U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited Springfield Wednesday, where she blasted Illinois’ sanctuary state policies and Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s leadership.
Pritzker’s office responded immediately, calling the visit a “Trump-Noem publicity stunt.”
“Since 2017, Illinois has been a sanctuary state. The results have been absolutely disastrous for people who live here,” Noem said during a news conference in Springfield.
Noem stood next to public officials and what she called “angel families” — families she said had loved ones impacted by crimes committed by people who are in the country illegally. NBC Chicago has not been able to independently confirm their stories.
On Tuesday, Pritzker’s office released its own itinerary of Noem’s visit to Springfield, including her arrival Wednesday morning at the Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield, followed by a visit to a regional Homeland Security office and a visit to the Governor’s Mansion.
“We would urge all pet owners in the region to make sure all of your beloved animals are under watchful protection while the secretary is in the region,” his office wrote, referencing a part of Noem’s memoir in which she wrote about her decision to kill a dog that she called “untrainable and dangerous.”
Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, has branded herself as a top messenger for President Donald Trump. The president nominated her to lead DHS in November, and she was confirmed in January.
“Now that we’ve given the American people the safest and most secure border in American history, we have to double down at removing dangerous criminals. President Trump has been focused on making sure that we’re going after the worst of the worst,” Noem said.
Pritzker released a statement after the news conference saying he wants Noem to “spend less time performing for Fox News and more time protecting the Homeland.”
Noem’s visit comes a day after Pritzker announced he will voluntarily head to Washington D.C. in June to testify before a Republican-led Congressional committee about Illinois’ immigration policies. Illinois is considered a sanctuary state due to a law in enacted in 2017 called the TRUST Act, signed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. The law limits local law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with federal immigration officials. In 2021, Pritzker signed legislation into law that expanded the TRUST Act.
“This governor has bragged about Illinois being a firewall against President Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda, and it is very clear that he has violating the Constitution of the United States because it is a federal law that the federal government and the president set and enforce immigration policies,” Noem said.
The governor’s office has repeatedly said the TRUST Act is compliant with federal law.
“Unlike Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, Illinois follows the law,” Pritzker said in a statement. “The Trump Administration is violating the United States Constitution, denying people due process, and disappearing law-abiding neighbors – including children who are U.S. citizens. Yet, they are taking no real action to promote public safety and deport violent criminals within the clear and defined legal process.”
Pritzker is positioning himself as a top Democratic mouthpiece against Trump. During a recent speech in New Hampshire, he used fiery language that revved up the crowd but also sparked criticism.
“Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption. But, I am now. These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace,” Pritkzer said on April 27.
Noem responded to Pritkzer’s words during her news conference in Springfield.
“Shame on him for standing up the other day and saying, ‘Republicans should never know a moment of peace.’ This country is desperate for peace,” Noem said.
Noem’s visit sparked responses from Illinois politicians across both sides of the aisle.
In response to her remarks, House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, a Republican, called for Illinois to “abandon its sanctuary state policies that have emboldened criminals, harmed families, and wasted billions in taxpayer dollars.”
“Instead of doing his job to protect Illinois families, Governor Pritzker is focused on pandering to liberal primary voters for an election that’s three years away,” McCombie said in a statement. “Governor Pritzker’s relentless defiance of the federal government is not leadership—it’s reckless. And Illinois families are paying the price.”
Meanwhile, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias called Noem “dangerously incompetent and cruel.”
“Instead of focusing on leadership and helping others and welcoming people, they are scaring the shit out of people and sending them to other countries without due process,” Giannoulias said in a heated address Wednesday morning.
State Sen. Karina Villa, a Democrat out of West Chicago, said Noem “has contributed to the dehumanization of immigrants across the country in order to justify a ruthless and unlawful agenda of mass deportation that has threatened the American ideals our country was founded on.
“Under the leadership of Secretary Noem, DHS is reported to have violated the rights of countless individuals, separated families, left unaccompanied children without access to counsel and undermined the right to due process granted to every person in the U.S. by our constitution,” Villa said in a statement.
She added that Noem’s event was “staged by the federal government to disrupt our state functions” and said it was intended “to distract from the federal administration’s failure to meet the needs of the American people.”
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