By BEN SZALINSKI
& JADE AUBREY
Capitol News Illinois
news@capitolnewsillinois.com

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.

“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.