Families who lost loved ones to crimes committed by those in the country illegally took aim at sanctuary policies in Illinois and across the country at a press conference with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Wednesday.

Among the speakers was Jim Walden, an Illinois resident who lost his son, Jimmy, several years ago in a motorcycle incident while Jimmy was stationed in Maryland.

“My son was serving in the United States Marine Corps in the intel field. He worked for the National Security Agency. Jimmy was 21 years old,” Walden said.

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“He was hit and killed by his motorcycle by an illegal that the state of Maryland admitted they knew was illegal five years before he killed my son. And in that five-year period, they had had him in jail five times. He was convicted of domestic violence and put on probation, and he was illegal. He would have been 30 years old yesterday.

“For our governor to get on national television and say that he’s gonna stand up and protect these people is a gut punch to anybody that’s lost one,” Walden said of Gov. JB Pritzker.

“I just call on Gov. Pritzker to be a true governor and stand by the federal laws and deport every one of them, every one. I don’t care if they’re two or 20 or 80. Send them back. We have a path to citizenship. It’s called the naturalization process.”

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Noem said she did the press conference there at the “direction of President Trump today to draw attention to the dangerous policies of Illinois and the Illinois governor and what he has perpetuated as far as violence and criminality against his citizens here in this state.” 

President Donald Trump recently issued an executive order asking DHS and the Department of Justice to treat “sanctuary jurisdictions” as states and localities that could lose federal funding.

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“Springfield needs attention specifically because of the victims that have been here, but also because of the laws that come out of this city that impact the entire state that is protecting illegal criminals and not prioritizing American citizens and the citizens of this great state,” the secretary added.

She also noted that the location of the event had a special meaning. 

“But we’re standing here on this block today because this is the block where a young woman was killed just a couple of houses away from here. Emma Shafer was brutally stabbed and murdered by an illegal alien who was released into the United States by the Biden administration,” Noem explained.

Pritzker called the event a “publicity stunt” and took aim at the administration’s immigration policies.

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“Unlike Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, Illinois follows the law,” Pritzker said in a statement about Noem’s visit. “The Trump administration is violating the United States Constitution, denying people due process and disappearing law-abiding neighbors, including children who are U.S. citizens. Yet, they are taking no real action to promote public safety and deport violent criminals within the clear and defined legal process.

“Trump-Noem publicity stunts do not make our communities safer or our immigration system smarter. 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.”