Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem kicked off her Springfield visit Wednesday with a photo op at a federal facility as agents fingerprinted two Guatemalan men marked for deportation. But her agency did not explain what public threat they posed, even as she blasted Illinois’ sanctuary policies.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was in Springfield to decry Illinois’ policies that limit state and local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Noem held the news conference on the same block where Springfield progressive activist Emma Shafer was murdered in 2023.