Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem criticized Illinois officials Friday after she and her team were reportedly blocked from entering a government building while visiting an ICE facility that has been the focus of ongoing protests.
Noem, 53, shared a video on social media showing her team being denied entry to the Village of Broadview Municipal Building, roughly 12 miles west of downtown Chicago, after requesting to use the restroom. She also accused Gov. JB Pritzker of enabling state officials to disregard federal agents.
“We were stopping for a quick bathroom break,” Noem wrote on X. “This is a public building. The Village of Broadview receives at least $1 million in federal funding every year. This is how JB Pritzker and his cronies treat our law enforcement. Absolutely shameful.”
In the video, posted by conservative commentator Benny Johnson, Noem and a dozen plainclothes staffers approach the building and politely ask to use the restroom. A man inside reportedly held the door shut, saying, “No, you cannot.” Noem and her team then thanked the man and left, with the secretary addressing the camera to criticize local leaders for what she called a lack of cooperation with federal officials.
“So as much as these local leaders and governors talk about cooperating and have the backs of our law enforcement officers, this is what we have to put up with every single day,” Noem said. “All we’re doing is getting criminals, terrorists, cartels, and gang members off the streets.”
Broadview officials countered that the video did not provide the full context. Village spokesperson David Ormsby told CNN that Noem visited Village Hall unannounced to request a meeting with Mayor Katrina Thompson, who was not in the building at the time. Ormsby said the mayor later visited the ICE center with the Broadview Police Chief, but agents at the gate told her Noem was unavailable to meet.
Noem arrived in Illinois Friday morning and was reportedly seen atop the detention center roof, a site that has seen weeks of anti-ICE protests. Earlier in the day, Gov. Pritzker criticized her visit in social media posts, writing, “Secretary Noem should no longer be able to step foot inside the State of Illinois without any form of public accountability.”
Neither Pritzker nor Broadview officials immediately responded to requests for comment.