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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday rejected a request from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to suspend immigration enforcement operations over the Halloween weekend, calling the appeal “shameful” and vowing that federal agents would remain active to ensure public safety.
In a letter earlier this week, Pritzker asked federal immigration authorities to pause operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from Friday through the weekend near “homes, schools, hospitals, parks, houses of worship, and other community gatherings where Halloween celebrations are taking place.”
Pritzker said his request was rooted in compassion and public safety. “I’m asking for basic human decency,” the Democratic governor told reporters Thursday.
Noem dismissed the idea, saying that halting enforcement would compromise community safety.
“We’re absolutely not willing to put on pause any work that we will do to keep communities safe,” Noem said during a news conference.
“The fact that Gov. Pritzker is asking for that is shameful and, I think, unfortunate that he doesn’t recognize how important the work is that we do to make sure we’re bringing criminals to justice and getting them off our streets, especially when we’re going to send all of our kiddos out on the streets and going to events and enjoying the holiday season,” she added.
Pritzker made a similar appeal to Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, asking agents to refrain from enforcement activity in public areas during Halloween. “If you are unwilling to cease operations and leave our city, can we at least agree that our children should not be victims, especially on Halloween?” he said.
In a statement to The Hill, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin pushed back on Pritzker’s comments, accusing him of misrepresenting ICE operations.
“He is pushing a false narrative that DHS is targeting schools, hospitals, and churches,” McLaughlin said. “This is false, he knows this, but he continues to push these lies. Our officers are facing mass assaults, vehicles used as weapons, violence and only use crowd control methods as a last resort when repeated warnings have been given.”
