Last year, a splashy ad campaign featuring Kristi Noem,
then head of the Department of Homeland Security, started showing up on TV.
Why do I love these wide open spaces?
They remind me of why our forefathers came here.
Noem sits tall on a horse.
She's wearing chaps, a cowboy hat.
The granite faces of Mount Rushmore rise behind her.
I'm Kristi Noem.
The ads were directed at people thinking of illegally immigrating to the U.S.
It was a warning not to come.
You cross the border illegally, we'll find you.
Break our laws, we'll punish you.
These TV spots were mostly in English,
and the campaign was pretty pricey, costing more than $200 million.
Our colleague Michelle Hackman says this campaign came to define Nome's unconventional tenure at DHS.
It's a long, glossy ad.
It glorifies America, but it glorifies her too.
It almost felt like she wasn't just running the show at DHS.
She was like, literally, she was like starring in the show at DHS.
Totally.