Kristi Noem, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, will speak Friday, Sept. 19, at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference on Mackinac Island.

Since 1955, Republicans have gathered for the biennial event at the historic Grand Hotel. The conference runs through Sunday and attracts Republicans from Michigan and across the country.

Before joining President Donald Trump’s cabinet, Noem served as South Dakota’s first female governor and was re-elected in 2022 with the highest number of votes in the state’s history.

She previously served as South Dakota’s sole member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

As Homeland Security secretary, she has warned that Michigan faces a growing crisis of illegal border crossings from the north with a drop in illegal crossings at th

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