This is part of our series of daily recaps of ICE activity in the Chicago region. Have a tip we should check out? Email newsroom@blockclubchi.org.
LITTLE VILLAGE — A federal agent pointed a gun at a combat veteran’s face and said “bang, bang” and “you’re dead, liberal” during an immigration raid last week in Little Village, the veteran is alleging in a new court filing.
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The alleged encounter happened Thursday, when federal agents, including Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, were near South Whipple and West 27th streets — near the Discount Mall, 3115 W. 26th St., for the second day in a row. Federal agents used tear gas and pepper spray on protesters, with Bovino tossing a canister of tear gas into a crowd.
A combat veteran, who asked Block Club to withhold his name, was one of the people in the crowd. A masked federal agent wearing camouflage and sitting inside a car rolled down a window before “he pointed a handgun at my face through the open window of the car,” the veteran alleged in court records.
“While holding the gun pointed at my face, [the federal agent] said ‘bang bang,’ followed by words I did not hear, then something like, ‘’you’re dead,’ then I heard clearly the word, ‘liberal,'” the veteran said, according to court documents. “I want to stand up for my community members and to criticize abuse of government power, but after experiencing a gun pointed at my face by a government official, I fear for my safety if I continue to outwardly express my support by my presence and my words for my community and the ideals I expect my government to uphold.”
The allegation comes as ICE and Border Patrol are increasingly facing pushback for using tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets and other measures against peaceful protesters and bystanders.
RELATED: Judge Blasts Border Patrol Boss Greg Bovino For Violating Excessive Force Order
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis issued a temporary restraining order Oct. 9 barring federal agents from using riot control weapons — including pepper-spray bullets and tear gas — against journalists and protesters who don’t pose a serious threat to law enforcement officers or others.
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Since then, federal agents have been documented using tear gas at least five times: Oct. 12 in Albany Park, Oct. 14 in East Side, Thursday in Little Village and last weekend in Old Irving Park and Avondale.
The combat veteran’s account came up during a court hearing Tuesday, where Ellis admonished Bovino and ordered him to start giving her daily reports on federal agent activity. Bovino was accused of violating Ellis’ order by personally tear-gassing the crowd in Little Village.
Federal agents are accused of multiple violations of the temporary restraining order during the Little Village incident, according to court documents:
- A federal agent who was not wearing a body camera or any obvious visible identification shot a person in the neck from 5 feet away with a pepper ball, according to the records.
- Federal agents used “pepper spray or tear gas on protesters who did not pose an immediate safety threat,” according to the records.
- Federal agents “used pepper spray or tear gas when it was reasonably foreseeable doing so would injure protesters, and doing so was not necessary to stop an immediate and serious threat of physical harm to a person,” according to the records.
- Federal agents fired “gas canisters” in “circumstances where the targeted person did not pose an immediate threat,” according to the records.
- Federal agents fired “compressed air launchers” and “munitions launchers” at the “head, neck, groin, spine, or female breast, or striking any person with a vehicle, in circumstances where the targeted person did not pose an immediate threat,” according to the records.
- People who “posed no immediate threat” were shoved to the ground, tackled and “body slammed” by federal agents, according to the records.
- Federal agents used “riot control weapons without giving two separate audible warnings,” according to the records.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference Tuesday morning, Mayor Brandon Johnson once again blasted the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations in Chicago. He took particular aim at Bovino, who he called a “barbaric individual.”
Johnson said Ellis’ new requirements for Bovino — including that he meet with her daily for the next week and provide body-camera footage and use of force reports since early September — were a “start,” but he is skeptical they will lead to true accountability.
“The Trump administration has a strong proclivity to lie,” Johnson said. “The Trump administration said they were going to go after the ‘worst of the worst.’ Criminals, individuals who have caused harm. And that’s not what’s happening. So what is happening is, Bovino is a barbaric individual. And I just hope that this judge provides some level of accountability.”
West Town Service Provider Remains Open After Friday Immigration Arrest
A West Town social service provider that works mostly with Latino clients remains open in the wake of an immigration arrest outside one of its locations last week.
Around 10 a.m. Friday, a man was detained by immigration officials near the intersection of Paulina and Superior streets while waiting for a family member outside a location of the Erie Neighborhood House, the organization’s executive director Cristina De La Rosa said.
The man was “boxed in” by vehicles and apprehended by at least six agents, she said.
