Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem rebuffed a request from Illinois Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker to suspend immigration enforcement over the Halloween weekend, calling the appeal “shameful.”
Instead, Noem said Thursday that ICE agents will be out in full force to ensure public safety and protect America’s families and trick-or-treaters.
Noem was responding to a letter Pritzker sent to her, “respectfully requesting” that federal officers pause their crackdown on illegal immigration beginning Friday and through the weekend “around homes, schools, hospitals, parks, houses of worship, and other community gatherings where Halloween celebrations are taking place.”
Pritzker told reporters Thursday he was “asking for basic human decency.”
Noem declined.
“We’re absolutely not willing to put on pause any work that we will do to keep communities safe,” Noem said at a news conference in Gary, Indiana, on Thursday.
“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 request to Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino during a press conference.
“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? Can we agree that there is no imminent threat that should disrupt their holiday?” he said.
In a statement to The Hill, the Department of Homeland Security accused Pritzker of smearing law enforcement.
“He is pushing a false narrative that DHS is targeting schools, hospitals, and churches. This is false, he knows this, but he continues to push these lies,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin wrote. “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.”
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