On Saturday, federal agents violently confronted peaceful protesters outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Chicago. They deployed teargas and pepper balls to disperse a crowd of roughly 100 protesters including children. The demonstration was organized in response to the ongoing immigration crackdown known as “Operation Midway Blitz,” which has intensified ICE raids across several neighborhoods in the city.
This action escalated as protesters moved to physically prevent government SUVs from entering and leaving the Broadview facility. This site has become the optimal operational hub and detention location for ICE. Things began to escalate after a protester was body slammed to the ground by a CBP agent in a mask. People who witnessed the events found that after pinning him down, the agent proceeded to drag him into the detention center while blanketing his head.
Riot gear homeland security agents surged onto a rooftop, fully masked and ready for battle. Their response was to shoot pepper balls into the crowd and deploy dozens of canisters of tear gas. Despite their peaceful assembly, this aggressive response provoked the fury of defenders, who had converged there to protest the federal government’s treatment of immigrants. At least one person was arrested over the clashes. One agent milled about right outside of our area, visibly carrying what could be described as an unholstered sidearm.
Along with their constituents, local political figures like Democratic congressional candidates Kat Abughazaleh and Bushra Amiwala were found protesting Infrastructure Week. Illinois’s newly elected lieutenant governor, Juliana Stratton, was on hand to help kick things off earlier in the day. Stratton, who spoke to the crowd before the march began, highlighted the peaceful purpose of the demonstrators.
“Protesters showed up today with handmade signs and cellphones. They were singing, chanting, praying, and linking arms to stand up for their neighbors and to speak out against the cruelty happening inside ICE’s Broadview facility and across Illinois,” – Juliana Stratton
She further condemned the use of force by federal agents, stating, “The fact that DHS responded with tear gas and by throwing protesters on the pavement tells you everything you need to know – this isn’t about safety. This is about fear, control, and the Trump administration’s attempt to intimidate Illinoisans into silence. We will never be silent.”
Bushra Amiwala echoed these sentiments, asserting that there was “no justification for using such violence against peaceful demonstrators.” Kat Abughazaleh highlighted the larger issue at hand, stating, “It’s still nothing compared to what they’re doing to immigrant communities.”
Throughout the protest, demonstrators chanted the name of Silverio Villegas González, a 38-year-old father of two who was fatally shot by an immigration officer. The conference’s purpose was to draw attention to the brutality that is reportedly taking place inside of ICE’s Broadview facility and across the state of Illinois.