Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made her second visit of the year to Illinois on Friday to condemn the state’s immigration laws and defend the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
At a news conference in west suburban Lombard, Noem highlighted four individuals arrested in Illinois and deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement while arguing Illinois has given safe harbor to violent criminals. She also defended controversial tactics federal officers have used to arrest people.
“These individuals would still be out on our streets today, committing crimes and attacking people and harming them and hurting our children, if Gov. (J.B.) Pritzker and (Chicago) Mayor (Brandon) Johnson had their way,” Noem said of the four deported people pictured behind her while standing in front of a table filled with confiscated guns, drugs and cash.
Noem said people in Illinois — a state with 1.8 million foreign-born residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau — should focus on the needs of “American citizens” and “make them the priority, because they’re the ones who invested in this country.”
While Noem touted the thousands of people who have been deported since President Donald Trump took office in January, ICE’s methods for detaining people have generated controversy. Videos have gone viral on social media showing masked federal agents without uniforms surprising people as the agents jumped out of unmarked cars.
Noem defended agents using masks, claiming federal agents have seen a 1,000% increase in assaults against them in recent months. She also said agents do identify themselves with either something they are wearing or verbally.
“ICE is always wearing something that identifies them, who they are and what operation they’re out on,” Noem said. “I would say that they wear masks at times to protect their identities from dangerous situations. With the leadership teams, we leave that up to them to discern what’s necessary in certain situations.”
Illinois lawmaker seeks regulations on ICE’s attire
Some Illinois Democrats are seeking to ban federal agents from wearing masks in many cases. Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, filed House Bill 4086 in July that would prohibit law enforcement officers operating in Illinois from wearing masks while interacting with the public with exceptions for surgical masks for medical reasons and masks to protect police from smoke or gas.
It would also require officers to wear something identifying their name or badge number as well as the police agency they work for. The bill makes an exception for undercover officers.
“What the federal government’s doing is not in a line of duty where chemicals are going to be around or anything,” Hernandez said in an interview. “To my knowledge, it’s just people getting arrested at homes, at stores, at parking lots, so why should they hide who they are?”
She acknowledged Noem’s concerns about officers’ safety but argued that police officers have a public-facing job and should identify themselves when they’re working with the public.
“I want to be supportive of officers overall, however, these are officers that have been told to deport families, to spread fear, to do a lot of illegals actions – in a way they’re law enforcement and they’re not following certain laws either by not having a search warrant,” Hernandez said.
But Hernandez acknowledged the Illinois Attorney General’s Office has shared with her that her bill is likely unconstitutional as state laws cannot regulate the federal government.
“I know that this is something that my community wants to see and even though if (federal regulation) gets removed from the bill itself, we want to make sure people are aware of this; we want people to be sure that we are fighting for this,” Hernandez said.
Sanctuary policies
Noem’s first visit earlier this year to Springfield was met with protests as she visited a Homeland Security detention facility and invoked the death of local activist Emma Shafer, despite objection from Shafer’s parents.
During her Springfield visit, Noem, alongside Republican state legislators, called on Pritzker to end the state’s “sanctuary” policies. She repeated her demands Friday.
“Kristi Noem is trying to make an example out of us because we refuse to join her in kissing the dirt under Trump’s shoes,” Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton said during a news conference Friday. “And I’m sure it only infuriates her more that the law is simply on our side.”
State law does not protect people in Illinois from deportation. Federal officers under Noem’s leadership can still make arrests and deport people in Illinois. Under the 2017 TRUST Act signed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, Illinois law enforcement is prohibited from arresting a person based solely on their immigration status and in most cases, cannot assist immigration officials with detaining people based on immigration status, according to the Illinois Attorney General’s office.
Noem said ICE has issued more than 1,600 detainers — a request to hold someone in local custody for ICE to pick up and process for deportation — in recent months, but only 8% have been fulfilled.
“Anybody who serves in law enforcement would say they’re used to partners,” Noem said. “They’re used to being able to call up a local law enforcement officer, a sheriff, a highway patrol officer, and say, ‘Hey, do you have any information on this individual that is a murderer that’s been cited in your city?’ That’s not happening in Illinois.”