ICE Chicago Operation Midway Blitz: Protester detained near Broadview ICE facility was carrying gun, DHS says; mother speaks out

BROADVIEW, Ill. (WLS) — Hundreds of people protested outside an immigration building Friday in Broadview.

Pepper bullets and tear gas were used several times, and ABC7 witnessed at least two protesters being detained as the group was out for hours, demanding answers from DHS.

ABC7 learned later Friday evening that one protester taken into custody by ICE, who the Department of Homeland Security says was armed with a gun, is Elias Cepeda. ABC7 spoke to his mother, who’s demanding his release as tensions continue to rise.

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A large crowd showed up before sunrise, yelling profanities and standing in the way of vehicles.

“If they’re gonna treat people in the outside like, this then how are they treating the people on the inside, like is it even worse than this?” said Bryan Vaidis Brannon, who was hit by a pepper bullet.

He was hit by one of the many pepper bullets that DHS guards fired off Friday in an attempt to push back the crowd from the facility.

RELATED | Broadview police chief says he was verbally attacked by ICE agent; mayor criticizes ICE in letter

The protesters are upset about the immigration crackdown in and around Chicago.

The Border Control Commander Greg Bovino posted pictures of immigration agents patrolling the Chicago River on Thursday.

Demonstrators continue to clash with federal agents near the Broadview ICE processing facility.

Protestors moved to 25th Avenue, where they are trying to block federal vehicles from entering and leaving the facility. That’s already led to some pretty tense moments.

At one point, heated protesters tried to block a federal immigration SUV as they hit the hood and yelled at the driver trying to reach the Broadview ICE processing facility.

“This is not the type of action our law enforcement agencies, whether local or federal, should be conducting on US soil,” demonstrator Roger Lonergan said.

Lonergan, an Army veteran, has demonstrated there for weeks. He said he’s serving his country once again not in the military, but alongside the protestors.

“This is really what standing up for democracy looks like,” Longergan said. “It’s not always putting on uniforms and going overseas.”

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Near the intersection of South 25th Avenue and Harvard, demonstrators could be seen gathering down the street near gates leading to the Broadview facility. At some points, a chemical gas was deployed among the crowd to disperse the protesters.

“There are people that know they are there that want to fight for due process and think this is wrong and a lot of illegal actions and unknown conditions inside,” a demonstrator named Sue said.

Curtis Evans was there when what was believed to be tear gas was deployed.

“People are very brave here today because they know the violence they saw last week, so there is a deeper sense of what they are up against,” Evans said.

Federal agents installed tall gates on Beach Street to block demonstrators from reaching the entrance. The move was not deterring passionate protestors from making their voices heard. Some even wrote phone numbers on their arms in case they are detained.

“People are getting brought in and we don’t know where they are going and being driven miles and miles away without a way to get home,” demonstrator Akeisha Lee said. “People are getting pulled in for hours and we can’t track them.”

One of the two protesters DHS said were detained Friday is Elias Cepeda, a volunteer with Pilsen Defense and Access, who was seen in a video posted to Instagram right before his detainment. The 41-year-old has joined other protesters there for weeks, demonstrating against the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown in the Chicago area.

“We were just shot at. I was hit a number of times including in the face,” he can be heard saying in the video.

DHS says one of the two detained by ICE was armed with a gun, saying in a post to X in part, “This is transpiring just a few days after the horrific terrorist attack on an ICE facility in Dallas.”

Cepeda’s mother Leila Mendez, while looking through a fence demanding his release, told ABC7 it was her son who had the gun.

“I’m crying for him. I’m crying for all the people that I’ve seen stepped on,” Mendez said. “My son has a legal concealed and carry, but he did not come to use it. His hands, if you look at the video… are up in the air.”

SEE ALSO | Community rallies to sell tamales for vendor arrested by ICE near Home Depot on SW Side

“You can see him and his arms, he’s trying to tell them to calm down. At the same time, they were throwing what looked like grenades, exploding gas grenades, and pepper balls,” said Antonio Ramos, an anti-ICE protester with Pilsen Defense and Access. “At one point or another, an individual went back behind him, tapped him to see if he was okay, and that’s when they both got taken down.”

Protesters said second man who was detained is a military veteran.

Cepeda’s mother said his phone has been taken from him, and she doesn’t know when or if he’ll be released.

At one point Friday afternoon, ABC7 cameras captured tense moments with agents chasing after protesters.

An agent was forced to use other federal officers as crutches after apparently injuring himself on a nearby home’s backyard gate, while ABC7 saw him trying to chase after a man who got away.

Friday’s demonstration came one week after demonstrators and federal agents clashed literally right outside the Broadview immigration facility.

Tensions also flared up Friday between protesters and supporters of ICE.

“All we did was just show up to support our side, and say hey, and they just turned on us,” ICE supporter Edward Anthony said. “They talk about no due process. They’re not picking them up unless they have an order from the judge.”

Some suburban residents came out in support of local and federal law enforcement.

“I Like the flag that is half an American flag and half a Mexican flag,” Berwyn woman Holly Graham said. “I think that that’s appropriate. But I also think that people should be following the rules and if that’s the immigration rules, that’s what it is.”

“Supporting ICE,” Bill Rubel said. “I think they’re getting a bad rep by our governor and the mayor downtown in Chicago.”

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker says he’s now demanding answers for clarity on this entire operation. Also, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin and other local congressmen have requested a meeting with the ICE Field Office Director.