Multiple immigration enforcement operations in Chicago and the suburbs last week and over the weekend are raising questions about if actions from federal Border Patrol and ICE agents are in violation of a recent judge’s order and the agencies’ own use of force policies.
“This is absurd. Something has to give,” one witness told NBC Chicago, after an incident Saturday in Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood, where cell phone video captured a masked federal agent tossing tear gas into a crowd of people.
In a statement, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said border patrol agents during an operation in the area were “surrounded and boxed in by a group of agitators.”
“Federal law enforcement issued multiple lawful commands and verbal warnings, all of which were ignored,” the statement went on to say. “To safely clear the area after multiple warnings and the crowd continuing to advance on them, Border Patrol had to deploy crowd control measures.”
In suburban Addison Sunday morning, video posted to social media showed federal agents surrounding a car in a grocery store parking lot, with one agent using a baton to smash the driver’s seat window.
After breaking the window, an agent could be seen reaching into the vehicle, unlocking the car and removing people inside.
“These events have understandably caused fear and uncertainty, and I want to assure you that your safety and dignity matter to me,” Village of Addison Mayor Tom Hundley wrote in a letter to the community shortly after the incident.
The Addison Police Department posted on Facebook two days prior to the incident, addressing a “growing concern among the community” regarding federal immigration operations in the area.
“To date, we have yet to receive any calls from ICE or Border Patrol agents announcing their presence or their intent to come to Addison, and we typically learn about their presence in town when the public does,” the post said.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to NBC Chicago’s request for comment about the video and statements from the Mayor and police.
The incidents follow others last week in Chicago, with clashes between federal agents and residents on the south and west sides, where tear gas and pepper balls were deployed. Friday, at least one Chicago elementary school was put on a soft lockdown due to reports of ICE agents in the area.
Border patrol commander due in court
Tuesday, U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino is expected to appear in court after attorneys filed a motion arguing they have “significant concerns” that a temporary restraining order that bars immigration agents from using crowd control chemicals on those that don’t pose a threat is being ignored.
“The Court orders Defendants to produce Defendant Gregory Bovino, in person, for this hearing,” U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said in an order.
The attorneys, who are representing a group of protesters, clergy and journalists suing the Trump administration over the use of chemical agents on crowds in Chicago, pointed to video that appears to show Bovino tossing a can of chemical agents towards a crowd that had gathered in Little Village last week. DHS said it was a justified crowd control measure.
Ellis has already expressed concern that her order wasn’t being followed. She pointed to separate incidents on Oct. 12 in Albany Park and another on Oct. 14 in the East Side neighborhood as examples where chemical agents like tear gas and pepper spray were used on crowds after her order was entered.
Similar events have unfolded outside an ICE processing facility in suburban Broadview, with multiple days of tensions between masked agents and activists amid protests.
NBC 5 Investigates asked both the Department of Homeland Security and Border Patrol for a response about if at least two of those incidents, which occurred September 19 and September 26, were violations of their own use of force policy.
While a spokesperson did not directly address our questions, the agency did provide lengthy emailed response:
“The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly – not rioting. DHS is taking reasonable and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers. ICE officers are facing a nearly 1000% increase in assaults against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, and gang members.
ICE and CBP are trained to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve dangerous situations to prioritize the safety of the public and themselves. Our officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training.
We remind peaceful protestors and members of the media to exercise caution. Being near unlawful activities in the field does come with risks – though our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate dangers to those exercising their protected First Amendment rights.
However, when faced with violence or attempts to impede law enforcement operations, our officers will take legal and necessary steps to ensure their own safety and that of bystanders, up to and including use of force.
Keep in mind that rioters and terrorists have opened fire on officers, thrown rocks, bottles, and fireworks at them, slashed the tires of their vehicles, and have destroyed multiple law enforcement vehicles. Others have chosen to ignore commands and have attempted to impede law enforcement operations and used their vehicles as weapons against our officers. Despite these grave threats and dangerous situations our law enforcement is put in they show incredible restraint in exhausting all options before any kind of non-lethal force is used.”
Hence then, the article about ice operations across chicago suburbs raise questions about whether federal agents are violating their own policies 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 ( ICE operations across Chicago, suburbs raise questions about whether federal agents are violating their own policies )
Also on site :
- My Daughter’s Friend Has a Crush on My Husband. It’s Making Us Both Deeply Uncomfortable.
- Maga’s biggest fear is coming true and Trump won’t survive it
- Governor Hochul: Annual statewide donation drive is complete