From the Department of Homeland Security
Readout of Secretary Johnson’s visit to Illinois
 

[June 14, 2014]  CHICAGO— Friday, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson traveled to Illinois where he was joined by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and U.S. Representatives Luis Gutierrez and Bill Foster to a conduct site visit at the regional U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, participate in a community engagement meeting in Willowbrook, and meet with groups dedicated to immigration reform. 

In Willowbrook, Secretary Johnson participated in a roundtable discussion with local Syrian and Muslim-American community leaders – including representatives from the Coalition for a Democratic Syria, the American Relief Coalition for Syria, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council – hosted by the Syrian American Medical Society. During the meeting, Secretary Johnson underscored the important role community leaders play in working with government and officials to understand the many challenges facing their communities. 

Over the past several months, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the community engagement efforts of the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, has worked closely with key leaders and officials of Syrian-American organizations around the country to help address the joint concern of extremist travel to and from Syria. Secretary Johnson today personally participated in that effort. Several of these community leaders have since partnered with DHS and facilitated community engagement work, focused on preventing violent extremism, intervening before someone commits an act of violence, and taking the appropriate measures to ensure community safety. The Secretary reiterated that this issue is not an isolated one, and partnership and inclusion are key to our collective goal of ensuring the safety and security of the American people. 

Later, Secretary Johnson, joined by Senator Durbin and Representatives Gutierrez and Foster, met with important immigration stakeholders to discuss a variety of immigration issues, including the need to commonsense immigration reform. During the meeting, Secretary Johnson solicited views on the review of potential reforms to DHS's removal priorities that he is conducting. He also discussed the ongoing government-wide response to address the influx of unaccompanied children entering the United States across the Southwest border.

[Text received; DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY]