Joe Botello was startled awake early Tuesday morning when federal immigration agents broke through the door to his suburban Elgin home.
Botello, 37, was led out of the home in the 900 block of Chippewa Drive in handcuffs. The entire street was blocked off by armed ICE agents wearing fatigues and using military vehicles.
Neighbors were rattled as helicopters, bright lights and smoke bombs were used in the raid that ended with the arrest of Botello and his roommates.
ICE agents busted through Botello’s front door just before 5:30 a.m., and he and his roommates were led out in handcuffs, placed into vehicles and questioned about their immigration status.
“I told them I was a U.S. citizen, that my ID was in my wallet,” said Botello, who was born in Texas.
Botello said he and one of his roommates were let go after they were questioned, but the other four were taken away. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for details on the arrests.
Leading the action was U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who appeared to have joined agents in the operation.
“President Trump has been clear: If politicians will not put the safety of their citizens first, this administration will. I was on the ground in Chicago today to make clear we are not backing down,” Noem said in a statement. “Just this morning, DHS took violent offenders off the streets with arrests for assault, DUI and felony stalking. Our work is only beginning.”
This week, a brave @ICEgov officer was dragged many yards by a car after a criminal illegal alien resisted arrest. His life was put at risk and he sustained serious injuries.
President Trump has been clear: if politicians will not put the safety of their citizens first, this… pic.twitter.com/2BSUg4a7U6
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) September 16, 2025
In a video shared on social media, four men, including Botello, were seen being taken away from the home in handcuffs. At the end of the video, Noem can be seen climbing into the back of a truck.
Michael Tucker was asleep when he was woken up by a loud bang as agents broke through the front and back door of Botello’s home across the street.
Tucker, 32, said he saw three men being led out in handcuffs from the home.
Tucker suggested that Noem’s presence appeared to be in response to the agent injured in last week’s deadly traffic stop in Franklin Park that left a Mexican immigrant dead.
“It’s a gross overuse of power,” Tucker said. “It’s completely uncalled for.”
Mary Hornish lives a few houses away from Botello’s home and was startled from sleep by low-flying helicopters over her house.
“I thought we were going to war or something, and I got kind of scared,” Hornish said.
“These [immigrants] are very good people. This is a good neighborhood. They’re hardworking. I could ask any of them, you know, for something, and they would be happy to help me out. And I’m just, I’m really sad, because I can’t imagine something like that happening to anyone.”
Hornish said she doesn’t want to see federal agents on the streets of her community. “I think it’s an intrusion, and I don’t think it’s right.”
Contractors were seen outside the home late Tuesday morning replacing the broken doors.
Elgin resident Ismael Cordova-Clough often patrols the city in search of ICE activity in an effort to keep his community safe.
He was alerted by a neighbor to the ICE operation and raced to the neighborhood to document the situation. When he arrived, he said agents pointed guns at him and threatened to arrest him.
“It’s horrific,” Cordova-Clough said. “My entire community is living in fear.”
Cordova-Clough described Noem’s visit to Elgin as “nothing more than a photo-op” and said the men taken into custody were “collateral” to her agenda.
“It’s like they’re celebrating their awful behavior,” Cordova-Clough said.
A spokesperson with the Elgin Police Department said officers responded to a call of people in the area but they were not involved in the operation.
