Chase involving federal agents ends in crash, sparks tense standoff with Chicago residents
A US border patrol chase that started with a suspected illegal immigrant ramming into a federal patrol car ended in a crash, sparking a tense standoff between residents and law enforcement in Chicago. AP
A U.S. Border Patrol pursuit in Chicago ended in a crash and a tense standoff with local residents Tuesday after a suspected illegal immigrant reportedly rammed a federal patrol vehicle, authorities said.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a red SUV driven by the suspect struck a Border Patrol car before attempting to flee in the city’s Southeast Side. Agents employed an “authorized precision immobilization technique (PIT) maneuver,” causing the SUV to spin through an intersection and collide with another vehicle, CNN reported.
Two individuals exited the vehicle during the chase and tried to run, but Border Patrol agents eventually detained them. Tensions quickly escalated as a crowd grew hostile toward the agents, DHS said.
The Chicago Police Department reported that as officers arrived around 11 a.m. to de-escalate the situation, some members of the crowd began throwing objects at federal agents. In response, Border Patrol deployed tear gas, sending plumes of white smoke into the area. Thirteen police officers were exposed to the chemical agent.
Photographs from the scene show agents pointing crowd-control weapons at residents at close range. Witnesses told WGNTV that two U.S. citizens—a 16-year-old and a 19-year-old—were detained despite not participating in the violence.
Juanita Garnica, mother of the 16-year-old, told reporters she was alerted by phone that Border Patrol had taken her son. “They said, ‘Juanita, you have an emergency. ICE took your son. They beat him up. They body-slammed him,’” she said. Her son was reportedly held for five hours in a federal building garage without being charged or allowed to make a call.
Nineteen-year-old Warren King was also reportedly grabbed by an agent and slammed to the ground, despite his friend insisting he is a U.S. citizen. King was taken downtown before being transported to Calumet Park, where his family provided his birth certificate to confirm his citizenship.
The total number of people involved in the confrontation remains unclear. DHS and the Chicago Police Department had not commented publicly by the time of publication.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker condemned the federal agents’ handling of the incident, describing it as “abominable” and noting that residents were subjected to tear gas, pepper pellets, and rubber bullets while peacefully protesting.
The clashes come amid ongoing tensions following ICE’s recent “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago. The initiative, announced last month, aims to target criminal illegal aliens who reportedly took advantage of the state’s sanctuary policies to remain in the area.
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