An American paralegal experienced a harrowing encounter when armed ICE agents forcibly removed her from her car following a collision with an unmarked federal vehicle.
Dayanne Figueroa, 31, alleges that immigration agents in Chicago dragged her out of her Mercedes Benz after it was sideswiped by an unmarked SUV while she was en route to grab a coffee.
Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, stated that Figueroa had deliberately crashed into the ICE vehicle.
At the time, federal agents were in the midst of executing two specific immigration arrests in Chicago’s West Town area, where they encountered a crowd of protesters.
Video footage of the tense situation captures protesters confronting the masked agents as their SUV attempted a U-turn.
The collision occurred when the unmarked federal SUV attempted to merge into the lane occupied by Figueroa’s car.
Agents exited the SUV, rushed over toward Figueroa and demanded she exit the vehicle. When she refused, they dragged her out of the car – forcing her shoe to fly off – and tackled her to the ground. She was then handcuffed and taken into custody.
Figueroa alleged ICE was responsible for the traffic collision and that ‘the agents, armed in hands, forcibly removed me from my car without questions and without informing me that I was under arrest,’ she said in statement shared on GoFundMe.
Dayanne Figueroa, 31, (pictured, on the ground) claimed she was forcefully snatched by immigration agents in Chicago after an unmarked SUV alelgedly sideswiped her Mercedes Benz as she drove to get a coffee on October 10
Agents exited the SUV, rushed over toward Figueroa and demanded she exit the vehicle. When she refused, they dragged her out of the car – forcing her shoe to fly off – and tackled her to the ground
The Department of Homeland Security, however, claims Figueroa ‘used her Mercedes Benz to ram the agent’s vehicle’ and ‘violently resisted’ arrest by kicking and injuring two federal agents.
Figueroa was arrested for assault on a federal agent, but released a few hours later without any charges.
She had been recovering from kidney surgery at the time of the incident, her family said on the crowdfunding platform.
Due to the allegedly ‘excessive force’ used in her arrest, Figueroa was forced to return to the hospital for further treatment, the family said.
She is now battling with ‘physical and emotional trauma’ in wake of the incident.
‘I was in shock and terrified,’ she said in a statement. ‘The video evidence is clear: Agents crashed into me. I was not involved in any protest or related activity and I intend to seek justice for how I was treated.’
But Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin suggested Figueroa’s actions that day were an act of protest.
She said agents were ‘conducting a targeted immigration enforcement arrest’ when Figueroa allegedly honked her horn and blocked in agents with her vehicle.
‘As agents were departing, the driver, a US citizen, used her Mercedes Benz to ram the agent’s vehicle,’ McLaughlin said in a statement to the Daily Mail.
‘In fear of public safety and of law enforcement, officers attempted to remove her from the vehicle. She violently resisted, kicking two agents and causing injuries.’
Figueroa (pictured) was arrested for assault on a federal agent, but released a few hours later without any charges
Officers are seen attempting to remove Figueroa from her vehicle. Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said ICE agents did this ‘in fear of public safety and of law enforcement’
McLaughlin alleged the incident reflects a ‘growing and dangerous trend’ in which drivers have been ‘ramming cars into our law enforcement officers’.
‘These attacks highlight the dangers our law enforcement officers face daily – all while receiving no pay thanks to the Democrats’ government shutdown,’ she added.
Chicago police told the Daily Mail their officers have launched an investigation into the incident.
A traffic report was created when Figueroa visited the police station to report an accident that she said occurred around 9.15am on October 10.
She told police she was sideswiped by a Jeep SUV when she attempted to pass the vehicle on the roadway.
Police said no injuries were reported in connection to the incident.
Figueroa’s family was unable to locate for several hours after the crash, the Chicago Tribune reported.
She claimed to have been transported to multiple undisclosed locations and repeatedly denied contact with her family or an attorney, according to the newspaper.
‘I was extremely worried because I know ICE agents are heartless and reckless,’ her mother Teresita told the Tribune. ‘I worried that they could hurt my daughter.’
Due to the ‘excessive force’ used in her arrest, (pictured) Figueroa was left ‘very injured, in shock, and bleeding.’ She was forced to return to the hospital for further treatment
Teresita, who described the search for Figueroa as ‘agonizing,’ said she eventually picked her daughter up from an ambulance in a parking lot in Lombard, a suburb roughly 20 miles west of the crash site.
She was ‘very injured, in shock, and bleeding from her surgery,’ her mother added.
Figueroa is the mother to a five-year-old boy and aspiring lawyer. She works as a paralegal at a firm located near the crash site.
The Tribune’s review of her criminal record found nothing more than a few minor traffic violations.
The Daily Mail has approached the Figueroa family for comment and an ICE spokesperson said they are looking into our request.
