Rob Schmitt didn’t hold back on Newsmax when he blasted Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker for his theatrics about ICE and immigration enforcement, calling out what conservatives rightly see as performative outrage while real crime goes unchecked. Schmitt’s platform has long pushed back against Democrats who excuse lawlessness in the name of political posturing, and this segment was more of the same straight talk that millions of Americans crave.
The facts on the ground in Chicago make Schmitt’s fury understandable: Pritzker has publicly vowed to shield undocumented migrants and even said state prosecutors are “looking at” ways to hold federal agents accountable — a rhetorical escalation that has inflamed an already dangerous situation. Whether you agree with his legal theories or not, the governor’s grandstanding has real consequences for officers doing a dangerous job and for the citizens he’s supposed to protect.
This standoff has boiled over into street clashes and civil unrest outside the Broadview ICE facility, where reports show protesters and law enforcement have repeatedly clashed and arrests have been made. Federal judges have had to step in, ordering federal agents to wear body cameras after questions about tactics and use of force — an ugly sign that politics is interfering with straightforward law enforcement.
Democrats like Pritzker pivot to performative outrage instead of offering solutions, while the American people get the bill: more crime, more fear, and less accountability for the very people committing deadly offenses. Rob Schmitt’s line — that lying to the public about the scale and threat of illegal immigration ought to be a crime — resonates because citizens can see through the spectacle; they know the difference between virtue signaling and leadership.
Let’s be blunt: villainizing ICE while refusing to secure the border is grotesque political theater. Conservatives believe in law and order, and that includes supporting the men and women who risk their lives to remove dangerous criminals from our streets; it does not mean we ignore abuses where they occur, but it does mean we don’t cheerlead for chaos under the guise of compassion.
If Gov. Pritzker wants to be a national figure, he can start by actually solving problems in Illinois instead of manufacturing fans with anti-law-enforcement rhetoric. Americans deserve governors who defend their safety, not governors who curry favor with activist mobs by undermining federal officers trying to do their job. Our communities, our cops, and our immigrants — legal and otherwise — deserve leaders who put safety first, not soundbites.
