LOMBARD, Ill. (NewsNation) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem touted federal immigration arrest numbers Friday and said getting criminals off American streets and securing the southern border have remained her top priorities.
Speaking from suburban Chicago, Noem emphasized Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s focus on arresting those the Trump administration has deemed “the worst of the worst.”
She said ICE has made hundreds of thousands of arrests since President Donald Trump took office in January, and that cities like Chicago and states like Illinois, with so-called “sanctuary” policies in place, have made ICE’s job more difficult.
“I’m here today because elected leaders in Illinois are ignoring the law,” Noem said. “In fact, they’re being obstructionists when it comes to getting dangerous criminals off of their streets.
“They’re deciding that dangerous criminals that are murderers, rapists, money launderers, have committed assaults, and that are trafficking children are more important than the families who live in the communities here.”
Friday’s news conference featured photos of immigrants who have been arrested by ICE, including a Mexican man who was arrested and charged with child sexual assault, a Polish man who has been arrested and charged with attempted murder and a Honduran man who was arrested and charged with child sexual assault.
Noem has continued to speak out against what she says is an increased number of assaults directed at ICE officers. On Thursday, Noem said assaults have spiked “by 1,000%” from this time in 2024 and blamed sanctuary cities and states for vilifying federal immigration efforts.
She included Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson among the “obstructionists” who have ignored the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, accusing state and local leaders of cooperating with criminals instead of ICE.
Noem said in Chicago alone, ICE has issued 1,664 detainers over the past seven months but that the city has only honored 8% of those requests. She said sanctuary policies have “real consequences” for federal law enforcement officers and their families, citing recent attacks and assaults on ICE officers.
Noem claimed Pritzker and Johnson continue to answer the question of who should be a priority and that “over and over, they’re choosing criminals.”
Johnson’s spokesperson told NewsNation in a statement that Noem’s visit was an “attempt to stoke fear and division in our communities.”
“We don’t harbor criminals, we arrest them. But we will not be a tool for militarized mass deportations,” the spokesperson said.
Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton added, “Secretary Noem is spending time and tax-payer dollars to belittle hardworking people who have lived among us for decades. She needs to stop wasting our money on cheap tricks and cheaper costumes; instead, she should get back to Washington to do the work Americans are begging to see.”
Before Noem’s news conference began, protesters gathered across the street from the DHS office in Lombard, a suburb of Chicago. The protesters, who told “ICE to go home” during their rally, which continued well after Noem’s motorcade left the Homeland nd Security Investigations office where Friday’s news conference was held.
Protesters chanted about immigrants being welcome in areas like Lombard and voiced their opposition to Noem’s presence there, calling her a “racist” who was deporting women and children. The picketers also took aim at ICE, which Noem defended in how officers representing the federal agency are doing their job.
Complaints have been lodged across the country over ICE officers refusing to identify themselves and arresting immigrants without warrants.
Noem said ICE officers “are always wearing something” that identifies them as federal law enforcement. She acknowledged officers are wearing masks at times to protect their identities from dangerous situations.
“It’s (about) making sure that they’re safe while doing this job and that they get home to their families safe at night,” she said.
Noem also pushed back against the suggestion that ICE officers are sweeping up immigrants without criminal convictions. She called studies showing large numbers of migrants detained by ICE do not have criminal records or convictions “false.”
Noem said that many of those being held in ICE detention centers have pending criminal charges against them or are facing other immigration-related charges. Asked Friday about why ICE was targeting those who are not facing criminal charges, Noem said that if immigrants have entered the country illegally, they are guilty of breaking the law.
Noem said that ICE is using case files and other information to run targeted enforcement operations searching for criminal migrants or those who already have final orders of removal in place. She said those who fall in the latter groups “need to go home because their due process is up, they have their paperwork and they are ready to travel.”
“Nobody’s getting swept up,” Noem said.
Asked by NewsNation on Friday whether ICE could reach its arrest goals without help from sanctuary cities and states, Noem responded, “We’re going to keep plugging away.”
She said more than 80,000 people have applied for 10,000 open ICE positions, which are being added to bulk up the agency’s manpower.
“For us, it’s about getting dangerous people off the street,” she added.