“They ended up breaking his window to open the door and dragged him out. And then detained him in one of their vehicles and they drove off,” De La Rosa said.
ABC7 is reporting that local officials said the man was in the United States legally on a work permit and had a pending immigration court date.
De La Rosa said the arrest has further rattled her organization’s clients, who were already on edge following months of increased rhetoric around immigration enforcement and the past several weeks of heightened immigration enforcement activity in Chicago.
Erie Neighborhood House did cancel some events following Friday’s arrest, including a Halloween party on Saturday. But the group’s locations across the city remain open, and staff members continue to provide after-school programming, counseling and legal services.
“We know that a lot of folks don’t have the luxury to stay home,” De La Rosa said. “And so we want to make sure that we remain a place where they know they can come, or drop their children off, and that they know that they’ll be safe — as safe as possible.”
Quinn Myers contributed reporting.
Happening In Chicago
After Halloween Parade Ruined By Federal Agents, Old Irving Park Neighbors Furious: Old Irving Park welcomes thousands of trick-or-treaters from across the city every Halloween. This year, neighbors are making plans to protect each other from federal agents after Saturday’s violent immigration raid right before a children’s costume parade.
Chicagoans Flock To Belmont Cragin Restaurants After ICE Fears Slowed Sales: ‘Truly Grateful’: Restaurant owners and local activists hope the recent boost in sales will continue as winter approaches and ICE operations continue in the city.
Laugh Factory Manager Detained By Border Patrol, Charged With Assaulting Federal Officer: Court records say Nathan Griffin shut a Border Patrol car door on an agent’s leg. His family and witnesses say agents used excessive force during the confrontation.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Call For A General Strike Went Viral — But Could It Actually Happen?Johnson clarified that he’s calling for a nationwide strike in an interview with Block Club. Other progressive leaders are on board, but critics say the country isn’t ready.
FROM SUN-TIMES: Lawyer Sues Broadview Mayor, Police Over Designated Protest Hours Outside ICE Processing Facility. Village of Broadview General Counsel Michael Del Galdo called the suit “performative and meant to generate media attention.”
FROM CBS News: 2 Illinois National Guard Members Speak Out. Two Illinois National Guard members told CBS News they would refuse to obey federal orders to deploy in Chicago as part of Trump’s controversial immigration enforcement mission — a rare act of open defiance from within the military ranks.
FROM NBC5: Could ICE Have ‘Lost’ 3,000 Immigrant Arrestees In Chicago?NBC Chicago’s investigative team reports at least 3,000 jailed immigrants have vanished from federal records, according to human rights attorneys and organizations.
FROM WTTW: What Can Local Police Do About Aggressive ICE Tactics? Experts Say Not Much. As the U.S. Supreme Court is set to weigh in on a potential National Guard deployment to Chicago, some worry about blurring the line between federal law enforcement and local police authority.
- About 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, 10-15 vehicles with federal immigration agents inside were seen heading south near West Pershing Road and South Archer Avenue, according to the Southwest Side Rapid Response team.
- About 1 p.m., federal immigration agents detained a man at 3807 W. Division St., according to the Northwest Side Rapid Response team.
- About 1 p.m., federal agents were seen heading west from South Kedzie Avenue and West 31st Street, according to got La Villita Se Defiende.
- About 2 p.m., federal immigration agents were seen near West North and North Kostner avenues, according to the Northwest Side Rapid Response team.
- About 2:45 p.m., federal immigration agents detained a delivery driver near West Hirsch Street and North Springfield Avenue. The delivery driver’s vehicle was left behind by the agents, according to the Northwest Side Rapid Response team.
Happening In The Suburbs
- Between 8-9 a.m. Tuesday, federal agents were seen arresting a person near the intersection of South Green Bay Avenue and Eat 143rd Street in suburban Burnham, according to the Southeast Side Rapid Response team.
Know Your Rights
- Know Your Rights As An Immigrant
- What To Do If A Loved One Is Detained
- Know Your Rights As A Protester
- Recording, Reporting Immigration Agents
- What To Do If You’re Unhoused
- Nonprofits That Serve Immigrants
Follow For Updates
You can follow these organizations for updates about immigration enforcement activity.
- Brighton Park Neighborhood Council
- Southwest Rapid Response
- Northwest Side Rapid Response
- Increase the Peace
- Pilsen Puño
- Organized Communities Against Deportations
- Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights
- National Immigrant Justice Center
- Resurrection Project
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