CHICAGO — Federal immigration officers reportedly used tear gas outside a Chicago grocery store following a pursuit that local activists obstructed, according to surveillance footage obtained by the source.
Demian Kogan, associated with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, mentioned that officers entered the neighborhood for an operation, alerting residents to the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
Kogan stated that ICE officers seemingly became agitated when identified, leading to the deployment of tear gas. He noted that, to his knowledge, no one was detained by federal officers. Upon arriving post-incident, Kogan witnessed an individual vomiting, while another received water for their irritated eyes. Witnesses affected by the tear gas had visibly red and irritated eyes.
A spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department reported that a 42-year-old woman and a 2-year-old child in the area inhaled an unidentified chemical agent. Currently, the source of the released agent is undetermined.
Both the woman and child received medical treatment at the scene and the investigation into the incident remains ongoing, police said.
Representatives from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection were unavailable for immediate comment regarding the events in this well-known northwest neighborhood on Friday.
“This incident is yet another instance of ICE’s increasing violence within our communities,” Kogan told the source. “Their presence does not enhance safety for anyone in Chicago or any area where ICE operates.”
A local Chicago Public School, Funston Elementary, held recess indoors for students on Friday afternoon “out of an abundance” after school officials were alerted of the presence of federal officers, according to a letter obtained by .
“I want to emphasize that school is the best and safest place for our students,” the school’s principal, Sarah Trevino-Terronez, wrote, “Our staff is well-versed in the proper protocols for keeping our students and school community safe in case federal law enforcement representatives attempt to enter school property or interact with students or staff.”
Residents in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood say they are outraged.
Kyle Jones told he was driving by Rico Fresh market when tear gas poured into his vehicle after a silver canister was thrown from a black pickup truck with flashing lights.
The incident occurred after another Logan Square resident said she witnessed six masked and armed federal officers emerge from an unmarked white SUV and detain a man at a nearby intersection.
Alisha Garlow works as part of a local rapid response team that reacts to the presence of federal officers, who arrived by the hundreds before Operation Midway Blitz began on Sept. 8. Garlow said that helicopters hovered over her neighborhood Friday morning before she witnessed what she said were ICE officers positioned outside of a local Home Depot store.
She said that the officers made their way to a local Rico Fresh grocery store, which was the same location where Jones said his vehicle became filled with tear gas.
She described the actions of ICE and other federal immigration enforcement agencies as “outrageous, enraging and f—– wild.”
“This is the most inhumane thing I think I’ve ever seen,” Garlow told . “I’m just so flabbergasted that this is happening, and I’m scared for where we’re going to go next.”
Jones told that the tear gas that seeped into his vehicle on Friday caused his ears, nose and mouth to run. Jones has lived in the neighborhood since he was a young boy and cannot recall anything like this happening before.
Anti-ICE protests continued over increased federal presence
The federal activity in Logan Square took place just days after multiple federal agencies, including Border Patrol, DEA and FBI, raided an apartment building in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood early Tuesday morning. The deployment of chemical agents in Logan Square took place on the same day as continued protesting at the ICE processing center in suburban Broadview, where 18 people were arrested on Friday, sources confirmed.
Community leaders and activists have continued to speak out about the increased federal presence, which has included protesters, clergy members, local elected officials and journalists saying that they have been targeted by federal officers and agents.
In some neighborhoods, residents have heeded Gov. JB Pritzker’s call to capture the actions of federal officers on video and to alert local media. In Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, community organizers have handed out whistles for residents to use when they see ICE or other federal immigration officers in the area.
During the South Shore operation, Federal militarized vehicles, including vehicles and large trucks and drones descended on the apartment building, where hundreds of federal officers were part of the raid.
Department of Homeland Security officials said that 37 people were arrested in the South Shore operation, including suspected members of the Tren de Aragua Venezuelan prison gang. However, residents in the area told Block Club Chicago that the raid left their apartments heavily damaged.
Jones, along with Garlow, says he is tired of the way federal officers and agents are conducting their business.
“They need to stop doing that to people. They’re terrorizing us and we ain’t did nothing wrong,” Jones told , adding, “They just come out of here out of control thinking they can do anything to us.”
