Ben Bergquam, a correspondent for Real America’s Voice, joined forces with Chicago local Terry Newsome of the Behind Enemy Lines podcast to challenge Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. The confrontation occurred during a press conference where Pritzker and Johnson criticized President Trump’s recent initiatives to address the crisis of illegal immigration and the challenges posed by sanctuary cities. The pair pledged to oppose Trump’s strategies of mass deportation, which follow his Executive Actions aimed at securing borders and eliminating ineffective Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs in governmental structures.
Pritzker and Johnson’s remarks come on the heels of President Trump implementing decisive measures to combat illegal immigration. Trump instructed the federal government to enforce immigration law more robustly and curtail DEI initiatives that he argues are financially wasteful. This includes a Memorandum by Trump that moved all federal Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) employees onto administrative leave while transitioning to terminate the programs.
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The trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration was marked by dramatic enforcement actions. Border Czar Tom Homan declared the inception of raids, which successfully resulted in the apprehension of over 300 violent offenders. These individuals included murderers and those involved in child exploitation. In reinforcing security efforts, Trump dispatched an additional 1,500 Army National Guard and Reserve troops to the Southern Border, a move to complement the existing military presence there.
News reports have attested to substantial raids, such as the one conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Boston, netting several dangerous criminals, inclusive of MS-13 gang affiliates, murder suspects, and a Haitian gang member with a significant criminal record of 18 convictions. Some media outlets have spotlighted ICE’s activities, eliciting pointed criticism from liberal networks while highlighting attempts by figures in the sanctuary cities to shield illegal aliens from accountability.
In the face of this, Ben Bergquam and Terry Newsome took to directly questioning the local leadership about prioritizing non-citizens over American residents. During the confrontational press conference, Pritzker faced difficult questions; for instance, Bergquam inquired about the financial toll of safeguarding illegal immigrants at the expense of native citizens. Bergquam pressed Pritzker, stating, “Governor, real quick, the amount of money that you’ve spent on harboring illegals over the last four years and protecting them now, and after Mayor Johnson’s email that just went out yesterday, saying they’re going to spend more money on protecting illegals at the expense of the American citizens, in particular, the west side and the south side; we’ve got representatives here. I’ve got Bob Israel here. Why not invest that money there?”
‼️JUST NOW in Chicago‼️
Governor Pritzker and Mayor Johnson get hammered buy real journalists (aka me and @TerryNewsome357) after bragging about spending $10 million on local small businesses while spending $ billions protecting illegal aliens! These criminals need to be… pic.twitter.com/qmhDT6ra36
— Ben Bergquam – Real America’s Voice (RAV-TV) News (@BenBergquam) January 23, 2025
Before allowing Bergquam to pose further questions, Pritzker barely acknowledged the inquiries, ultimately deviating into a lecture about law adherence in Illinois while avoiding transparent answers. Ignoring further probing about compliance with ICE and potential financial dealings with cartels, both Pritzker and Johnson sidestepped, disallowing further interrogation and deflected scrutiny over their policies that allegedly prioritize illegal immigrants’ welfare over their constituents.