DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s Illinois stop on immigration laws called
‘publicity stunt’
[May 08, 2025]
By Ben Szalinski, Jade Aubrey
SPRINGFIELD – Two hours in the state capital was enough for U.S.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to criticize
Illinois’ immigration laws and its governor while invoking the 2023
murder of a local progressive activist.
Her short Wednesday visit largely served as an opportunity for an
official from President Donald Trump’s cabinet to take photos
highlighting immigration policies in a Democrat-run state. Noem visited
a DHS office where she briefly spoke with two people being processed for
deportation and then held a news conference with family members of
people murdered by noncitizens.
To illustrate her point, Noem held the news conference on the same block
where Springfield progressive activist Emma Shafer was murdered in 2023.
Shafer was allegedly stabbed by her partner at their Springfield home.
“She lost her life to an illegal alien that’s still out, at large,
probably in this state,” Noem said at a news conference in Springfield.
“We can’t confirm that because the local law enforcement and the state
law enforcement are barred by state law, with the support of Gov. (JB)
Pritzker, from sharing any information.”
The suspect in the case has not been arrested and Springfield police
said last year the man, a Mexican national, may have fled the country.
Noem’s remarks appalled one of Shafer’s friends who was protesting near
the news conference and said Shafer would be advocating for immigrants.
“Emma Shafer would have never supported Trump’s policies and would have
never supported what Kristi Noem had to say,” Francesca Butler told
Capitol News Illinois. “Emma would want Kristi to know we should lead
with compassion and humility.”
Noem said she was not in contact with Shafer’s family and was unaware
they were at another site protesting her visit.
Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, said the Republican lawmakers at the
news conference didn’t know Shafer was going to be mentioned, but “you
have to mention all the people that have been killed by people that
shouldn’t have been here.”
Democratic lawmakers and immigration activists protested Noem’s visit
outside the Governor’s Mansion and Capitol Building.
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.
“This governor has bragged about Illinois being a firewall against
President Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda, and it is very clear
that he is violating the constitution of the United States because it is
a federal law that the federal government set and enforce immigration
policies,” Noem said.
Noem claimed Illinois laws make the state less safe, citing a series of
crimes committed by people in the U.S. illegally.
“Governors like JB Pritzker don’t care if gang bangers, rapists and
pedophiles roam free in this state,” she said. “If they are here
illegally, he’s going to protect them.”
Pritzker slammed the visit as a “publicity stunt” and said Illinois
complies with federal immigration laws.
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DHS Secretary Kristi Noem speaks in front of a house in the
neighborhood where progressive activist Emma Shafer was murdered in
2023. Noem holds a binder full of pictures of people she said are
“still at large” after engaging in criminal activity in Illinois.
(Capitol News Illinois photo by Jade Aubrey)
“Trump-Noem publicity stunts do not make our communities safer or our
immigration system smarter,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Illinois
doesn’t need to abuse power or ignore the Constitution to keep our
people safe. Like the millions of Americans asking for sensible, humane
immigration reform, I encourage the Secretary to spend less time
performing for Fox News and more time protecting the Homeland.”
Pritzker has repeatedly said he supports the federal government
deporting people who are illegally in the country if they are convicted
of violent crimes.
Republicans are continuing to call for the TRUST Act to be repealed –
unlikely in the Democrat-controlled legislature.
“These are crimes that the state could have prevented, had the option to
prevent them, and decided not to,” McClure said.
Noem’s first stop in Springfield was a federal field office where
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials were processing two men.
Noem spoke with ICE officers and one of the two men who were being held
in the room while their fingerprints were being scanned. The ICE officer
told her that the men were from Guatemala and would eventually be
deported because they were illegally in the U.S.
Noem asked one of the men a series of questions, including whether he
was aware he was being detained and would ultimately be deported, and if
he had family in Guatemala. He responded yes to both questions. When an
ICE officer told Noem that the man had also been charged with battery,
she asked him whether he knew what he was being charged for, to which he
replied that he did not understand the question.
Noem’s visit also comes a day after Pritzker agreed to testify next
month to the U.S. House Oversight Committee about Illinois’ immigration
policies. The Republican-led committee plans to probe Pritzker, New York
Gov. Kathy Hochul and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz about “policies that
shield criminal illegal aliens from immigration enforcement,” according
to a news release.
Noem’s visit also comes less than a week after President Donald Trump’s
Department of Justice sued Illinois for the second time over state laws
aimed at protecting undocumented immigrants.
In February, the U.S. Department of Justice sued over Illinois’ 2017
“sanctuary state” law. Last week, the Trump administration sued Illinois
again, this time over Illinois’ new requirement that employers notify
workers whose U.S. employment eligibility is flagged when run through
the federal E-Verify system, which compares workers’ employment
eligibility federal form I-9 with other federal databases.
Illinois law now requires employers to inform workers of their rights to
correct their I-9 forms, if flagged by E-Verify as a possible
undocumented immigrant, and of impending worksite inspections from ICE.
The feds allege the law “disincentivizes” employers from using E-Verify
and “encourages unlawful employment of aliens in the United States.”
Hannah Meisel contributed to this report.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state
government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is
funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R.
McCormick Foundation. |
