Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is expected to hold a press conference in the Chicago area Friday.
The event, slated to begin around 10 a.m. CT, aims to highlight “the ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ criminal illegal aliens arrested by the Department of Homeland Security,” Noem’s office said in a release ahead of the address.
She also plans to discuss “state partnerships with ICE to expand detention space.”
Details on what exactly those partnerships might entail remain unclear, however.
Most recently, Noem made headlines after announcing a new partnership to expand immigrant detention in Indiana will be the next so-called “ Alligator Alcatraz.”
However, the agreement is already prompting backlash in the Midwest state, starting with its splashy “Speedway Slammer” moniker.
Noem trumpeted the deal late Tuesday, saying Indiana would add 1,000 detention beds for immigrants facing deportation under a revived federal program. On social media, DHS also posted an altered image of a race car emblazoned with “ICE,” short for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The IndyCar-style vehicle is shown rolling past a barbed-wire prison wall.
“If you are in America illegally, you could find yourself in Indiana’s Speedway Slammer,” Noem said, likening it to the controversial facility built in the Florida Everglades. She added the new partnership will “help remove the worst of the worst out of our country.”
The outlandish name quickly drew backlash, notably from the town of Speedway, an Indianapolis suburb which is home to the iconic racetrack that hosts the Indianapolis 500.
“This designation was developed and released independently by the federal agency, without the Town’s involvement or prior notice regarding the use of the name ‘Speedway,’ ” officials with the Indiana town of roughly 14,000 said in a statement. “Our primary focus remains the well-being of our residents, businesses, and visitors.”
IndyCar officials were also caught off guard.
“We were unaware of plans to incorporate our imagery as part of announcement,” IndyCar said, asking that its intellectual property “not be utilized moving forward in relation to this matter.”
The altered image used by DHS featured an IndyCar with the No. 5, the same number as the only Mexican driver in the series.
“I was just a little bit shocked at the coincidences of that and, you know, of what it means,” IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward said Wednesday. “I don’t think it made a lot of people proud, to say the least.”
The deal is part of the decades-old 287(g) program, which Trump has revived and expanded. It delegates immigration enforcement powers to state and local law enforcement agencies. Immigrants, attorneys and advocates have raised a number of concerns about the program, including a lack of oversight.
The Florida detention facility has prompted lawsuits and complaints about poor conditions and violations of detainees’ rights. Authorities have disputed the claims.
Immigrant rights activists and legal advocates were worried about the sudden increase of immigrant detention in Indiana. Issues with overcrowding and sanitation have been reported at the three county jails that house immigrant detainees.
“We are deeply concerned and disturbed by the dramatic expansion in Indiana, but also by the cavalier way they are approaching this, by applying alliterated names as if this makes it somehow less cruel,” said Lisa Koop with the National Immigrant Justice Center. The organization helps provide legal services to immigrants in Indiana and other places.
Republican Gov. Mike Braun first announced the federal partnership on Friday, calling a way to enforce the country’s “most fundamental laws.”
“Indiana is not a safe haven for illegal immigration,” he said.
What could come to Illinois, however, remains unclear as Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been a vocal Trump critic and reinforced the state’s sanctuary policies for immigrants.
Meanwhile, Braun, a first-term governor and former U.S. senator, has been a strong Trump supporter. In January, Braun signed an executive order directing law enforcement agencies to “fully cooperate” on immigration enforcement.
The nation’s newest immigration court opened in Indianapolis earlier this year as a way to address the backlog and divert cases from the busy courthouse in Chicago.
Federal and state leaders are also working on plans to use a central Indiana military base, Camp Atterbury, to temporarily house detainees.
“Indiana is taking a comprehensive and collaborative approach to combating illegal immigration and will continue to lead the way among states,” Braun said in a statement Tuesday.
Hence then, the article about dhs secretary kristi noem set to hold press conference in chicago area friday was published today ( ) and is available on NBC Chicago ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( DHS Secretary Kristi Noem set to hold press conference in Chicago area Friday )
Also on site :
- One person in critical condition following two-vehicle collision on SR-126 at Boosey Road
- Supermarket timings for Boxing Day and New Year revealed for Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Lidl and more
- Trump rants about Epstein in Christmas Day post claiming he dropped ties with sex offender ‘long before it became fashionable’