President Donald Trump campaigned on restoring law and order to our country and cleaning up the Department of Homeland Security following four years of Joe Biden’s disastrous policies. Kristi Noem is exactly the right pick to help him do just that.
From New York City to Chicago to small town America, there is no corner of this country that has not been negatively affected by Democrats’ failures.
Biden’s chosen top immigration official Alejandro Mayorkas led the department to become a poster child for government ineptitude and dereliction of duty.
As a result, millions of illegal migrants flooded across our southern border in gross violation of federal statues, to the detriment of the safety and security of our communities. Voters flatly rejected this track record of failure at the ballot box and now President Trump is righting those wrongs.
And along with the caravans of migrants were products of insidious origin that upended the U.S. manufacturing base and introduced cotton produced by slave labor into American households. It is vital that the new administration tackle this issue with the same vigor it brings to deportations and border enforcement.
Under his leadership, Secretary Mayorkas allowed cotton products manufactured by slave camps in China to make entry into the U.S. market in gross violation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Act.
Xi Jinping’s malign ambitions were fueled by Mayorkas’ asleep at the wheel approach to law enforcement.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) currently enslaves its Uyghur Muslim population in an attempt to stamp out dissent and persecute any group that seeks religious liberty.
A core function of this policy is forced labor, where prisoners produce many of the products often seen on cheap Chinese retailers like Temu and Shein.
China then floods our economy with these products to undermine American companies that pay their employees benefits, a living wage, and treat them with dignity.
The result?
American companies are forced to close their doors and Chinese government-controlled companies gain more of an economic grip on our day-to-day lives.
Congress passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Act in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion to prevent this from happening.
Companies are supposed to be barred from importing slave cotton and other products produced in these camps, however the Biden administration failed to put any enforcement in place and as a result China collects American profits from their religious repression.
For years now, the private sector has been actively tracking cotton importers who have been successfully sneaking slave cotton into this country and relabeling it to cover up their criminal activity.
Some, like Nine Line Apparel, Bella + Canvas, and others, actively test their products at their own expense to ensure that all their materials are ethically sourced and in line with U.S. law --- in effect, doing the job that the federal government has failed to do.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., even questioned Mayorkas about this in a public hearing, and the Secretary promised to address the issue — a promise he never kept. Thankfully, Kristi Noem is now at the helm and ready to turn the tide against Communist China.
The Trump administration has made border enforcement, strengthening Customs and Border Patrol, and enforcing our laws overall a priority.
If his first term is any indication, expect major improvements at the border and agents being empowered to enforce the laws Congress passed — a stark change from the last four years.
His Homeland Security team is mission ready to succeed in this. The American consumer should feel confident that the products they purchase are not supporting China’s human rights violations.
This should not be a partisan issue.
The Uyghur Forced Labor Act was passed with broad bipartisan support because politicians on both sides understood that the free flow of slave cotton only helps China while weakening the U.S. manufacturing base.
As with the recent bipartisan backing of the Laken Riley Act, Congress must ditch the partisan bickering and unite behind President Trump's leadership to right this wrong.
Secretary Noem is the warrior we need at the Department of Homeland Security to get the job done. And Americans of all backgrounds should be rooting for her success.
Bernard B. Kerik was the 40th Police Commissioner of the New York City Police Department and is a New York Times bestselling author. Read Bernard Kerik's Reports — More Here.
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