to warn of an “invasion” far away from the state’s windswept prairies and freedom-loving farmers.
The “illegal aliens” and “got-aways” crossing the southern border, she said, pose an existential threat to the U.S. economy and national security, spreading cartel violence and deadly drugs.
“We see the consequences of Washington’s inaction here,” said Noem, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, a job that would put her at the forefront of a promised immigration crackdown. “Even known terrorists have crossed the border amongst the illegals – and they could be anywhere.”
But Noem’s heated rhetoric belies a stark reality: With unemployment at 1.9% — the lowest in the country — her state faces an acute labor shortage and has grown increasingly dependent on the same migrants she may be tasked with deporting.
It’s those migrants, many …