Overview

• On August 8, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem held a news conference in Lombard, Illinois, to unveil plans for a 1,000-bed detention center in Indiana funded by the administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”
• Noem pledged to intensify ICE arrests in Chicago and other sanctuary jurisdictions by targeting what she described as the “worst of the worst” criminal noncitizens.
• She publicly accused Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson of ignoring federal law and obstructing efforts to remove dangerous offenders from Illinois communities.
• The Justice Department recently placed Chicago, Cook County and Illinois on its sanctuary jurisdiction list even after a federal judge upheld local noncooperation policies under the Tenth Amendment.
• The Trump administration’s immigration agenda has allocated over $75 billion through the “Big Beautiful Bill,” including $45 billion for new detention facilities and $30 billion to fund expanded deportation operations.