SPRINGFIELD — Hundreds gathered outside the Illinois Governor’s Mansion on Wednesday to protest a visit to the capital city by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem , who took aim at the state's immigration policies.

Noem was initially expected to hold a press event in the mansion’s front yard. Once word spread online — particularly on Facebook and Reddit — protesters mobilized, referring to their demonstration as a plan to “make some good trouble.”

By the time the press conference was slated to begin, however, the protesters learned that Noem had moved her event.

“I am standing in the spot where Kristi Noem was supposed to come before she chickened out and flew back to Washington, D.C.,” Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said to the crowd.

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Protesters demonstrate against President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited the state capital city and criticized the state's immigration policies.

Giannoulias criticized Noem for what he called “vanity stops to make political hits,” saying she should instead be focused on her official duties, including overseeing the national rollout of Real ID, which began Wednesday.

“I think about this monster, Donald Trump, and I think about these dangerously incompetent and cruel people like Kristi Noem, who, instead of focusing on leadership and helping others and welcoming people, they're scaring the shit out of people and sending them to other countries without due process,” Giannoulias said.

Although Noem did not appear at the mansion, protesters remained, rallying in support of LGBTQ+ rights, racial equality and democracy. Some also spoke out against the war in Gaza.

Protestors gather in front of the governor's mansion in Springfield in connection with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's visit to the state capital city on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.

“I believe in America," said Springfield resident Joshua Leingang, "and when I believe in America, I support my immigrants. I stand for my immigrants, I stand for my women, I stand for the men of color, I stand for the LGBT. I stand for the trans (people).

"It is up to us at Springfield," he continued, "to stand and let her (Noem) know you're not welcome here, and to send that message all the way back to D.C. to Donald Trump. Your hatred is not welcome in our country or in our state."

Many attendees said they came primarily to show solidarity with immigrants and undocumented people.

Marceline Koch, a member of the Springfield Immigrant Advocacy Network, emphasized the need to resist scapegoating immigrants for crime and other problems.

“We have to have a message out that it is not okay to scapegoat people, and that's what we do with immigrants — we're scapegoating them,” Koch said. “I come (to) this from a faith tradition.

Hundreds gathered in front of the governor's mansion in Springfield to protest as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited the Wednesday, May 7, 2025.

"Everybody has dignity, and I want our immigrant brothers and sisters to be treated with dignity as well.”

Protesters initially chanted “Noem go home,” but after learning that she had relocated the press conference, the chant shifted to “coward.”

Noem held the event elsewhere in Springfield, joined by members of “angel families,” described as relatives of people killed by people living in the U.S. without legal status.

Noem's press conference was moved near the home of Emma Shafer, a 24-year-old Springfield community organizer who was stabbed to death in July 2023. A former boyfriend, Gabriel Calixto-Pichardo, remains at large and wanted on murder charges in her death.

Springfield Police Chief Ken Scarlette told The State Journal-Register about a week after Shafer's death that Calixto-Pichardo may have left the country.

Born in Mexico, Calixto-Pichardo was brought to the U.S. as a child and granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status at age 15. He lost that status following a felony kidnapping conviction — later vacated — in 2018.

In response to Noem’s visit, Democratic lawmakers held a counter-event in front of the Lincoln statue at the State Capitol.

“She should have come to this beautiful Capitol building," said House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside. "She should have visited our rotunda and stopped at the statue right in the center, and she would have seen that on that statue, it says, ‘Welcome here to Illinois.’

"This is a welcoming state, Secretary Noem."

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