NOTE: You can watch live coverage of Pritzker’s testimony on Capitol Hill in the player above.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker didn’t mince words when asked about the possibility of being targeted for arrest by Trump administration officials over the state’s immigration policies.
Pritzker, along with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, testified on Capitol Hill Thursday about their states’ policies pertaining to immigration and cooperating with federal immigration enforcement agents.
During the tense hearing, Democratic Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost referenced comments made by President Donald Trump in support of arresting governors during his presidency, including most recently California Gov. Gavin Newsom amid continuing unrest in Los Angeles.
On Monday, Trump had told reporters he would arrest Newsom if he were “Border Czar” Tom Homan, a call echoed by several members of the Republican caucus in Congress.
“I would do it if I were Tom. I think it’s great,” he had said.
Newsom had pushed back against the comments, calling such an insinuation “(the) acts of a dictator.”
Frost asked each of the three governors participating in the hearing to react to those threats, and Pritzker didn’t mince words.
“I have the highest duty to protect the people of my state, and if Tom Homan were to try to arrest me, I can say first of all, he can try,” Pritzker said. “I can also tell you that I will stand in the way of Tom Homan going after people who don’t deserve to be frightened in their communities, who don’t deserve to be threatened or terrorized. I would rather he come and arrest me than do that to the people of my state.”
Pritzker and Homan have been at odds before. In the leadup to Trump’s inauguration, Homan spoke at a conference in Phoenix and said that Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson needed to cooperate with the federal government, or face consequences.
“Put up all the roadblocks you want, because we’ll knock them down,” he said.
In a nod to the frequent confrontations between the governor and Trump administration officials, Pritzker’s social media team clipped his Thursday comments and linked them back to remarks he had previously made after the 2024 presidential election.
“If you come for Illinoisans, you have to come through me,” the X post read.
On the day after Trump’s election in November, Pritzker had addressed reporters and promised that he would resist the new administration’s policies on a number of fronts, specifically related to immigration and LGBTQ rights.
“To anyone who intends to come, take away the freedom and opportunity and dignity of Illinoisans, I would remind you that a happy warrior is still a warrior,” Pritzker said. “You come for my people, you come through me.”
The governor painted Illinois as “a refuge for those whose rights are being denied elsewhere,” and promised to continue pursuing protections for asylum seekers, those seeking reproductive healthcare, and LGBTQ+ communities. He pointed to actions like the Reproductive Health Act and his mandate that gender-affirming care be covered by insurers in the state, while promising to do more work in the years to come.
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