Gov. Kristi Noem requests joint legislative session to address border crisis

Governor to brief lawmakers on 'potential South Dakota response'

PIERRE – Gov. Kristi Noem is requesting to address a joint legislative session on Wednesday to discuss the situation on the southern border with Mexico.

While not uncommon for the governor to address a joint session – meaning a speech before both the House and Senate – those addresses typically take place when the governor introduces her budget in December and opens the legislative session with the State of the State Address.

Noem is one of 25 Republican governors who has publicly supported Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to place razor wire on portions of the border. That decision was challenged by the Biden Administration, and last week, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted an injunction, allowing the federal government to remove the wire while the underlying case is litigated.

Noem has visited the border since the Supreme Court ruling, and in numerous social media posts she has characterized the border, which has seen record numbers of migrants in recent months, as a “war zone.”

“Each time I see the border, it’s more of a warzone than the last. I was briefed by border patrol, visited state troopers, met with TX National Guard, & got a boat tour from the TX Department of Public Safety. SD stands with those defending our border,” she said in one recent post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

At the start of Monday’s House session, House Speaker Hugh Bartels read a short letter from Noem requesting the joint session. She said she planned to discuss the “dire consequences” on the southern border and South Dakota’s potential response.

“The president pro temp and I have spoken, and we plan to call the joint session,” Bartels told the House, referring to Sen. Lee Schoenbeck, the president pro tempore in the Senate.

Noem has already deployed South Dakota National Guard units to assist Texas authorities at the border.