Noem and victims' families urge Illinois to abandon sanctuary policies after local killings and overdoses

Kristi Noem, who identified herself as secretary of homeland security for President Trump, urged Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to abandon the state’s sanctuary policies at a Springfield press event and pressed local leaders to cooperate with federal immigration investigators. She was joined by families she described as “angel families” who said they lost relatives to violence and fentanyl overdoses.

“No more,” Noem said, adding that sanctuary rules have allowed dangerous people to evade deportation. “People are dying every day because of these policies, and people are evading justice.”

Noem cited several cases and named individuals she said illustrate the consequences of sanctuary policies. She said Emma Schafer was “brutally stabbed and murdered by an illegal alien who was released into The United States by the Biden administration,” and identified the person she named as Gabriel Callisto Picardo. Noem also said the state has limited information-sharing with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) because of state law. She…